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He was smiling smugly at me when I appeared again.

“You need to imagine me coming with you.”

I nodded and closed my eyes, picturing Cassius and me standing in the dark forest together, holding hands. This time, when I opened my eyes, he was with me and smiling proudly.

“You always were a quick learner.”

“Thanks.” I smirked.

Cassius’ gaze drifted over me slowly, setting my skin on fire with desire. His golden eyes flickered with black as he took a step toward me, like he was catching his prey. I backed away from him, and his eyes narrowed at the movement.

“Are you playing hard to get?” His husky voice made my heart pound harder.

“Maybe,” I whispered, but in all honesty, I wasn’t sure why I stepped backward.

“Alright… Let’s play this game. I want you to go somewhere using shadows; if I guess where you’ve gone, I get to have my way with you. I get two guesses.”

“And if you don’t guess?”

“You can choose a prize.” He smiled wickedly because he knew I would still choose for him to have his way with me, but I liked the games we played. My heart pumped lust into every fiber of my body as I tried to think of where to go.

“Alright.”

“You have three seconds to leave,” he declared. I went to protest... but he started counting. “One…Two…”

I closed my eyes, and the first place that popped up was the training ring Cassius and I used to use in the middle of the woods. When I opened my eyes, it was eerie and fairly dark. My eyes immediately scanned around for him, but he wasn’t there. How long would it take him to find me? My stomach clenched as anticipation coursed through me.

A light drizzle of rain started coming down as I waited with excitement for him to appear. Part of me thought he would never think of this place within two guesses. I’m not even sure why I had thought of it. Minutes moved by slowly. Maybe he had no idea where I had gone, and I should go back to the castle.

Both anticipation and doubt coursed through me as I waited, causing an unsettling mix of emotions to overtake me. There weren’t many places in Crimson that I could’ve chosen; he would find me eventually.

Suddenly, his arms wrapped around me, and a small yelp escaped me before he turned me around and devoured my mouth with his. He yanked me flush against him as his tongue shoved its way into my mouth. Cassius was not gentle with me as he lifted me up and pushed me against the nearest surface.

His hips pushed into me roughly, and I moaned loudly as my nails dug into his back. Cassius pulled away and smiled.

“It took me four guesses.”

“Then I get to choose…” He cut me off with another devouring kiss. Cassius lifted me effortlessly before walking to the rock wall that had a small overhang, stopping the now-hard rain from soaking us. He gave me one last chaste kiss before setting me on my feet and taking a step away so he could start stripping off his wet clothes.

His eyes darkened as he traced over me as I followed his lead and undressed. I had expected him to devour me with another kiss, but as he stepped forward, he was more gentle with me than I had thought.

Cassius kissed me passionately. His hands gripped my face softly, so I couldn’t leave. He pulled me down onto our discarded clothing before crawling over me and pinning me below him with his weight.

When he pulled back, something had changed from hot, searing passion to longing and love.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” he confessed.

My fingers came up to his face and gently traced his saddened features.

“I am a shell of a man when you are gone, Thea. Nothing feels right, like a night without its stars or a storm without its rainbow; I’m utterly lost without you.” Cassius’ eyes traced over me as tears filled my own because he feared losing me, and I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t leave again. I could clearly see the fear he had for my success on his somber face.

“I wish I could take your fear away, Cassius.”

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine.

“Sometimes I wonder if your life would have been better if you never met me.” His whispered confession nearly broke my heart.

“You can’t possibly think that is true.”