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Chapter 26
“What did you think you were doing back in the council meeting?” Shadow asked, confronting me in my room.
Phantom had carried me back, leaving me to sleep on my decision for the next morning. Right now, I just wanted to be alone. I didn’t need Shadow getting in my face to talk me out of going with them.
“What I promised to do,” I said, staring up into his smoky eyes, dark as a lightning cloud. An intensity I knew meant he genuinely cared for me radiated from them, a protectiveness that promised to keep me safe mixed with a desire to wrap me in cotton wool and not let me out in the world.
“You could get hurt.” He brushed a hair from my cheek.
I shuddered, trying to think of my next response.
“So could you,” was all I could come up with at the time.
He wasn’t backing off, and he kneeled before me on the bed. My gaze slid down his strong chest, his thighs, and then rose to meet his eyes again.
“Snow, this is dangerous. Stop being stubborn.”
Sea God.I could barely breathe having him so close. Before, when he’d carried me to the council meeting, it had been different, my mind distracted by the mess all around us. Now, it was just him and me. Alone. On the bed. I was reminded of what we’d done last night. The idea of what might happen next teased me between my legs.
“You’re one to talk,” I said, my voice elevating in pitch.
“You’re not going to let his go, are you?” He rose up on his knees, placing his hands on the bed either side of me.
The position of his arms, so close, so promising, sucked all the air from my lungs, and I swayed, suddenly dizzy. A smile teased the corners of his lips, as if he knew the effect he had on me. I inched backward, trying to get away, but he grabbed my waist, dragging me back. Fire exploded across my skin.
What was he doing? Seducing me? Using his sexy wiles to convince me not to go?Fuck.I was having a hard time as it was, my breaths coming in fits and starts, my thoughts scattered with lust. All my fears fell from my mind, and only Shadow mattered in that moment. Him and me. Bound. Connected. Aroused.
“Should we start where we left off with things at the dragon’s castle?” His sexy grin held me spellbound.
“When I’m around you, I can’t seem to say no.” I panted, loving the way his arms fit perfectly around me.
“Then tell me what you want,” he said, all confident.
“I want you, but I’m scared."
He smiled so calmly that it eased the tension in my muscles. Then he leaned in for a kiss, firm but gentle. He left me wanting more as he withdrew. Humming to himself, he searched for something among my belongings.
What was he doing? Questions went out the window when he picked up the writing quill from my small desk drawer in the corner, flicking it back and forth, wearing a wicked grin.
Now I knew I was in for trouble in the best possible way. Mind raging with the possibilities, I crawled backward on the bed, hitting the wall, burning up, needing him.
Shadow took off his boots, set them aside, and then crawled toward me on the bed. Each movement had me aroused, curious, my nerves peaking.
“Lie down,” he instructed.
I hesitated at first, prompting him to grab my ankle and gently draw me toward him.
My heartbeat slammed so hard against my ribcage, it ached. Instinctively, I balled my hands and held them tight to my sides. I squeezed my eyes shut and scrunched up my face.
“Relax,” he whispered, as if he read the fear on my face. “I won’t hurt you. If you don’t want this, tell me, and I’ll stop.”
“No!” I panted, breathless. “Don’t stop. I want you so much."
A moan gurgled in my throat as he delicately removed my shoes, tossing them onto the floor. Then he traced the feather along my skin, leaving goose bumps sprouting in its wake. However, much to my horror, Shadow’s actions awoke a memory inside me…that of the torturer carving shapes into the flesh on my arm. My arm jolted outward, and my breaths came short and sharp. Pain from so long ago stung me as if I were back in the torture chair.
“Snow.” Shadow’s voice called me from the depths. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t,” I said, kicking at the bed to sit up.
