Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
He inhaled sharply, then nodded stiffly and poked at a panel of lights. The elevator shuddered into motion. “Victors told you more than you admitted to my father,” he stated, matter of fact.
Everything inside me seemed to stop. I looked straight ahead and admitted nothing.
“It’s okay. Don’t share the details with me until you’re ready.” He interwove our fingers, then brought my knuckles to his mouth for a kiss, leaving me breathless. “But maybe do me a favor and get ready in a hurry.”
My defenses threatened to crack. So soon? “How did I understand his words when others couldn’t?”
A muscle jumped in Cyrus’s jaw. “You weren’t given an aidem shot. If you had, Victors would’ve been forced to speak in a way we could all understand.”
“My file says I received the shot.” I remembered Dr. Korey and the medic discussing it. “I don’t understand how the aidem prevents me from detecting the use of a foreign language.” Or why Cured would ever desire to suppress such an ability.
Cyrus’s gaze captured mine. With his free hand, he brushed a lock of hair from my cheek. Ambrosia scented my next inhalation, and I shivered inside. “Why don’t I tell you what I’d say to you if we were a couple.”
I licked my lips and clasped his wrist to push him away . . . or hold him close. He’d turned up the heat again, taking his pursuit of me a notch higher. I wasn’t immune.
I held him close.
Maybe I’d misconstrued his reasons for doing this. Maybe it had nothing to do with capturing Ember and everything to do with his feelings for me. Or even keeping me tied to Cured. But no matter the reason, encouraging him was anything but wise.
“Yes, please,” I rasped like the fool I was. “Tell me.”
He cupped my cheek, branding my skin with his searing heat. “I would tell you I wasn’t supposed to like you. Then you showed up wearing your pink running clothes, broadcasting all kinds of vulnerabilities. Afraid but determined. Unwaveringly loyal yet guarded. Serious while being exceptionally fun to tease. It wasn’t long before staying away became the problem.”
I wanted to look anywhere else. Needed to. But I couldn’t. He’d trapped me in a web of yearning. It was okay, though, because right now we were only pretending.
“If I trusted you completely,” I said with a wispy catch of breath, leaning deeper into his personal space. “I would press myself against you, like this. I might even play with your hair and tell you things I shouldn’t.”
“Show me. Give me examples,” he commanded, nuzzling the tip of his nose against mine and releasing my hand.
Stomach fluttering, I glided my nails up his arm and caressed his jawline. His brand. I traced my thumb over the raised tissue, fascinated by the intricate webbing. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I tried to pull away, but he clasped my wrists and returned my hands to his face, then snaked his arms around my waist and locked me in place.
“Continue.” Another command.
I melted into him. “I’d probably tell you I’m amazed by your strength,” I rasped. “That I admire you.” My hooded gaze dropped to his mouth. He might be harsh, but parts of him appeared so soft. “I’d definitely wonder if you would kiss me if I trusted you.”
His eyes smoldered. “I would move mountains to kiss you.” He gently pressed the pad of his thumb into the center of my lower lip and stroked, almost but not quite letting his finger slip inside my mouth.
My knees went weak. We stood like that, with his hand on my face and my hand on his, breathing each other in with ragged inhalations. Waiting. Hoping.
“But I won’t let myself,” he stated, and I nearly whimpered. “I’ll wait. When you’re ready, you’ll take your kiss because you want it for no other reason than you want me.”
The elevator stopped and dinged, shattering the moment. Common sense returned in a blaze, and I dropped my arms to my side and stepped away from him. I’d let myself be distracted. Traded the opportunity to learn more about the aidem injection for round two of bantering. A mistake. One I wouldn’t make again.
The doors opened. Armed guards marched the hall outside our little hideaway.
“I will be exceedingly displeased if you endanger yourself during guard duty today,” Cyrus stated.
Did he suspect my intentions? “I’ll be safe,” I intoned, going for businesslike but not sure I succeeded.
“Make sure you are, Pink.” His expression softened. “Find me when you’re done.”
“Yes, sir.” Gathering my resolve, I marched off as if I weren’t planning to do something very, very bad.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I will help you; do not fear what they can do to you.
—The Book of Soal 2.19.13.6
Focus! I stuffed my riotous thoughts about Cyrus and our momentary indiscretion into a box, along with worries about a second aidem shot, and labeled it “Unpack and Dissect Later.”