Page 48 of Glimmer and Burn (Unity #1)

Chapter Fourteen

M iranda dragged Devin into the carriage behind her, his hand fumbling for the door. It was either seconds or minutes later when Miranda tore her mouth free, distantly aware of someone else speaking from outside. “Did you give the cab an address?”

Undeterred, Devin drew his lips down her jaw, her neck.

The texture of his stubble scraped her skin, instantly soothed by his tongue.

He was practically on top of her, their bodies entwined in a seamless blend of limbs.

She had underestimated how satisfying it was just to feel the weight of him on top of her, all warmth and pressure.

“I suppose a carriage is less than ideal.” His teeth caught the pulse point at her neck and bit down enough to spear straight to the hungry flutter between her legs.

Miranda sucked in a breath through her teeth and arched her body reflexively. His self-satisfied smirk was infuriating and, yet, her limbs were molten.

“Though,” he continued, tone filled with triumph, “I could make due anywhere with the right motivation.” His palm teased across her breast, but through the tight leather of her uniform it did little more than drive her insane.

“Er, you got a destination in mind, sir?” The driver called. Again. They had ignored him the first two times.

Devin sighed. He shouted his address in the Garrison and Miranda set a hand on his chest to keep him from muddling her senses for a moment.

“I never asked,” she started, savoring her own small victory when his frown at being denied deepened to a pout. “How bad was your club damaged? Can you still live there? I know how important it was.”

His eyes were still dark as he considered her question. Though he hovered at arm’s length, the pressure on her palm indicated that, should she give him the slightest quarter, he’d pounce. His hands, however, were unrestrained.

“I’d prefer to talk about this,” he plucked the first hook of her uniform free and the shock of it made her elbow bend, his body seizing on her weakness and pinning her arm between them.

He hovered dangerously close to her throat.

“For example, I can’t quite recall if you preferred here.

” He kissed her neck, his head forcing hers to turn and bend, exposing herself to the attack.

“Or here.” He moved down, lips suckling on the skin above her collar bone, effectively coaxing out a long, throaty moan. “Ah, yes, I believe I remember now.”

He worked reverently over the sensitive skin, not overpowering her, but lulling her into a blissful stupor. It wouldn’t work to distract her.

He hummed against her skin, a gentle rumble that burst through her like a shockwave.

It was starting to work.

“Gods, Devin.” Her hands came up, threading into his hair.

His smile was all victory. But, somewhere in the back of Miranda’s dazed thoughts, she knew there was something they needed to do first. Something important before she got swept up in his irresistible magnetism and she never recovered.

And it was with great effort that she forced him backward.

His eyes were closed as he allowed her to maneuver him.

At that angle and position, it would have been easy to use his weight and strength to keep her pinned.

Instead, he caved to the barest pressure, and a little, tiny part of her clicked into place with a certainty she hadn’t realized she needed until this moment. She trusted him. Unequivocally.

“I know we need to talk, Mira,” he said, voice gruff with desire and something else. Pain? He started massaging her lower back, where his hand had been anchored to angle her hips just moments ago. “I want to, I plan to, but…”

“But, what?” she prompted, tracing her fingers down his cheek, until her touch hovered just next to his ear.

He tensed.

She paused, not moving her hand any further.

“But I’m terrified,” he said slowly, his eyes still squeezed shut.

“Of me?”

He smiled, but it was full of whatever he was holding on to that plagued him. “Not quite.” He opened his eyes, finally, and the broken ache in his gaze hit her harder than any physical blow. “I’m terrified of what you’re capable of.”

She nearly laughed, because the idea that she would hurt him was absurd. “I know I’m strong, but I’d never attack you. What do you think I’m capable of doing?”

He pressed his forehead to hers, and a sudden sway of the carriage forced him to catch her as she was jolted from the bench. Supporting her weight, he eased backward into the seat, drawing her with him, settling her across his lap.

“Destroying me.”

Miranda caught up to his meaning and her own fear threatened to surface again.

He shook his head, the words tumbling out.

“I don’t mean this to pressure you, Miranda.

