He inhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling. “This is ridiculous. And it would prove nothing.”
“Then what have you got to lose?”
He straightened. “How do I know this isn’t some ploy to place yet another curse on me?”
“I guess you’ll have to trust me.”
His eyes narrowed and he took a step toward me, although I didn’t like the dark look he gave me. Reaching out, he grabbed my face between his hands, but it wasn’t the soft, caressing touch I was used to. As he studied me, I could feel his eyes boring into mine, trying to work out my secrets.
“There is something different about you—something I’ve never seen in anyone else. When will you tell me what you’re hiding?”
“I’m not hiding anything.”
“That’s not true,” he said, still cupping my face as my heart thudded with apprehension. “There’s something I don’t understand.”
Cautiously, I placed my hands atop his. I knew with the curse Kull could act erratically—he could possibly hurt me if he thought I was a threat, but if there was any chance I could help restore his memories, I had to take it.
“Tell me what you don’t understand,” I said quietly.
“I don’t understand why you’ve captured me—”
“I haven’t.”
“And I don’t understand why I feel this way.”
He pulled me closer to him, so close I could feel the warmth of his breath on my cheeks. “Who are you?” he whispered.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t even if I tried, my heart was pounding so fast. Fear and anticipation raced through my blood.
He leaned closer, his face stopping inches from mine.
Kiss me. You’ll know I’m telling the truth, I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut. He had to do this on his own. I couldn’t force him.
His lips brushed mine, hesitantly, barely grazing me, but he didn’t move away. Slowly, he deepened the kiss. When his tongue met mine, a wildfire ignited inside me, heat and passion flaring so strongly I wasn’t sure I could control it. His hands moved from my face and pulled me to him. He’d never kissed me this way before, with a feverish intensity that stole my breath.
My chest tightened. I felt as if my heart would burst.
He pulled away, his eyes burning with passion and unsated lust, a look that spoke of danger and excitement.
“Don’t stop,” I whispered, knowing better. A man with that look in his eyes was like wildfire. He couldn’t be controlled, and I knew better than to goad him, but I couldn’t stop myself. He was here and he was mine. For once, I would finally have him.
Kull kissed me again, then he picked me up, holding me against him. I wrapped my legs around his waist. Lightning shot through my body, all the way down to my toes. I couldn’t get enough of him. The feeling was so insistent that pushing him away was impossible.
At any moment, I expected Theht’s presence to react and tear me away from him, but it never happened.
He carried me down the hall and into his bedroom where he placed me on his bed. Trailing kisses down my neck, and then my collarbone, Kull pinned me to the mattress. I ran my hands over his back, feeling the familiar curve of his deltoids under my fingertips, yet it all felt wrong.
I should have never started this. What was I thinking? Our first time couldn’t be like this, when he wasn’t himself, when he’d lose all his memories as soon as we crossed into Faythander.
“Kull,” I said, pushing away from him. “Stop.”
“Stop?” he asked. “Why must I stop?”
“Because you can’t do this.”
He pulled away. “Why?”
I sat up, rearranging my shirt. “Because it’s not right.”
He laughed. “No, it is right. It’s very right.” He pinned me to the bed once again, kissing me so passionately I felt my toes curl. My body ached for him, a feeling almost painful. I’d wanted him so badly for so long, why couldn’t I have him now? Didn’t I deserve it, after so much heartbreak? And darn it all, wasn’t it about damn time?
But it wasn’t fair to him, and I knew it. I was being selfish if I let our first time be one that he wouldn’t remember, at my ex-boyfriend’s house of all places, and when he was under the influence of a curse that was tampering with his mind.
Still, I could enjoy him for a little longer, couldn’t I?
He removed his shirt, and I drank him. I forgot how breathtaking he could be. The little bit of moonlight coming in through the window highlighted his carved chest and toned abs. Excitement rushed through me as I ran my hands over his pecs, feeling the warmth of skin, raising goose bumps on his skin.
Kull brushed the hair away from my cheek and let his finger trail along my ear, the way he used to do, slowly caressing me, then he let his fingers trail down my face, my neck, and to the tops of my breasts. His fingers unfastened the buttons on my shirt, but I grabbed his hand, stopping him.
I pushed him away and stood, although it took every ounce of willpower within me to make it happen. I’d battled dragons, goblins, and demons from other dimensions. I’d endured being abducted, tortured, and starved, but that right there was just about the hardest thing I’d ever done.
He stood and took my hands, the heat of his bare chest radiating to encompass me, making my heart pound wildly.
Leaning toward my ear, he spoke quietly. “You don’t want me?”
Swallowing, I couldn’t answer. I wanted him so badly it was almost incomprehensible. Looking into his eyes, I hoped he understood.
“You told me you were waiting.” I wasn’t sure if it was actually true, but right now, it made a good excuse.
“Waiting for what?”
“Marriage.”
He knit his eyebrows. “I never would’ve said such a thing.”
“This time you did.”
“For what reason?”
“Because I almost died once, and you said that if you ever
