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“You wouldn’t, Axel,” she insisted.

“Katya, you don’t understand?—”

“Idounderstand,” she said, her voice hardening. “I understand because I’ve had blood forcibly taken from me.” The growl that sounded low in his throat at her words surprised even him, but she didn’t even seem fazed. “You wish the Fae had more freedoms? Then give me this one. Let me make this choice. If it’s something you want?—”

“If it’s something I want? For fuck’s sake, Kat, I’vewantedsince the moment I laid eyes on you. Before that even. If Theon feels a fraction of this draw to Tessa, I understand the obsession, because I am obsessed with you. It’s why even though I know this is a terrible idea, I’m going to let you have it. I don’t even know whatthisis, but I know I could never deny you a godsdamn thing.”

She kissed him then, her lips soft against his, and he slid a hand up her spine into her hair, holding her in place. He hadn’t kissed her since the Underground, and now he found himself trying to make up for all that lost time. His tongue slid againsthers, and when she let out a soft moan, it only had him tugging her to him more. His other hand was exploring those curves that he’d dreamed about for weeks and weeks. Soft and warm and perfect. Utter perfection. That was all he could think as her mouth moved against his. Her fingers glided over his chest, down his abdomen, back up over his shoulders, and into his hair as she explored with her hands.

He made a sound of protest when she suddenly sat up, but that protest died just as quickly as she pulled her shirt over her head.

Holy shit.

“Kat,” he said, his voice all gravel and his throat too dry. “This is?—”

“I swear to Anala, Axel, if you say this is a bad idea—” Her lips pursed as she shoved hair back from her face. “You’re right. This is illogical. It makes no sense, and it drives me mad that I don’t understand whatever this thing is that draws us to each other. But if this is a terrible decision, I want to make it. If you do.”

“You’re stunning,” he murmured, staring up at her. Topless, sitting atop him, hair a mess, and lips swollen. Something in her eyes flared at his words, and he was sure if he could see her a little better, there would be a flush to her cheeks. His hand drifted up, and he forced himself to pause, not wanting to take something from her that she’d been forced to give in the past. “Can I?”

“What do you think we’re doing here?” she asked with a light huff of laughter.

“That’s just it, kitten. I have no fucking idea,” he answered, his tongue running along his bottom lip as he stared at her breasts. “But I’ll do whatever you want.”

She gave another soft laugh before she took his hand and placed it over her breast. He groaned, his thumb sweeping over her nipple, and her entire body shuddered at the touch.

“You can touch me, Axel. Please gods, touch me,” she said.

And that plea made him forget all the reasons this was a terrible idea.

He pushed up to a sitting position, wrapping one hand around the nape of her neck and hauling her mouth back to his. His other hand alternated between squeezing her breast and rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Her whimper had him breaking the kiss, sliding his lips along her jaw before pressing small open-mouthed kisses below her ear, down her throat, along her shoulder, her collarbone.

“I get to touch you,” he murmured, and he heard the awe in his voice.

“I’ve neverwantedto be touched before,” she replied in a breathy tone as her hands clasped onto his shoulders and back again, fingers pressing into his flesh.

“Only me?”

She nodded, her head tipping back as he lowered his mouth to her other breast.

Only him.

A primal thing inside of him liked the sound of that, and he sucked hard, pulling another cry from her. Her hips had started moving, rocking against him.

“What are you looking for, kitten?” he murmured against her skin, kissing along the valley of her breasts.

“Anything. Everything,” she breathed.

He smiled as she pulled him back to her for a long, breathless kiss, her hands framing his face, while he slid his own hand down her chest, down her stomach, and beneath her pants. She went still for the briefest of moments when he cupped her, and when he pressed his thumb to her center, the sound she made had him groaning into her mouth. Or maybe that was how wet he found her.

“Fuck,” he muttered, sliding his thumb up to her clit and making small circles that had her chasing his hand.

He thought she might be about to say the same thing, but all she got out was the f-sound as her head dropped forward, her nails grappling at his arms. Instead of a curse, he got a moaned, “Axel, please don’t stop.”

“Do you have any idea the agony I was in trying to get you to say my name, kitten?” he demanded, sinking a finger into her as he continued to move his thumb in a steady rhythm.

“Why?” she gasped.

“No fucking idea,” he said. “But it was aneed, Katya.”