Whatever happens, it’s not your job to hold me together or to worry about me.

My sanity is not your problem. I’ve been destroyed before.

” He chuckled but it was borderline unhinged.

“I survived. I’m nothing if not resilient.

I didn’t even think there was anything left to break.

Whatever had lingered after the world was done with me, I had no issues mangling further.

I don’t think anyone hated me, more than me.

” He was talking fast, breathing sharp and quick.

Miranda hated every second, but she remained tethered to the moment, unable to do more than take it in.

“And if you leave…” He swallowed, as if saying the words were tantamount to living them.

“But, Gods, I did not want to say all this. I didn’t want to influence you to pity me or to choose me out of charity.

Whatever you decide, Miranda, whatever future you see for yourself, I’ll be fine whether I’m included or not. ”

The way his voice faltered on the last sentence made her inclined to think it was a lie, that he would not be fine without her. But he gallantly wanted her to make her own choice.

“I think, if I loved you even a fraction less, I wouldn’t be so close to falling apart,” he whispered, “Your response might not be so terrifying. And I might be able to stop talking and allow you to respond. But, as it stands, your hold on me is beyond my ability to handle gracefully. So on I blather, half hoping you’ll interrupt me and dreading that you’ll tell me this is entirely one-sided. ”

She waited. He stared at nothing, clutching her with a ferocity and gentleness that broke her heart, equal parts push and pull. Because she hadn’t given him an answer and so he looked to hover between hope and despair.

“I promise, I can handle rejection, Mira,” but his voice was almost non-existent, so quiet she only heard it because they were entwined together. “Whatever the blathering, idiot part of me says, I will handle it.”

She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into him.

“Letting you go is the last thing I want and this is far from one-sided,” she said, and he immediately gave in to pull with a breath of relief she felt in her soul, “I thought I hated you for the longest time,” she tried to speak around his roving mouth, alternating between soft, chaste kisses and nuzzling, each touch tingling through her skin and making her grin.

“You were incorrigible, arrogant. Insufferable. Infuriating…”

She could feel the smile against her skin, his attention never wavering from reaching every inch of her face and neck.

“You have a very cruel way of saying ‘I love you,’” he said from somewhere near her ear, where his tongue had driven all coherent thought from her mind.

“Maybe that’s not what I was saying—” He set his teeth against her skin, alternating bite and suction until her skin bruised. Her fingers clenched against his shoulders, ruffling his shirt. “Fine. I give.”

“It’s not like you to concede so easily,” he moved to the undone clasp of her uniform and worked another hook free.

“Well,” she heaved, breaths coming in short gasps as pleasure danced through her limbs, “I wasn’t quite done…

or, rather.” She was boneless and stiff at the same time, melting and tensed.

He needed to stop or she would never finish her thoughts.

“I still had something to say that we should, probably, talk about before we reach your house…because once we arrive there will be no more talking.”

“What more is there to discuss?” He pulled away, an act of mercy, and Miranda fought to gather her thoughts and errant body parts into focus.

“You’re hopelessly in love with me and have been since you first saw me that night at my club.

I returned your affections, you didn’t immediately change your mind despite your salacious desire to argue with me, and so what else is there but to celebrate by indulging in carnal gratification until morning? ”

As tempting as his words were, she wouldn’t be deterred so easily. “Typically, we’re on the sort of path with a singular destination.” She huffed. “My father hinted marriage was our only option.”

She watched him carefully, not sure what she was expecting, but he gave no indication of his opinion on the subject.

“What do you want?” He asked, finally.

She sighed, shifting on his lap as she got into the flow of her thoughts.

“There aren’t a whole lot of choices for people like me.

If I don’t marry you, and anyone finds out even half of what we’ve been doing, I’d be ruined.

It would ripple out to affect my entire family.

Cordelia would have a hard time finding a husband, if that’s what she wanted.

My mother and father would lose valuable social connections—”

He set his finger on her lips, effectively stopping her tirade, and then asked, “What do you want, Miranda Wilde?”

Her heart beat hard, pulse roaring in her ears. “I want you.”