Page 62 of Knight’s Absolution

“You think so?” he asked in that impossibly deep, husky version of his voice that she couldn’t seem to get enough of.

“I can’t stop thinking about the way Lazarus kissed Eve goodbye. It made me feel restless, and I…I can’t go to sleep until I know what a kiss feels like.”

His massive arms crossed over his chest. “When you think about it, who do you imagine kissing you? Lazarus? Or me?”

“You,” she said without hesitation, then quickly added, “Because we’re friends. Friends kiss, right?”

“Not the way Laz and Eve kiss.”

“What would a friend kiss be like?” she asked as her hands trembled.

Gunner moved closer. “You want me to show you a friend kiss?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She wasn’t an idiot. Of course she knew couples kissed one way and friends kissed another way. She wasn’t blind. What she didn’t understand was this feeling inside her. What was it? And how did she make it stop?

His gaze slid from hers, moving to her cheek, and then he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss there, lingering for just a couple of seconds before lifting his head again.

“How was that?”

She blinked up at him. “Nice, I guess…quick.”

His lips curled a little on one side. “You didn’t like it?”

“No, I liked it, but it wasn’t anything like Laz and Eve’s kiss.” She’d just said that out loud, hadn’t she? Her face grew hot. She’d lost all damn control over her mouth and what came out of it apparently.

He licked his lips and tilted his head to the side. “Do you think you’d like to try a kiss like that?”

She would, that’s exactly what she wanted. Her mouth was suddenly bone dry. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Is that what you want, Luna?” he asked again, his tone almost demanding.

She chewed her lip, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. “You’d do that?”

“Yes.”

She wanted that, badly. She wanted Gunner’s lips on hers, to feel the way Eve had while it was happening, all breathless and happy. That’s how she’d looked anyway.

You’re so ugly, little dhampir.

Ice slid down her spine and she took a step back.

How could she put Gunner through that? She should never have come to his room. He’d done so much for her already. She swallowed down the pain. “God, I’m sorry for putting you in this situation, Gunner. I’m taking advantage of your kindness. I’m not sure what came over me.”

“Luna—”

She took another step back, which felt wrong, so wrong. “I know I’m…ugly and my eyes are unnatural and creepy to look at and you’ve had to endure me feeding off you every night. You must think I’m so fucking selfish asking for more. It’s just that I’ve never been kissed before, and it looked really nice, and I’ve been feeling so strange, and I’m…drawn to you in a way that confuses me and I couldn’t sleep, so I came here and—”

“Shhh,” he said as he closed the space between them, his jaw working and his eyes almost black again. “Don’t…do not say another fucking word, Luna.”

She blinked up at him, stunned. His arm curled around her waist and he tugged her in close, pressing his big body against hers. He was trembling. Her knight was trembling so hard she felt it.

“Gunner—”

“Shhh,” he said again and shook his head.

He closed his eyes and took several long, slow, deep breaths, and when he opened his eyes again, they weren’t as dark, she could see the golden flecks among the amber.

“Azel told you, you were ugly? That your eyes were unnatural?”