Page 53 of Sworn to the Shadow Throne

I swallowed, suddenly aware of every inch of space between us—and how much I wanted it gone.

“You’re still in pain,” I whispered.

“This,” he said, gesturing at his wound, voice low and intimate, “is nothing compared to the battle going on in my head.”

Every ugly possibility rushed in at once, and my stomach flipped. “Battle? Are you married?”

His jaw flexed.

“Rowan?” I hated how this complete stranger had reduced me to not caring that I craved things I could never keep. Hated how easily he’d walked into my life and left me feeling more vulnerable than I ever had.

And, gods below, I also hated myself for wanting him so badly that I was willing to leave myself defenseless against it. But being married was a line I wouldn’t cross.

“Not married or connected to anyone in that way,” he finally said.

“I’m not either,” I said, taking in a relieved breath. “Sorry for letting you guess about that.”

“The battle,” he said, eyes smoldering, “is to hold myself in check. You make me feel wild, Lunette.”

My breath stuttered out of me in a tiny, helpless sound. Something thick and molten curled in my belly, rising like a tide I couldn’t fight as he leaned forward slowly—too slowly.

“Tell me you want this,” he whispered. “I won’t take anything you don’t freely give.”

Freely give? I wanted to wrap myself around him skin-to-skin until I wasn’t certain where I ended and he began.

Neither of my former lovers had ever been so tender with me—and I hadn’t even kissed this man yet. My comfort mattered to him. I mattered. Losing that might be devastating. But never having it would be catastrophic.

Even so, the choice landed heavily in my chest. Maybe I should’ve told him to stop. It was so much risk for one night of pleasure. Because that was all this could be. One night.

But I couldn’t stop because I wanted it with every fiber of my being.

“Luna,” I said, leaning in, while silently handing him the key to my heart. “Call me Luna.”

Only people who deserved to stay in my life got to use that name. The power he already held over me was enough to destroy me, but he wouldn’t—not Rowan.

For a moment, his eyes burned with unspoken words that seemed to claw at his throat. The anticipation of what he was holding back was almost unbearable until his mouth met mine in the faintest brush. His warm, hesitant breath ghosted over my lips, erasing every worry from my mind.

“A precious gift,” he said against my lips. “Thank you. I won’t misuse it.” The possessive way he whispered my name next sent shivers rippling down my spine. “My Luna. My moonlight.”

“You called me that before,” I said, loving the way my name sounded coming from him.

He leaned his forehead against mine, his nose brushing mine, and whispered, “Because you’ve been a guiding light since I first met you… Luna, you make me want to be better than I am.”

I was already melting, but at those words, I turned to liquid in his arms. I smiled against him, loving the closeness, the warmth and intimacy of his heart beating right next to mine.

“Gods, you always smell so good.” His thumb found my lower lip and dragged down it with almost sinful suggestion. “Like the sweetest dessert. I want to devour this.”

Finally, he broke free from whatever had been holding him back, and the rejection I’d been unconsciously bracing for disappeared.

His kiss wasn’t gentle. Wasn’t chaste. It was his power brushing up against my years of isolation, colliding in one impossible, perfect explosion of sensation.

I kissed him like I needed him to breathe.

His hand slid into my hair as his mouth moved against mine, firm and hungry and reverent all at once. My fingers curled helplessly into the fabric of his tunic. Gods, when had I grabbed him? I pulled him closer as heat roared through my body.

He groaned low against my lips. My mind blanked to everything other than the feel of his kiss, his hands moving to cup my jaw, down the back of my neck, my shoulders, to my waist…

Was attraction supposed to feel like this? If so, I’d been doing it wrong my entire life.