She teased along the edge of his lower teeth. She went slowly, tantalizing him with soft, delicate touches. She could feel his body shaking, and it matched the tremor inside her. She pulled back and nibbled his lower lip, then started back at the beginning, sliding her tongue sensuously along his lips. It was too much for him. He yanked her close. His hands roamed possessively up to her head and back down over her ass.
His kiss was demanding, desperate, apologetic. Max moaned into his mouth and slid her hands under his shirt. His skin was satin fire. He made a sound in his throat as her fingers glided up his back, over his shoulders and chest, and back along his ribs. His grip on her tightened convulsively. His tongue thrust inside her mouth. His greed for her was endless. Max delighted in the knowledge, pressing harder against him, as if she could climb inside his skin. Need for him seared her. She throbbed with want.
Abruptly, he pulled back. He was panting. He pressed his head against hers, his fingers fisting in the fabric of her shirt.
“Tell me,” he grated. “Tell me you believe me. Believe in me.” That he wouldn’t let her down. That he wouldn’t break her heart again.
It wasn’t enough. There had to be more. He had to trust her, too.
Max stepped back, and the fear and uncertainty in his eyes flared. She took his hand. “Come on.”
She led the way back toward the dining commons. Alexander didn’t speak. His Prime was climbing toward the killing edge, and he was holding on to it with all his strength.
She came around a corner to find Thor and Tyler coming down the corridor.
“Perfect,” she murmured. She shot a look at them. “Stay there.”
“If we do, do we both get biscuits?” Tyler asked.
“Shut up,” she said, and turned to face Alexander. “Say it again.”
He frowned, his gaze boring into hers. “I love you.”
The words made him flush, and her heart rattled in her chest. She opened her lips to speak, but nothing came out.
“You do not have to say anything,” he said, cupping her cheek with his hand.
“So I have your permission to be a coward?”
“You can be you,” he said simply, and she knew he wasn’t just talking about whether or not she could tell him she loved him. He was talking about all the rest, all the trouble and near-death experiences to come. This was his promise: he was not going to shut her out again.
It wasn’t enough. Not for her. It shouldn’t have been enough for him. It was a sign of how much he needed her, how much she could hurt him if she wanted to. That’s what had driven him away before. She knew that now. He was giving himself entirely into her power without demanding the same. Except that he had it. She just had to tell him.
It turned out the words were there after all.
She stood on tiptoe, nose-to-nose with him. She stared deep into his eyes. “I love you,” she said, loudly enough for Tyler and Thor to hear. She heard Alexander’s indrawn breath. His eyes widened. Then his arms clamped around her, lifting her off the ground and holding her tightly against him as he kissed her.
Max’s legs wrapped around his waist as she lost herself in his touch and taste.
“Ahem. Not to be rude, but weren’t we going to get some food? I don’t think the kind of eating you’re doing is going to be particularly filling,” Tyler said.
“On the contrary. It will be filling. For Max, anyhow,” Thor said.
Max snorted and pulled away. “You two are ruining the moment.”
“Oh, good. That means you’re done. Can we go eat now?” Tyler asked plaintively.
Max’s stomach growled, and she winced. Alexander grinned and set her down, pressing a hard kiss to her lips.
“You need food. I want you to be strong for later,” he said, his eyebrows lifting suggestively.
“Back atcha, Slick. I don’t want you running out of stamina.”
Tyler came up beside her and slung his arm around her neck. “If you two don’t shut up, I’m going to puke.”
“My, but you’ve got a weak stomach,” Max said.
“Naw, he’s just never been laid,” Thor said. “He’s scared of women and sex.”
“Ha! I’m legendary in bed,” Tyler retorted.
“Uh-huh. Just like Big Foot. A story that someone made up and no one believes.”
“You wound me.”
“Only because the truth hurts,” Max said.
“You, too?” Tyler said, his eyes dancing. “I thought you were my friend.”
“I am your friend. And as your friend, I need to help you see reality.”
“The reality is that women everywhere want me.” He leered.
Thor shook his head. “I think you’ve got it wrong, son. It isn’t women who want you but sheep. Sheep everywhere want you.”
“Oh, now you’ve gone too far. Now you’re going to pay. I demand a challenge. Sparring room, right after we eat. I’ll smear the floor with you.” He looked at Max and Alexander. “You can judge.”
“I don’t know,” Max said. “We were thinking of doing something a bit more private.”
Tyler waved his hand dismissively. “It can wait. You’ve got all the time in the world.”
All the time in the world.
Max grinned.
“Okay.”
© Tony Francis
DIANA PHARAOH FRANCIS is the author of eleven fantasy novels—including the Horngate Witches series for Pocket Books—as well as many short stories. A teacher in the English Department at the University of Montana Western, she is a lover of chocolate, Victoriana, and sparkly things.
Visit her on the web at www.dianapfrancis.com and follow her on Twitter @dianapfrancis.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Diana Pharaoh Francis
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ISBN: 978-1-4516-1386-5
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1388-9 (ebook)
Francis, Diana Pharaoh, Blood Winter (Horngate Witches)
Blood Winter (Horngate Witches) Page 32
