Page 52 of The Fate of Black Hearts

“I don’t do caffeine.”

Her brows tugged together. She poured orange juice into a cup for him. “How long since you last ate?”

“I don’t remember. A day or two. Maybe more. I don’t need a lot of food.”

“Sit.” Her slide into a seat was graceful. She pushed her hair behind an ear. He stared at the long line of her neck. “It’s all vegetarian. I remembered you saying you were vegetarian. Maybe if you ate more frequently, you’d be less grumpy?”

Somehow, he managed to sip juice and nibble on some sort of biscuit. They ate in uncomfortable silence.

She smiled in a way that shot a jolt of desire straight to his dick. “There’s a lot going on in that stare. I might get the wrong idea and think you wantme.”

“Me wanting you has never been in question.”

“You’re too much.” She stood and walked over to a support post. Her lean against it while staring out at the ocean was far from relaxed. “I can’t do this.”

He heard her thoughts in his head; he always seemed to hear her louder than any other:I want you so much it scares me. I don’t want to be hurt again.

He moved in front of her and dropped his forehead to press it against hers in frustration. He wanted to kiss along the line of her lips, dip his tongue in between them, and conquer her. “Will you let me kiss you like I mean it?”

“Yes.” Her voice came out strained. She stared at his lips. When he didn’t move to start the kiss, her eyes darted to his. “Are you going to kiss me?”

“I need you to be the one to start it.”

“Why?”

“I won’t take away this decision. You haven’t let anyone touch you since Willem hurt you. That’s a long, long time for you to go without being touched by someone who means it. The full moon must torture you, but you resist taking a lover even for relief.”

“How would you know?” She craned away from him to meet his gaze. “Get out of my head.”

“I’d know if you slept with someone.” He didn’t want to admit how possessive he’d become of her. Would he let her have a lover? Yes. Would he allow a lover to live after touching her?

He didn’t dwell on the answer to that.

“Should I be worried that it sounds like you watch me all the time like a stalker?”

“Watching over you is all I’m allowed.” Hepressed his nose into her neck. “You like it. You dream of me coming out of the shadows and into your bed.”

“I have dreamed a lot of things about you.” She laughed softly. “What about you? Do you have someone? A lover?”

“It’s been a long time.” He couldn’t remember the last time he had sex. No one mattered to him anymore other than Evie.

“Do you dream about me?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She started to rise on her tiptoes to put her lips to his, but he put a finger on her lips to stop her.

“If I touch you like I mean it, I won’t be able to contain my power. It could consume us. I may become the only one your body will ever want.”

“You’re so arrogant, it’s a shock you ever got a woman into bed without coercing her with magic.”

Ouch.That was a little too close to the truth. “For any mage who loses himself in a woman, he will bind her to him. It’s why we’re cautious about this. I’ve never been with anyone that— I know if I touch you like I mean it, I’ll lose control.”

“What’s it like for you to lose control? Do you get violent? Could you hurt me?”

He detected caution from her. “I won’t hurt you. If you feel threatened, you will tell me.”

“Will it be good?”