Page 235 of Elemental Becoming
My traitorous body responds to his voice before my brain can catch up. I curse under my breath and grit my teeth.
I will not let him distract me.
“Then stop fighting like you’re afraid to.”
That does it.
He comes at me harder this time. Still controlled, but closer.Closer than necessary.Our blades lock, faces inches apart, breath mingling.
His voice drops, barely audible over the ringing in my ears. “You think I’m afraid of hurting you?”
I don’t look away. My heart slams against my ribs. “I think you’re afraid of what happens if you let go.”
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
Everything stills.
Shit.
I feel it hit him.
The memory of this morning.
His hands gripping my skin. His breath ragged against my neck. The moment his control slipped and the shadows answered, pouring from his fingers like a second heartbeat pulsing between us.
The way I didn’t flinch or pull away. Ichoseto stay.
Because, in that moment, he wasn’t a warlord. He wasn’t the Fire Clan’s weapon or the council’s protector. He was just Thane.
Raw. Unguarded. Real.
And gods, I felt it.
The power thrumming beneath his skin. The fear in his grip. The way he held me as though I was the only thing keeping him tethered.
And I wanted it.
All of it.
The heat. The shadows. The parts of himself he keeps locked away. Because what frightened him never frightened me.
Itcalledto me.
Thane’s eyes dim with recognition, his jaw tightening. I swallow hard, but I don’t back down. I don’t look away.
The words are out there now.
In my mind, I repeat the words that I offered this morning. A reminder and promise.
“Please, Thane. Trust that you can let go. That you won’t hurt me. That you won’t break me.”
His gaze softens—just barely—but it’s enough. A new resolve flickers in his expression. The corner of his mouth lifts.
Then he shoves me back and we’re moving again. Fast. Sharp. Sparks flying from every clash of steel and tension.
Underneath it all, that same current winds tighter and tighter.
Ready to ignite.
