Vengeance (The Captive #6)(52)
Something within her heart swelled; she longed to run her fingers over his freshly smooth skin. At the same time something within her withered. She couldn’t stand it if his cocky grin was stomped out, and she was extremely afraid it would be if they continued on to Badwin. He’d become kinder toward her since they’d first met each other in the snow, and even though they had some sort of relationship between them, there was still one main thing driving him forward. Revenge.
“You look nice,” she murmured.
“You’re not much of an ego boost.”
“I don’t think you need one.”
His jovial laugh resonated through the rocks surrounding them. The lively sound of it did nothing to melt the ice encasing her heart. “Maybe not,” he replied. “But it’s still bolstering to hear something better than nice. I’ve gathered some dirt for us.”
“For what?” she inquired.
“To darken our hair. Not much as we don’t want to look obvious, but if we get close enough to your town, we can’t be recognizable and your hair and mine tend to stand out.”
“Are you going to go for Kane as soon as we get there?” she blurted before she could stop herself.
He froze in the middle of bending over to grab something off the floor. Slowly, he rose back to his full height and stood before her, somehow more alluring than he’d been before. Or maybe not more alluring; maybe she simply just yearned to touch him again.
“No.” His voice sounded as detached as it had the first time she’d met him. “We’ll see what is going on, and I’ll let my family know about it before I confront Kane.”
She wasn’t so sure she believed him. There was no way he could hide his volatile reaction every time she mentioned Kane’s name. “I’m frightened that if you see him, nothing will stop you from going after him. I can’t be the one who leads you there only to have you end up getting hurt, or worse, killed for good this time.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” he said as he bent and scooped some dirt from the pile she hadn’t noticed by his feet.
“And why not?” she demanded. “You may be immortal but you’re not impenetrable.”
He came toward her with the dirt in his hand, a smile playing across his mouth as he stared at her. “Because I’m not leaving you unprotected.”
“How do you know you won’t react when you see him? The mere mention of his name makes you angry. What is the sight of him going to do to you?”
She tilted her head back to look up at him when he stopped before her. “I may have a temper, I admit it, but I can control myself. Sometimes,” he added in a teasing tone of voice as he winked at her.
“William…”
Before she could say anymore, he released the handfuls of dirt and seized hold of her cheeks. She didn’t have time to react before his mouth claimed hers. A startled sound escaped her; her hands instinctively curled around his thick wrists as heat sizzled like lightning through her body.
All of her concerns faded away to nothing when his tongue slipped inside to take firm possession of her mouth. He pulled her closer, dragging her body up against him as he deepened the kiss. She gasped when he moved her against the wall and pinned her there. His powerful body pushed firmly against hers as his tongue continued to taste her in deep thrusts that left her limp. She found her legs wouldn’t support her. The cave around them faded away until he was her entire world.
His face was smooth against hers; she missed the prickle of his beard, but loved the sensation of feeling more of his flesh. One of his arms slid around her waist; his thumb stroked her cheek before he broke the kiss. Eyes the color of a sapphire blazed down at her as his mouth hovered inches from hers.
“I just can’t control myself around you,” he murmured, that teasing smile curving his mouth again. Excitement burst through her chest. She couldn’t bring herself to release him as his lips lightly grazed hers. “You can trust me around Kane, because I will make sure you stay safe. You have my word on that.”
Unexpected tears burned her eyes. Did he mean it? She wondered as she searched his face. His eyes didn’t waver as they held hers; they burned with intensity, silently imploring her to believe him, to trust him. If she did, her heart could end up smashed into so many pieces she feared she’d never be able to put it back together.
While he continued to stare at her, his hands tender against her face, she found her resolve to keep her distance melting away. He was a warrior, a man of his word, and he wouldn’t be saying these things to her if he didn’t mean them. He had no reason to lie to her, no reason to tell her these things. Truth be told, she’d lost all sense of restraint against this man already, and possibly her heart too.
“Tempest…”
“I believe you,” she murmured.
His eyes closed, he took a shuddery breath, something she’d come to realize was a habit left over from his human days. His eyes sparkled when they opened again; he bent and pressed a kiss on the tip of her nose. Disappointment filled her when he stepped away from her.
“We have to get going,” he said. “And as much as I don’t like it, we have to try and darken that beautiful hair of yours.”
Beautiful? Her hand instinctively flew up to her hair, a flush of pleasure slid through her at his words. He thought her hair was beautiful; she felt like a silly child, but the sweet compliment delighted her more than she’d ever believed possible. Bending, he grabbed handfuls of the dirt and approached her again. Ever so tenderly, he took hold of strands of her hair and carefully ran the dirt through it.