Page 81 of Aryn

I scoff and glance away. “Not at him.”

“Well, I’d laugh at you, but… you aren’t that funny.” When my jaw clenches, he chuckles quietly. “Come on, lighten up. It’s not a big deal.”

“You’re encouraging him to flirt,” I say, meeting his eyes again. “If you don’t want him, then why are you there and not—”

Here.

Cato huffs a breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh, and a lazy smile tugs at one corner of his mouth. “Because it’s easy.”

“Easy?” I repeat as I jerk back.

Cato grabs my arm and shakes his head. “Would you stop getting mad and listen? He’s just some guy. Talking to him doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t come with all the complicated shit that comes with you.”

“That’s what you want, then?” I challenge. “Something uncomplicated?”

“I wanted to see if… flirting with someone else might get you out of my head.”

“And did it?” I breathe.

He sighs and shakes his head. “No.”

“You certainly looked like you were enjoying the attention,” I say, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.

He leans in closer, eyes half-lidded as they drop to my mouth. “Don’t pout with those pretty lips.”

I don’t give in to his teasing. Instead, I glance toward Lirien, who watches us from across the fire, silver-white hair glowing and a tense smile fixed on his face. Cato follows my gaze, then looks back at me.

“I don’t want him,” he repeats, quieter this time. “I don’t want anyone but you. That’s been fucking with my head.”

My heart stutters inside my chest, ready to beg him to stop before he makes this harder on us both, but before I can find words, Cato climbs on top of me. He settles on my lap, uncaring who sees in his unguarded state. A few people nearby glance over, but I barely register them as his eyes lock onto mine.

“We only have one rule, Cato,” I say, sure he can feel the way my pulse hammers against my sternum. “One rule. We can’t break it.”

He groans and rolls his eyes. “You and your gods-forsaken rules.”

“All or nothing,” I remind him quietly.

He presses into my lap, voice going rough as he stares down at me. “Maybe I’m ready for all,” he murmurs, resting a hand on my shoulders as his thumb swipes along the sides of my neck.

I grip his hips, trying to steady both him and myself. Red moonlight and orange fire dance over his skin and through his hair. He’s a living flame on top of me, and I’ve never wanted so badly to burn alive.

“You say that now,” I force myself to say. “The herbs are making everything feel more intense.”

He smirks. “Yeah, they are.”

I shake my head. “You can’t make a decision like this tonight. Not in this condition.”

“I know what I’m saying,” he insists, leaning in until his lips nearly brush mine. He rolls his hips forward, grinding against me, and the friction pulls a sharp breath from my throat.

I turn my face away at the last second, denying the kiss even as my body begs me to take whatever he’ll give. “Not like this, Cato. I won’t be your regret.”

The warning doesn’t stop him. He leans in even closer, lips grazing the shell of my ear as he grinds down again, slower and more deliberate this time.

“Do you feel that?” he whispers, breath hot against my skin. “Been hard for the last ten minutes. All I can think about is you. Just you. The way you feel so good under me. How much I want to kiss you. How I want to do a lot more than that right now.”

My hands tighten on his hips. The mark on my tail burns hot beneath my coat, pulsing with need and frustration that feel like they could end me if I let them. Cato stares at me, eyes burning like wildfires in the night as the admission hangs between us.

I take the cigarette from his fingers. He watches me, lips parted, as I bring it to my mouth and take a long, slow draw. I hold the sweet smoke deep in my lungs and let it course through my system. It’s warm and heady as it blooms through my limbs, and I feel my pupils dilate as I tilt my face to his.