Page 96 of When Roses Burn

No, that wasn’t true. I knew exactly what I wanted from her.

CHAPTER SIXTY

Knox

When her chest rose and fell, her breasts brushed mine with each inhalation and exhalation. Her hardened nipples pressed against the thin material of her shirt; she hadn’t bothered to bind her breasts before rushing out of the bathroom.

She was a truly tempting woman, especially when she released her bottom lip. It quivered in an enticing way that demanded to be kissed… or fucked. And she was excellent at using that mouth to suck my shaft.

I trailed my thumb across her bottom lip. Her teeth marks remained on her lip, and I gently rubbed them out of her flesh. When her tongue darted out, it brushed the tip of my thumb before vanishing again.

From under the thick fringe of her black lashes, she studied me. Red stained her cheeks when she realized what she’d done.

My thumb stilled on her mouth. “Do it again.”

The command came out gruffer than I’d expected, but my whole body tensed in anticipation as my heart matched the faster beat of hers. Briar didn’t breathe, and neither did I while I waited to see what she’d do.

And then her tongue slid out again to wet her lush mouth before gliding over my thumb. I couldn’t suppress a growl as her tongue swirled over my flesh, tasting before she nipped it.

My entire being thrummed with excitement as I recalled what it was like to have that mouth gliding over my cock, taking it as deep as she could while stroking my shaft and kneading my balls.

When she closed her eyes and drew my thumb deeper into her mouth, my dick jumped in anticipation of gliding between her luscious lips. Stepping closer, my erection pushed against her upper belly.

Her head tipped back, her hips surged toward me, and the sweet scent of her desire engulfed me. When I lifted my other hand, I accidentally hit the book, knocking it from her hands. It hit the ground with a thud that neither of us acknowledged as I slid my hand behind her head and grasped her ponytail.

When I tugged her head further back, she released my thumb and stared breathlessly up at me while I gazed down at her stunning face. As I stared at her, a simple, undeniable truth hit me… I missed her.

I’d spent years trying to deny it and been determined not to acknowledge the empty hole that had existed in me since Marina and her followers pulled me away from Briar in No Man’s Land. I’d decided the beast was too twisted and broken to have a mate, and while the creature was far different than the animal that once resided in me, I was wrong.

And while I’d tried to deny it, the man I’d become also wanted her. I’d spent so long hating her that it was difficult to merge this new realization with the beliefs I held for years. Was it possible to stop loathing someone after so long?

But then, the reason I’d hated her had ceased to exist… or at least, I thought it did. I couldn’t be certain she hadn’t told Marina about us, but I suspected she was telling me the truth.

However, Briar was one of the strongest women I’d ever encountered; she’d proven that with her ability to withstand her Needing. That strength could lead to a woman who was very capable of telling lies.

My gaze shifted back to her mouth. Was it as inviting as I recalled, or was it truly a place of vile untruths and betrayal?

I thumbed her bottom lip again as I pondered this. I yearned to replace my thumb with my mouth, to kiss her and taste her, to feel the scrape of her teeth, taste the mint of her breath, and experience the brush of her tongue against mine.

“I haven’t kissed anyone since you,” I grated out.

In the harem, when the beast took over, many of the casters enjoyed fucking the creature in countless ways, but they stayed away from its jaws. The vines kept its arms and legs restrained, and sometimes another vine would ensnare its snout; even then, they feared what the beast would do if they got too close. The thrill of possibly being annihilated by the monster was part of what got them off, but they weren’t stupid.

Her eyes widened at this revelation, and I knew she was thinking about the harem. I shouldn’t have admitted this to her, but I needed to hear her answer.

“Neither have I,” she whispered.

I wasn’t sure if this was the truth or not. She said her mother kept her locked away and under guard when she wasn’t, but that could have all been lies too. This uncertainty, when it came to her, was infuriating. At one time, I’d trusted her more than anyone else in my life; now, I second-guessed everything.

The one thing I couldn’t second-guess was my draw to her. It was still there and always would be.

Releasing her bottom lip, I bent my head toward hers. I moved slowly while I waited for her to tell me no. Maybe she wasn’t the treacherous woman I’d come to believe she was in the harem, but things had changed between us.

She didn’t tell me to stop; instead, she lifted her mouth to mine. And there was no way I would turn away from them.

When my lips met hers, the familiar rush of excitement, love, and rightness stole through me. She was the only woman I’d ever kissed, the only one I’d ever wanted to kiss, and the only one I ever would.

But that was where all my certainty ended. We could never be the us we were before, and we could never be together. I couldn’t shackle her to a broken monster even if I could learn to trust her completely again… which was unlikely. And without trust, I couldn’t bind myself to her again.