Page 96 of Hexbound

"Probably. I have this habit of leaping in feet first whenever someone I care for is in danger. That list used to contain only one name—"

"Mercy," he guessed.

Verity smiled a little sadly. "Now it has three... no, four names. I'm forgetting Marie, but she's lovely too. And considering that life is growing dangerous, I'm bound to do something reckless if someone assaults those I consider mine."

Fingers stroking his coat, she looked up, meeting that dark gaze. This man. He was all she’d ever wanted.

Go and seduce that boy, Lady E had said. Well, she was going to give it her best shot. Verity's fingers flexed against his waistcoat and she brushed the backs of them down, down, just low enough to make his breath catch.

Dangerous silky-lashed eyes caught hers. "I can't be what you want, Verity."

This time she heard the regret in his voice, and realized it for what it was. Not rejection. But an intense yearning for something he thought he couldn't have.

Now that she knew what haunted him, she could see it written all over his face. Her heart ached for this lonely, lonely man.

"And what do you think I want, Bishop?" she whispered, sliding her hands up beneath his coat and over the smooth silk of his waistcoat.

He shut his eyes. Breathed deep. The muscles beneath her hands tensed. Trembled. "Forever."

Another raw whisper.

The loss in his voice ached deep in her chest. Verity brushed a lock of dark hair out of his eyes. She leaned forward, rising on her toes as she sought his mouth. "Maybe we should stop thinking about the future. Maybe we should just think about tonight. I want you, Bishop. And I know you want me. Love me. Just for tonight. Stop worrying about the future."

She didn't wait for his answer. She took it from his lips.

The kiss started out gentle. A sweet exploration of each other. Verity's hands slid under his coat again, tracing the flat planes of his abdomen and the heavy muscle of his chest. Bishop made a faint sound in his throat, his hands dropping to her waist. Tentative. But not pushing her away.

Nipples hardening, she pressed closer, her tongue lashing against his. It took little coaxing for his tongue to dart against hers. Verity moaned, her body melting against his.

This. Him. Now. It was all she'd ever wanted. And if they couldn't have forever, then she would take tonight.

"Verity." He drew back, his cheeks flushed with color and his eyes slightly glazed. "Ver, I'm not sure...."

"You won't hurt me," she told him, and kissed him again.

"You don't know that." A tremor ran through him, and she knew that he was remembering another night, one filled with fear and despair.

She cupped his chin. "Yes, I do. Trust me, Adrian. We agreed to take this slowly, remember?"

He looked at her and she saw all the hope in the world in his dark eyes.

"If you start to lose your focus, if you start to lose control, then we can stop." Practical arguments would work better with him. He liked rational. She slid her hand along that scar-slicked jaw, staring into his gorgeous brown eyes. "But if you do lose control, then I'm clearly not doing a good enough job of keeping your thoughts on sex."

Bishop shook his head, his eyes haunted. "How did you—"

"Agatha explained it to me," she said, stopping him in his tracks. "She told me all about themaladroiseand what you fear. I know what happened with Mya. But it seems to me that you were young and inexperienced, and unable to control yourself." She caught his hands in hers. "You're no longer that boy, Adrian. And you've learnt how to control your power. Oh, and look at these...." Verity hooked her finger in the spelled manacles on the bench behind him that she recognized from the first night. "A means to stop any sorcerer from using their magic, right in front of us."

Bishop stared at the manacles, then back at her. His nostrils flared.

"Do you trust me?" she whispered, taking a step backward, toward the fur in front of the fireplace.

"With my life." He swallowed hard. Followed her.

"And do you want me, Adrian?" Casting a lash-lowered look over her shoulder, she circled him, trailing a finger across his flank.

Bishop turned, drinking in the sight of her. "More than I've ever wanted anything in the world."

Verity smiled, dropping the manacles to the rug. "You do say the sweetest things sometimes." Reaching up, she tugged her hair from its restraining pins, letting it spiral down over her shoulders.