Page 456 of Axis of Fire

Something inside me answered that darkness.

Wanted to become a part of it.

"Airis... I want to touch you."

I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.

And in that instant, my heart dropped.

He had never looked at me like that before.

Never with such coldness.

Such hardness.

Then, without warning, he stepped away.

So easily...

As though putting distance between us cost him nothing.

As though only seconds ago he hadn't made me feel like the most desired woman in the world.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, hating how vulnerable I sounded.

He didn't answer.

He simply kept looking at me.

The longer the silence stretched, the more frightened I became.

There was fire in his eyes...

yet at the same time, an unbearable indifference.

"I got carried away," he said at last.

"What do you mean?" I asked immediately, no longer caring how desperate I sounded.

"When I told you I wanted everything."

I swallowed hard, frozen in place.

I tried to silence my heart.

To quiet my soul.

To stop my mind from falling apart.

But he just kept looking at me.

Without regret.

"I..." My throat tightened.

The knot inside my chest made it impossible to breathe.

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms, trying to distract myself long enough to put at least a fragment of my pride back together.