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“Treating me like fragile glass.”

“I’m trying not to overwhelm you.”

I stare at him for one long second.

Then I grab the front of his shirt and yank him toward me.

The movement surprises him badly enough that he stumbles into the edge of my chair before catching himself with one hand. His eyes flare gold.

“Isolde—”

“No.” I tighten my grip on his collar. “You do not get to rescue me from a magical prison and then sit six feet away looking guilty every time you breathe too hard in my direction. Especially not after…”

I don’t have to finish. I don’t have to say that what we shared was one of the most thrilling moments of my life. He knows. His gaze drops briefly to my mouth before snapping upward again. “I nearly lost control.”

“And yet you didn’t.” A laugh bubbles out of me, mischievous yet gentle. “Well, not in a bad way.”

“Isolde, this is serious. You felt what that containment spell did to me.”

“Yes.” I pull him closer until our foreheads nearly touch. “I also felt you reign yourself in.”

His breathing roughens immediately.

Corin closes his eyes briefly like the sensation physically hurts him. “You shouldn’t trust me this much.”

“I trust you exactly this much.”

“That’s worse.”

“Possibly.” I tilt my head slightly, studying the tension carved through his face and shoulders. “Corin, look at me.”

He obeys instantly.

The hunger flickers behind his gold eyes, fierce and hot and frighteningly focused, but it no longer feels directionless. It moves toward me with the dangerous attentiveness of a current finding its proper channel.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I say softly.

“You should be a little afraid.”

“I am a little afraid,” I admit. “I’m simply more interested than sensible.”

A rough laugh escapes him, low and disbelieving, and the sound slides through the bond like warm smoke.

“You are completely insane,” he murmurs.

“Frequently.”

Then I kiss him.

Power surges through the bond immediately, answering touch with hunger and need, but I keep one hand fisted in his collar and the other pressed flat against his chest.

“Take me, Corin,” I whisper against his mouth.

Corin obeys instantly.

His hands settle against my waist, tense at first, as though he is terrified too much pressure might break me. I nip lightly at his lower lip in response.

“Less restraint,” I murmur softly.