And collapsed.
Daimon was there again, catching her, cradling her to him as he looked her over and softly muttered, “We need to get you out of these wet things.”
Changeable, beautiful man.
She couldn’t keep up with him when he was like this, flitting between polar emotions. She wanted him to stay like this, soft with her, taking care of her.
Letting her be close to him.
She didn’t want him to remind her of the letter, or the fact her coven were waiting, expecting her to return.
To do the unthinkable.
She wanted to stay here, lost in Daimon, caught up in a life that felt like an impossible, but beautiful, dream.
“Warm me with a kiss,” she whispered.
He stilled, his eyes hardening again. “No. I couldn’t bear it.”
If he wouldn’t kiss her…
She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He responded in an instant, his cool tongue pushing past the barrier of her lips to brush the length of hers. She melted in his arms as they tightened around her, pinning her to him, leaned back and lured him down with her. Her back hit the mattress and she moaned as his weight settled on top of her and he deepened the kiss, branding his name on her soul.
Daimon eased back and looked down at her, something shining in his pale blue eyes.
What was he thinking?
He swept his right hand through her wet hair, smoothing the tangles, his look softening.
“You’re beautiful,” he husked, sorrow lacing his voice. “I wish you were mine.”
So did she.
She thought it, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
She raised both hands and cupped his cheeks, stared deep into his eyes and lost herself in them, drowning in the emotions they contained. There was pain there, locked deep inside.
What did he want to say but couldn’t?
Was it the same words she wanted to voice but refused to come?
“This is pointless,” he muttered instead and pressed his hands to the mattress, pushing himself up.
Cass tried to pull him back down to her so she could kiss him again.
He went rigid, his arms locking tight, and she glared at him when she realised she couldn’t move him.
“Daimon.” She stroked his cheeks. “I don’t want to think about all the tomorrows that await me. Please… just have this moment with me?”
Pain flickered in his eyes. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” Her throat closed up, but she refused to give in to the despair that trickled through her, refused to give up.
“I need more than this moment.” He lowered his head and pressed his forehead to hers, his breath washing across her lips.
Familiar fear ran through her, tried to steal her voice, but this time she didn’t let it, because her heart screamed that she wasn’t the only one who was afraid.
Daimon was too.
Cass palmed his cheeks, drew down a steadying breath and closed her eyes as she whispered.
“So do I, Daimon… So do I. I need you.”
Chapter 22
Daimon knew he should find the strength to walk away, that it was the best thing to do.
But it wasn’t what he wanted.
It wasn’t what he needed.
He needed this beautiful, irritating, sorceress who lay beneath him, her pale blue eyes glittering with desire that drummed in his veins too. Fear still had him in its hold, born of a combination of sensing Cass had followed him to Antarctica and discovering her collapsed in a heap, on the verge of death, and the thought of finally giving in to her.
To himself.
He wanted Cass, and he was tired of fighting it, was tired of letting thoughts of tomorrow hold him back when he should have been fighting for her instead. He would make her see that he was the one she really needed. He would give her the piece of himself he had been holding back.
He would make her fall in love with him just as he was falling deeply in love with her.
He pulled down a steadying breath, lowered his head and captured her lips. They were warm against his, incredibly soft, and tasted sweet. He couldn’t recall the last time he had kissed someone, wasn’t prepared for the way it hit him, rousing fierce hungers inside him and a deep, dark possessiveness.
Cass was his.
He angled his head and breached her lips, kissed her deeper and shivered as she moaned and arched up off the mattress to press against him. A groan slipped from his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into contact with her.
The damp from her clothes soaked into his, had him pulling back even when he didn’t want to and breaking the kiss.
“Need to get you out of these wet things,” he muttered, his breathing rough as he thought about stripping her.
Couldn’t remember the last time he had undressed a woman either.
Nerves rose, trying to get the better of him, but he pushed them back down. This wasn’t his first time, even if it felt like it.
He reached for the zipper on her corset and paused, glanced into her eyes. “This spell you use to stop me from hurting you, how long will it last?”
Cass’s nose wrinkled and she shrugged.
“Maybe thirty minutes more. It’s hard to tell.” She stroked her palms over his shoulders and down his chest, a wicked edge to her smile. “But if you last longer than that, I can renew it after I give you a gold medal.”
He groaned, his face crumpling at the thought of what was to come as heat washed through him, fire lighting up his veins and stirring his cock. It stiffened painfully in his damp jeans.
“If you feel even the slightest chill…” He stared deep into her eyes, making sure she understood, that she would do what he was asking.
“I’ll let you know before it happens.” She skimmed her fingers over his nipples, sending another shiver through him.
And then warmth.
He looked down, frowned as the cuts he could see through the slashes in his top began to heal before his eyes, and lifted his
