Page 144 of The Encore’s Crown

“What am I—”

I catch her face in both hands and pull her into me, crushing the rest of the question beneath my mouth before she has a chance to finish. She freezes, then grabs me with both hands, surging into me so violently our bodies collide. Her lips part beneath mine as I deepen the kiss, and every wall between us collapses at once.

The band.

Worry.

The past.

My father.

My fear.

Every single thing I used to push her away burns out beneath the first sweep of her tongue against mine. Natalia makes a broken sound and I pull her closer. Her body meets mine as heat floods through me. My hand slides from her jaw to the back of her neck, holding her there while I kiss her harder, deeper. Every pass of my mouth asks for something I should have asked for weeks ago.

Believe me.

Let me prove it.

Give me one more chance.

She answers by biting my lower lip. Pain flashes bright enough to drag a groan from my throat. Her nails dig into the back of my head, pulling through my hair as she kisses me again with every ounce of anger I’ve earned.

I welcome it.

Want it.

Need it.

I need her to take all of it out on me. Every tear and sleepless night. Every lie I told because I was too scared to tell her the truth. I need her to burn through me with all of it until there’s nothing left between us but what I should’ve said from the beginning. She pulls me down harder, mouth open beneath mine, breathing against my lips between frantic kisses that barely separate before beginning again.

“Nat,” I manage.

She turns her face and my mouth catches the corner of hers, then her cheek, the line of her jaw. Her head tips back and I kiss beneath it, then travel lower to her neck, along the pulse pounding wildly in her throat. Her fingers tighten in my hair. I feel her breath catch when my teeth graze the tender skin beneath her ear. So, I do it again, slower. A careful bite, just enough pressure to make her body soften against mine.

My name leaves her in a moan against my ear. I harden so fast it hurts, my body straining against where she’s pressed tight to me. Natalia feels it. Her hips roll forward on instinct, dragging over me once, and the friction pulls a rough sound from my throat. She does it again. My grip tightens around her waist as every part of me surges toward her, desperate to close whatever space is left. It leaves every part of me answering her.

I press another kiss beneath her jaw, then drag my mouth back to that spot under her ear. Her head falls farther to the side, giving me more.

I take it all.

My tongue traces the place I just bit, soothing the mark before my teeth catch her earlobe. She shudders. One hand slides down from my hair to the back of my neck, nails dragging hard enough to leave lines. Heat flares beneath the scratches. I groan into her skin, then she does it again.

“Kiss me,” she whispers.

I lift my head and I can see her eyes are wet. Something holds us there, neither of us willing to look away.

Then she grabs my face and pulls me back. The kiss turns desperate, her mouth opening under mine, until I can’t tell whether the shaking breath is hers or mine. My hands move over her waist, her back, the bare skin exposed by the cut of her dress. She arches into my palms. I drag one hand upward, fingers tracing the long line of her spine, and she moans softly into my mouth.

Her lips move to my jaw, then my throat. She kisses me there with the same frantic need, nipping once beneath my ear hard enough to make me tighten my grip around her. She bites me again.

“Fuck,” I breathe. "What're you doing, Kroppy?"

I laugh, but the sound breaks when her mouth softens over the same place. I turn my head and catch her lips once more. The kiss finally begins to slow, anger and regret burning itself out, leaving everything underneath exposed. Her mouth moves against mine with aching care now. My thumb brushes the tear slipping over her cheek. Natalia pulls back just enough to breathe. Neither of us lets go.

“What am I supposed to think?” she whispers again.

This time, I don’t silence her with my mouth. I hold her face between my hands.