Kim Knox - Emergence

How to make me feel wanted and special. I returned my attention to the pencil in my hand, the anger tight and hot in my gut. As if I wasn’t dealing with enough confusion in my life, Kaden turned my emotions inside out. Bastard. “So I wasn’t a reward from your…our master. Bring in the chattel, but you can have a taste of the goods first?”

He gritted his teeth, the muscles bunching in his jaw. “We shouldn’t have done what we did.”

“What? For that many hours?”

“Damn it, Jaime.”

I recapped the pencil and dug out my lipstick. The tube pressed hard against my palm. I needed to put him-and all that we had done-from my mind, not dwell on it. “We did what we did. Was it enjoyable? Yes. Am I going to let it fuck with my life? No.”

Kaden blinked. “That’s the proper attitude to have.” Something about my words had closed down his anger. Were they what he wanted to hear? “The…” He bit off whatever he was going to say and took a step back. He smoothed his hand over the front of his tie, and colour darkened his cheeks. His unreadable gaze met mine in the mirror. “One of the fleet will pick us up from the roof of this hotel.”

“Understood.” And then I focused on my lipstick as it ran over my lips, pursing to even out the soft red colour. Fixing on the simple, monotonous action shielded me from hurt rising hot and thick up from my gut. Something about Kaden felt…off. His anger and his desire. Damn, what did the man want from me?

I recapped my lipstick. The makeup hid the tiredness in my skin, but I met my dark gaze and there it still lurked. That and disappointment. I moved away from the mirror. I had to repack my clothes, make certain I had everything allowed, everything they’d let me take into my new life. A brief smile curved my mouth. Of course Kaden wasn’t on that list.

I glanced at him, the shadows falling over him as he stood in the wide doorway. The heat of my gryphon pushed through my flesh, her almost-whisper urging me to close the distance between us, to find the bliss we’d shared through the night. “And this is it?”

His jaw tightened, and he lifted his chin. “You don’t understand the intricacies of our master’s court.”

I obeyed my gryphon, I couldn’t help myself. I’d meant to say nothing, wrap up the hurt and shove it down as I’d pushed down the pain of leaving my home and my father. But my gryphon wouldn’t let me. Sometimes sharing a consciousness with a mythical beast stank. “Then tell me why you’ve been acting like a complete shit since I woke up.”

“Jaime…”

The soft growl of my name eased under my skin and, damn him, my flesh ached. “You’re supposed to instruct me. You lay in wait, take my gryphon’s virginity.” I snorted. That sounded crazy even to my own ears. But he had. And he’d wanted it, gloried in it. “Held me.” I pressed my lips together, suppressing the sudden surge of emotion that threatened to break my voice. None of it made sense. He was my farewell fuck. I should’ve brought the karkadanns to my suite. It would have been less painful to fight for my life than this. I drew in a deep breath. “And now-” I willed strength into my voice, “-now you’re an insane mix of hot looks and acting as if I’m something you’d scrape off your shoe.”

“You can’t understand-”

I glared at him, regret twisting into pain. “Yes, I can! I am not stupid.”

Kaden’s mouth thinned, and a new spark of anger burned in his eyes, but a bitterness lurked under it. “I said you can’t speak out of turn.”

The fire of need and the wild heat of my mythoi burned under my skin. I yanked at his belt, pulling him hard against me. “Then make me.”

Kaden grabbed my hand, his fingers tight, the simple touch of his skin against mine electric. He tilted his head, and his shadow surged over me, the arch of immense wings dimming the soft bathroom lights. I sucked in a quick breath, my heart beating hard. “This is dangerous for both of us.” His low whisper speared me, and I wanted nothing more than to find his mouth and shove him up against the wall. Fast. My lips were only inches from his, his breath hot against my skin. If I just leaned that little bit closer… “I cannot allow it.”

I stared up at him, his face darkened by the lack of light. Too much like the previous night, holding too much of the mix of his powerful mythoi and desire that made him irresistible. His scent, spiced, warm, slid into my lungs, and the familiar fire of need flickered through my flesh. I knew it was dangerous. My gryphon knew it was insanity. Neither of us cared. We wanted Kaden Rhodes. “What can’t you allow?”

His fingers caught in my hair. “This.” And his mouth covered mine.

I didn’t resist. My mouth opened under his, and I met the clash of his teeth, his tongue. He tasted hot, familiar, a hint of coffee blending with the strawberries, and I deepened the kiss, grabbing at the front of his jacket. Kaden groaned and pushed me back against the smooth sliver of the door frame.

I hit it with a low moan. His hands snaked down my body to grip my backside and press me hard against the length of his erection. “I thought I was a mistake.”

“You were. You are.”

“Then why…?”

“Because in a few hours we’ll have nothing. And it’s killing me.”

He took my mouth again, melting deep, hot kisses that made my heart thud and liquid heat surge through my flesh. I hooked my leg around his, and the change in angle, the press of him against my pubic bone, danced bright sparks behind my eyes. I didn’t want to think about his words, about the unexpected pain lurking in his voice. But he confused me. “Why now?”

His fingers raked down my thigh, found the hem of my skirt and pushed it up. The rough pressure of his fingertips against my bare skin forced a low groan, and under his touch-I arched into him-the calloused pads of his mythoi incited delicious shivers. “I thought I could be the envoy. Practical. Level headed. But I couldn’t.” His lips found my throat, his breath ragged and hot. “Damn it, this is too dangerous for you.”

“That’s my decision.”

Kaden lifted me, sliding his fingers over to grip my backside, my skirt bunched at my hips. “I should remember who I am.”

The sharp edges of talons raked up over my belly, taking my silk top with them, and I shrugged free of the fabric before his mythoi became…over enthusiastic…and tore it. The top dropped to the carpet in a puddle of dark silk. “Don’t.” I looped my arms around his neck, holding his molten gold gaze. “Let’s enjoy the lust while we can.”

“Lust.”

His mythoi’s rasping tongue followed the length of my spine, and I couldn’t help the groan that escaped me. His shadow was impossible. Even after I knew what he could do, the incredible, tactile sensation still shocked me. “Kaden… What is he?”

“What he is doesn’t matter.”

I traced a finger under his lip, feeling the warmth and smoothness of his recently shaved skin. Light gilded him, and his beauty made my heart pound. That he wanted me seemed incredible. Power streamed off him and the strength of it was almost intoxicating. “I want both of you.”

A wicked smile cut his mouth, and he nipped at my teasing finger. “You have us.”

But his next kiss stung, a sharp burn across my lips, and he jerked back. The beginning of a perception film shimmered between us, and heavy disappointment dropped sourness in my gut. Kaden eased his hands free of my skin, and I slid down until my bare feet sank into the carpet.

He stepped back. The film strengthened, forming a curved band of opaque light at his eye level. Kaden straightened his tie and smoothed down his hair. I waved at his mouth, and he rubbed quick fingers over his lips, removing the stain of lipstick. His shadow shrank back until his mythoi formed a dark glaze around his body. His chin lifted. “ Rhodes.”