The cold nips at me, reminding me that I’m still outside in the middle of coven property when I definitely want to be doing more of this kissing in my warm room and on my cozy bed.
“Wait, wait, wait,” I breathe, placing a hand on Kane’s chest and pushing him away. “I need to open the door.”
Kane is breathing heavily, his eyes on my lips. His tongue runs along his lower lip, and I bite back a groan at the sight.
I fumble behind me, my hand groping for the door handle. It takes two tries, a small spell, and me nearly falling again before I’m able to get it open.
Kane scoops me up then before leading us both inside. He carries me up the flight of stairs to the third story, all while kissing me. It’s only as he heads down the hall toward my room that I break off the kiss.
“How do you know which room is mine?” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
He laughs at my suspiciousness. “Don’t hex me, Selene,” he says. “I just followed your scent.”
“Oh.” Duh, Selene. Get a freaking grip.
Kane sets me down in front of my door, and this time I manage not to fumble as I unlock it. I’m about to open it when I feel the brush of magic against the back of my neck and my cheek. It moves over me like a caress, trailing over my mouth. The sensation is so real and so oddly sensual that I have to touch my fingers to my lips, goose bumps breaking out across my flesh.
There’s only one person whose power affects me this way.
I am yours forever…
“Selene?”
I blink, remembering myself. I glance up and down the hall, looking for any sign of Memnon. But I don’t see him, and the magic I felt a moment ago is gone like it never existed at all.
I shake my head as I open the door. “Sorry,” I say, “I lost my thoughts there for a moment.”
Kane bends down and brushes his lips against my cheek, and it takes everything in me not to wipe his kiss away.
What is wrong with me?
I hold the door open, stepping away from Kane to put a little distance between us. I draw in a deep breath, trying to sort out my mind.
Kane takes in my place, his nostrils flaring as he breathes in my scent. His eyes touch on the sticky notes that cover my walls and furniture.
My heart races, and I feel vulnerable all over again. People always think they’re going to like the weird, quirky girl, but legitimate weirdness isn’t always cute and quirky. It’s often just…off-putting.
“Nice room,” Kane says, and I think he’s being sincere. I know I want to believe it.
I step inside as well, closing the door behind me.
“Um, there’s something you should know about me,” I say.
“What?” he says, turning to meet my eyes.
I force the words out. “There’s a chance I’ll forget tonight.”
He raises his eyebrows. “What?” he says again, this time a little more alarmed.
I look him over, unsure just how much he knows about me.
“My magic…it feeds on my memories,” I admit. “Every time I use my power, I lose some. I don’t get to choose which ones. So…I really might forget tonight.”
Kane’s brows draw together, and I have no idea what he’s thinking.
“I just…wanted to let you know in case that changes things,” I add.
Realization sparks in his eyes. “That’s why you stood me up back at Peel, isn’t it?” he says, putting the pieces together. As if the world makes so much more sense now that he knows he was never truly rejected.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I nod.
Kane frowns a little. “Do you want me to go?” he asks me softly.
“No—no! I just wanted you to know in case this memory gets taken from me.”
Please, magic, don’t take my memory of banging my smoking-hot werewolf crush.
Kane’s face relaxes, and he steps into my space. “I think I can handle a little amnesia,” he says.
Either this dude really wants my pussy, or he’s being exceptionally understanding. I mean, if a guy told me he’d have sex with me but might not remember it afterward…I just don’t know how big I’d be about it.
Kane’s hand cups my jaw, and suddenly, his lips are on mine. Just like that, my worry dissipates. I fall into the kiss, sliding my hands to his torso.
Another whisper of magic skims over my skin, like the stroke of a lover. It, more than the kiss, has my core throbbing. I arch into the phantom touch, wanting more.
Kane’s fingers move to my hair, and my own grip tightens on him. The more intense the kiss becomes, the more I get a niggling sense that something is…off. I just don’t know what. It’s something sensory—like the feel and smell of him isn’t right. I don’t know what to make of it, so I ignore it.
I slip my hands under his shirt, and ever-loving Goddess, I can feel each one of his abs.
Shifters.
He lifts me, wrapping my legs around his waist, and the whole thing is hitting all my buttons.
Kane moves us over to my bed before laying me out and draping himself over me. He buries his face into my neck, then pauses. There’s a rumble low in his throat.
“Why does your bed smell like raw meat?” he asks, running his lips and nose up and down my throat.
“My bed smells like raw meat?” My voice has risen with my alarm.
“Mm-hmm,” he says as he kisses me.
Freaking Nero.
“Um, my familiar apparently has poor etiquette.”
Next time I see that panther, he is going to hear about this.
Kane smiles against me, then nips the skin of my neck. I gasp, grinding my pelvis against him.
He releases my flesh—though I swear he’s reluctant to do so.
“It’s bringing out my predator,” he admits.
“Is that bad?” I ask, torn myself. While I find the idea of his animal side hot, his teeth on my neck have forced me to think about claiming bites, which is a hard no for me.
Kane shakes his head. “It’s fine. I’m in control.”
I think Kane finds the whole thing oddly erotic.
He grinds against me, and fuck, I think seeing Kane completely let go would be worth the risk of a claiming bite.
Okay, fine, it wouldn’t, but I’m all for the wild sex that would go along with it.
I stare up at him. “You’re not going to be weird about this the next time we see each other?”
Kane pauses, his breath coming in quick pants. “No. Are you?”
“Without a doubt.”
He smiles at that. “It’s all right, Selene. I like your brand of weird.” He punctuates the statement by nuzzling my face, then rubbing his cheek against mine, an action that seems distinctly wolfish.
“Besides,” he adds, “you seem to think things will go back to the way they were before tonight.”
I frown, turning to him. “They won’t?”
Instead of answering me, Kane bends down to kiss me again. It feels like the sort of kiss that’s meant to show rather than tell his intentions. And the slow glide of his lips and the sensual rocking of his hips make me think that maybe I’m supposed to believe he really does want more from me than just one night.
Part of me thrills at the thought, but then another part of me is vehemently against that. I don’t know why.
Kane reaches for the shoulder of my dress. He moves the material away and brushes his lips along the exposed skin. My breath hitches.
I need more.