Reluctantly, but knowing from his look that it wasn’t worth fighting, I added my power to his. It wanted to go back to him, sensing he was still hurt, but I directed it towards my hand instead, each of the broken bones knitting together until they were completely healed.
Immediately, I broke the connection between us, not wanting to waste any extra energy.
‘You should rest for a while,’ Lincoln said, his eyes watching me with that same deep concentration. My heart picked up its pace.
To cover it, I narrowed my gaze. ‘Would you stop ordering me around?’
‘I can wait until you’ve rested. I’m feeling better. It’s just my shoulder left. I don’t want you doing too much.’
I ignored him and instead began to prepare his arm, but the angle was off. His shoulder had popped out of its socket in such a way that putting it back would require great pressure on him. It wasn’t a huge ask with my strength but the angle had to be right.
‘You’re just avoiding me yanking your arm back into place.’
I knew it wasn’t true, but he gave up on disagreeing with me.
‘Just do it,’ he said.
I batted my eyelids, trying to keep him talking and distracted. ‘Oh Linc, you’re so brave.’
He tried to roll his eyes but his attention was really focused on the impending joint adjustment. Grigori or not – it was going to hurt.
I took the pillows out from under his head so he was lying flat. He pretended it didn’t bother him, but the muscles in his neck betrayed him, bulging. I moved up, straddling him to get in the best position, ready to push his shoulder back into place. Suddenly, Lincoln’s attention shifted back to me. I gnawed on my lower lip, and an idea.
‘Ready?’ I asked.
Oh crap, what am I thinking?
He gritted his teeth. ‘Do it.’
Screw it.
‘Close your eyes,’ I ordered.
Surprisingly, he did. Without giving it another moment’s thought, I leaned down and pressed my lips to his.
Lincoln’s body flinched at the contact, but it only took a couple of seconds for the shock to end and then he was kissing me back. All the emotion that had been building as I’d been healing him released. He made a sound low in his throat and I took that as my cue.
I thrust my hand down hard and fast. His shoulder popped right back into place. His body jerked with the pain and I released my power back into him, my strength healing him quickly.
Lincoln’s lips stayed on mine even as he tensed in pain. In a matter of seconds his kiss had changed from one filled with surprise, to pain, to relief and then … to something else altogether more urgent.
Yes, my plan had a significant flaw, because just as desperately as he kissed me, I was kissing him back. Both of his arms, now fully operational, pulled me down to him and in a particularly stealthy move he somehow flipped us so that I was lying under him.
My hands found their way up his bare back. Lincoln made another sound and something within pushed me forward, demanding that I have all of him. When his hands started to push my top up, I felt myself repositioning and whipping it over my head.
Think, Vi. Think.
Can’t.
Lincoln’s lips were at my throat, his hands travelling up my sides. Everything about him was surrounding me. His warmth reminded me of summer days and seeped into me, igniting my desire. This was exactly where I wanted to be, exactly what I wanted to be doing. Mind, body, soul. I ran my fingers through his hair and he did the same to me.
But his body began to tremble.
No.
I knew what he was doing.
I could feel his power, the distinctive honey flavour beginning to flare while the sun sensation faded. He was putting up the walls between us again.
But my walls weren’t up. Mine were all the way down and my soul was hungry, agonisingly so.
‘No,’ I heard myself say. ‘No!’ I was growling. I didn’t care.
I pulled his face up to mine and I kissed him. He kissed me back and his power dwindled, but he continued to tremble, continued to try to put walls between us that did not belong there.
His lips moved down along my jaw, but they were slowing now. His hands stroked my hair, gently instead of frantically.
‘Don’t stop,’ I almost yelled, overwhelmed by a sense of panic at losing him. ‘I need you. I … No! You can’t stop!’
I arched my body towards him, trying to break down the walls, but he didn’t respond, he just kept kissing me up to my ear and started to talk soothingly.
‘You’ve used up all your strength. Your defences are down. Listen to me, Vi. Come back to me. Remember all the reasons.’
I ran my hands up and down his back, feeling every groove that was meant for me.
We are supposed to be together, damn it!
Our souls were matched and not only that, they’d tasted one another and would settle for nothing else.