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I searched his eyes. That wasn’t exactly a confirmation. “Promise me you will do this for me.”
“Sera—”
“Promise me you will do as I ask,” I pressed, knowing that once he did, the oath would bind him. “Promise.”
An array of emotions skated over his face, too many for me to even decipher. “I promise.”
Before I could react or even think, his head dipped, and his lips locked with mine in a hard, fierce kiss. My mouth instinctively opened to him, and gods, the icy heat of his lips sent a sweet, hot flush through my body. The passion in his kiss was like a storm catching hold of me and sweeping me up to dizzying heights.
“That is one of the things I’d rather be doing. Kissing you. Feeling the way you melt into me. You want me to live? This is when I feel the most alive.” His lips brushed mine. “Like this, with you. Live with me. I need that. I need you,” he growled against my mouth.
I shuddered against him. “Time—”
“We’ll make time,” he swore. “We deserve that.”
My fingers trembled at his jaw. He was right. We did deserve that. And damn it, I wanted this. I wanted him as my last act in this realm. I wanted these memories. Not the time I’d spent in captivity. Nothing to do with Kolis. Not Ash’s anger and sadness. Not my reluctant acceptance of my fate. I wanted Ash and how he made me feel.
Seen.
Respected.
Wanted.
I should’ve had days and weeks of feeling this before the end came. I should’ve had a lifetime.
But I didn’t.
I had right now.
And I wasn’t going to waste it.
Tugging his head down, I brought his lips back to mine. No words were needed then. How I kissed him said it all.
Ash’s arms came around me, pulling me flush to his chest. His hand tangled in my hair. We kissed until my lips felt swollen and my pulse thundered. Only then did his mouth leave mine, trailing a path over the curve of my chin and down my neck.
A trickle of unease pierced the heat as he nuzzled my throat, nipping gently. It wasn’t even where Kolis had bitten me—and that shouldn’t matter. This was Ash. My mouth dried as I forced myself to take a deep breath, drawing in his scent. Citrus. Fresh mountain air. Gods, I’d never smelled anything better than him, and I was here with Ash. Only Ash.
My eyes fluttered open as he pressed a kiss to my throbbing pulse, then lifted his head.
Lashes swept up, and molten silver eyes locked with mine. I saw an urgency in his eyes, a firestorm of need and so much want. But he hesitated. Stark need etched deep lines into his striking features, but he…he waited.
For me.
“We don’t have to do this,” he said, his voice thick and rough. “Having you here and in my arms, kissing you? It’s enough.”
Oh, gods, he was going to make me cry.
Even without him speaking more, I knew why he’d said that. Why he held himself back despite what I’d told him. But Ash…gods, he knew it hadn’t been nothing. It was why he’d told me I was safe when we were in the cavern. He knew I hadn’t gotten free of Kolis without gaining a few fresh scars that couldn’t be seen but were embedded deep, nonetheless. He knew enough to make sure I was safe with him. And I was.
Gods, I couldn’t love him more.
And I couldn’t hate the realms more for taking me away from him than I did now. It wasn’t fair. But if I focused on that? On any of that bad stuff? I would be sacrificing what little time we had left that hadn’t already been stolen from us.
Swallowing the knot of emotion threatening to leave me a sobbing mess on the forest floor, I slid my hands down and grasped the front of his tunic. I tugged, and Ash obeyed, raising his arms. He bent, making it easier for me to tug the shirt free.
“Liessa,” he murmured as I dropped the clothing to the ground.
Holding his stare, I lifted my hands and hooked my fingers under the borrowed shirt I wore, drawing it up. The soft, well-worn material skimmed my stomach and then my breasts. He didn’t look away, not for one moment, as I pulled the shirt off, letting it fall beside his.
