Kane kneels beside me. His cold palm lifts my face. “Did they get you? I saw you reach for your blade. How close did they get?”
“I...I was protecting you,” I gasp.
His eyes widen and he stares at me for several heartbeats. My hand moves up to grip his wrist. “The reaper reached out and I was afraid. I wasn’t brave, but I know I had to do something.” I hear Willem’s footsteps retreat and I brush a stray strand of hair from Kane’s brow, meeting his unwavering gaze. “I don’t know what happens when Death dies, but I don’t want to find out anytime soon.”
The honesty behind those words hurt more than anything. Am I too weak to carry out my father’s orders? No. I just haven’t had the right opportunity. My hand falls from his face and I stand up. Kane places his hand possessively around my waist and I bite back a moan. It feels too good to have his hands on my body after everything we’ve faced so far. But the secrets between us still keep him from acting on his urges no matter how desperately I wish he will.
“We need to talk,” he tosses over his shoulder as he walks away. “But after we set camp.”
I nod dumbly, feeling numb inside despite the profound sense of belonging that comes over me whenever Kane is near. It’s all an illusion, of course, part of his little game. We’ll talk like we always do. He’ll give me the answers he feels I’m worthy of, the answers he thinks I’m able to handle and nothing more. Willem strips off his clothes and I turn my head. When I look back, he walks through the water until it’s up to his waist.
There’s so much pain in his eyes. It matches the old battle scars that pepper the muscles on his back. The pain he has endured does not justify his betrayal. Kane gave him a place by his side and his friendship without asking much in return. Between the three of us, there’s a chance Kane is the least guilty. With all his insults and rudeness, Kane is a man of honor and he’s well respected among his peers even if it’s out of fear. There’s a reason his strength and darkness captivate women like Lilith...women like me.
I pull myself away and from the water’s edge and help Kane search for a way to make a fire. There’s very little along the edges of Zculth aside from the same ash and stone laden throughout, but we manage to find a few pieces of petrified wood. I kneel beside him, watching as his hands strike two rocks together to create sparks. It feels like a wildly appropriate metaphor for our relationship. Two cold, unchanging things that come together to feel the brief, hot spark of life. Kane looks up at me as though he can read my thoughts.
Sometimes I suspect he can.
His mouth slants in a lopsided grin and I squeeze my thighs together. The lecherous look in his gaze is not unwelcome. Kane licks his lips and whispers, “Let’s meet in our dreams.”
His words are filled with dark promises. While he stares into my eyes, Kane flicks his wrist and the sparks we make ignite a brilliant fire. The heat prickles against my skin and I watch his tongue dart out to wet his lips, lips I yearn to feel on mine.
“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” he asks in a deep growl. “You’re imagining how it will feel to have my lips in other places, how it will feel when my hands finally stroke your flesh to a climax that will brand my touch on your senses for eternity.”
I swallow and his eyes drop to the muscles of my throat. That teasing tongue runs over his fangs and I feel the blood rushing through my veins. His dark eyes flash with so much hunger that it steals my breath away.
He leans closer, glancing up at Willem in the water for a moment and then back at me. It’s as if we are doing something forbidden, but it makes his words all the more enticing. “Tell me, Briar, do you think of my kiss when you’re alone in your bed? Do you envision me stealing into your room to claim you?”
My mouth falls open just a bit but no words come out. He is just inches from me, and my chest is clamped by the seduction he whispers. I see the edges of his lips curl up for a moment before he leans in and kisses my cheek very gently. “Soon.”
With that he stands and walks over to a stone, sitting down in front of it and leaning back. My mouth quickly shuts and my eyes narrow. He looks back over his shoulder and chuckles, waving his arm at me. Pursing my lips, I shake my head, muttering to myself. “One way or another, he will get what he has coming to him.”
Chapter 8
Kane
Briar and I sit side by side as we watch Willem stand in the water, the heat between us only simmering a touch. It has become expected between us, and though tantalizing in thought, unwelcome in the current state of things.
The reaper souls continue to appear from time to time as if they’re protecting their resting place from our reckless travels. My shoulder brushes against Briar and she removes her cowl. I toy with a lock of her hair. The adorable little pout on her face is more charming than I wish to admit.
She glances over at the lock of hair. “I’ve always been teased about my hair. It’s too wild, too dark, too everything.”
“I like it.” I lift the gentle wave to my nose and smell the vanilla, lilac, honey, and the faint scent of clean sweat.
The journey has been rough, but Briar remains as beautiful as ever. I let her hair
