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And then I lowered my mouth to hers and captured her lips.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kiara
The heart is the wickedest of beasts,
for it can never be tamed.
Asidian proverb
There was nothing gentle about the way Jude kissed me. How he commanded my breath and inhaled my sanity, exhaling something wicked and wonderful in its place.
He tasted of possibility and hope and everything I never knew I could become addicted to—an intoxicating combination that set delicious adrenaline surging across every inch of my flesh as he devoured me, his lips moving wildly and without control.
I still trembled from when he’d gently brought my hands to his mouth and kissed away years and years of humiliation and disgrace. Treating me—my scars and all—as if I were something wonderful to behold. Something precious.
Jude nibbled on my lower lip, sucking it between his teeth, and something feral awakened inside me. My bare fingers were in his hair, running through the black strands and tugging, holding him just the way I wanted as I pressed him closer. I shouldn’t be surprised I was trying to assume command.
Jude let out a growl and wrapped a hand around the nape of my neck, his fingers winding through my hair as he, too, fought for control. Of course we would battle, even while we kissed. His hands were everywhere, my own seeking out his warmth, sliding beneath his shirt and gliding up the hard planes of his stomach.
We both craved the fight, and in each other, we found the perfect partner.
Touching him without my gloves, without my armor, felt better than anything I could have ever imagined. My fingers tingled as I brought my hands to his hair and fisted the strands, and suddenly, I was filled with such rawfreedom.
Jude let out a strangled groan when I prodded at the seam of his lips, my tongue slipping inside to explore. The noises that left him became my favorite sounds. They were animalistic, primal, and needy.
His tongue danced with mine, swirling deliciously before giving my lips more attention. As he sucked my bottom lip between his teeth, a bolt of lightning struck my core, and even Jude tensed, like he was hit by the same shock of electricity.
Light dazzled behind my closed lids, a sun of my own making igniting my world. And as tingles raced down my spine and my heart thundered wildly, I gave in to the consuming chaos that was kissing Commander Jude Maddox.
When he eventually pulled away, albeit reluctantly, I was a panting mess.
“Kiara,” he breathed reverently, bringing the tip of his nose to mine, our foreheads pressed against one another. “I— That was…”
“We should have been doing that this whole time,” I cut him off, my chest rising and falling unevenly. I must have had the widest of grins plastered across my face.
If I had known Jude could kiss like it was his job, then I would have been all over him a lot sooner. It took everything in me now not to jump him and start all over again.
We’d shared our secrets, and even if I hadn’t told him the story behind the accident that had marred me for life, I vowed one day I would.
Jude chuckled, his body pressing against mine as he wound an arm around my waist. With a swift pull, I landed in his lap, his arms hugging me to his chest as he burrowed his nose in my hair. Every inch of him was hard, solid muscle—a deadly killer.
And I’d never felt more at ease.
“We need to do that again.”
Jude’s chest shook with laughter, and he rubbed his stubbled jaw against my heated cheeks. The scruff tickled my skin in the best possible way.
“I think we found another thing we can agree on.” His arms tightened. “Maybeafterwe get you a proper meal first.”
Being the mood killer that it was, my stomach let out a thunderous grumble. “Fine,” I relented, not entirely pleased, but willing to accept the compromise. I probably needed to calm myself down. My body still tingled, and my lips were perfectly swollen.
“Jude?”
“Yes, recruit?” I felt him smile against my skin.
“Thank you for sharing your story with me,” I said softly. “And thank you for…” I couldn’t say the words, but I didn’t need to.
