Page 39 of Forbidden Fate

I swallow.

He’s hard.

Still.

I knew he would be.

I feel it now, undeniable, pressing against me.

And again⁠—

That traitorous, confusing spark flares low in my body.

What is wrong with me?

I’ve used this before. I know how to read men. How to give them just enough to keep them off balance. To make them hesitate. To make them want.

But this⁠—

This is different.

I’m not just pretending.

This time, I’m feeling it too.

I lift my hand and brush it along the side of his stubbled jaw. He leans into it, just slightly.

My breath catches. “You don’t want to hurt me,” I murmur.

His eyes darken. “You don’t know what I want.”

Maybe not.

But I know what I’m doing to him. And I know what he’s doing to me.

I shift closer. Closer again, until there’s no space left between us.

This isn’t just strategy anymore. This isn’t just survival.

There’s something else here. Something dangerous. Something I shouldn’t touch.

But I do anyway.

I lean in slowly, watching his face, giving him every chance to stop me.

He doesn’t.

So I press my lips to his.

16

CRUZ

Her lips are so soft on mine. I know they’re dry and chapped, but that’s not how they feel. It’s like kissing a rose petal, or a silk handkerchief.

It’s over too fucking soon, and I lean forward⁠—

But she slants away, moving from my lap and back onto the floor where she shifts her hips again, and then circles her chest, her head, all in a way that makes her seem like she’s somewhere else, wearing veils and jewels and finger cymbals.