Page 52 of Unseen Eye (Aetherian Chronicles #1)

But a part of me holds back, a stubborn voice whispering that he’s too good, that I’m foolish to think I could matter to someone like him.

Why would he want someone like me, with all my problems and doubts?

And if I let myself go, if I let myself feel everything that’s been simmering between us, it’s like handing him a map of every wound I’ve ever had.

What if he sees me clearly and regrets it?

Still, he stands there, impossibly close, and it’s as if he’s a flame, drawing me toward him, too powerful to resist. My heart pounds, and the tension between us thickens.

I should stop this—before it gets too deep, before I lose the strength to pull away.

But gods, he’s beautiful, and I need him to touch me.

The urge to sleep is suddenly gone, replaced with another feeling—greed.

I lean forward, closing the last few inches between us, and his gaze sharpens, raking down my body, lingering on my breasts.

My breath hitches as I wonder if he deliberately left out a bra when packing my things.

His body tenses, his breathing grows ragged, and the look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know.

He needs this, needs me, just as badly as I need him.

I wrap my arms around his shoulders, feeling the tension tighten in him. His gaze flickers back to my eyes, and his breathing shifts, deepening with every breath. I can see the struggle in his eyes—a battle I’m determined to win.

I’m done waiting, done letting him decide what’s best for me. There was a dead body in my room today—if that’s not a wake-up call about how short life is, I don’t know what is. Fuck reason, I’m done waiting.

With that, I surge forward on my toes and kiss him.

He freezes for a fraction of a second before his instincts take over, his arms tightening around me, pulling me flush against him.

A grin tugs at my mouth, and I can almost picture the midnight-blue of his eyes, intense and dark, like the night I first saw him—when he was a stranger cloaked in mystery.

And now, somehow, he’s the one person I want to risk it all for.

He tries to pull away, but I don’t let him, angling my head to deepen the kiss.

He groans against my lips, his tongue stroking mine and leaving nothing unexplored.

When he tries to pull away again, I let him, not having enough common sense left to stop him.

That kiss has turned me into a complete idiot, unable to focus on anything but him.

He presses his forehead against mine. “Eva,” he whispers between ragged breaths, “you really don’t want this. I’m trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need protection,” I plead, my voice barely a whisper as I press myself closer.

“I just need you.” My lips trail down his jaw, then lower, leaving a path of heat along his neck.

I linger where his neck meets his shoulder, feeling his pulse race under my touch.

“Danger’s going to find me whether you’re with me or not, so accept it.

I. Want. You. I. Need. You.” I punctuate each word with a kiss, making my way back up, savoring every shiver that runs through him.

“Evil little thing,” he groans, but something breaks in him.

He gives in, and suddenly his mouth is on mine, and if I thought the last kiss was searing, this one is wildfire.

My fingers weave through his hair, playing with the strands I’ve dreamed of touching for so long.

I catch his bottom lip between my teeth, teasing, feeling his control slip. And then he snaps.

He grabs my ass and spins me around against the wall.

Hard. The shirt I am wearing rides up past my navel, leaving my black panties on full display.

Oh gods, I might just die at this moment.

I wrap my legs around him and instantly feel how hard he is.

I gasp against his lips, causing him to laugh.

I arch, using the wall for leverage as I move against him, desperate for the friction, for his touch.

“You like that, do you, darling?” he taunts, his voice a low, teasing murmur as his mouth trails down my neck.

He takes his time, finding each place that makes me shiver, that makes me weak under him.

“Every. Damn. Day,” he growls between kisses, mimicking my earlier actions with a smirk.

“You look at me, and all I can think about are those gorgeous violet eyes, those lush lips moaning my name, wanting me.”

His breath is hot against my skin, his words sending electricity through me.

“And that wicked mouth of yours,” he murmurs, his lips brushing along my collarbone.

“I wonder if it’s as sinful in other places.

” He guides my hand down, lower and lower, letting me feel the effect I have on him, the hard proof of his desire.

My heart races as he presses into me, his hand on my waist possessive and firm.

There, against the wall, with his body claiming mine, I’m lost in him.

“I always fucking need you,” he says, his voice rough.

His eyes dark as he takes me in—the flush in my cheeks, the tremor in my breaths.

And there he is, Callon, heir of Coire, brought to his knees by me, as much as I am by him.

I begin to squeeze and stroke him, causing him to groan against my lips. I pull back just far enough to see those midnight blue eyes, full of sparks as if the stars themselves are there. “You’re beautiful,” I whisper, unable to look away.

“So I have been told,” he says with a laugh, unable to look away from me either.

Suddenly we are on the move again, and my back is against the bed, with him instantly on top of me.

Within mere seconds, my shirt is gone, leaving me completely exposed from the waist up.

Those midnight eyes take in every inch of my body.

“So fucking gorgeous,” he purrs.

I reach down to try to touch him, any part of him, but faster than light itself, he grabs my arms and pins them above my head.

“Now, now, you evil thing you, let me have my fun.” Collecting both my wrists in one hand, he starts kissing me again.

These kisses are full of need and desperation, like he’s starving for me.

His free hand rests on my breast, taunting and playing with me.

Drawing small circles and flicking my nipples.

Need vibrates down my spine all the way to my core, causing me to arch my back.

“Quit playing,” I attempt to say, but the words struggle to come out.

Callon’s hand has now worked its way down lower between my legs. He removes my panties with one hand that is admittedly quite impressive, before he sinks his finger into me.

“Oh gods, you’re soaked.” He kisses me like his life depends on it, hell I think mine does too.

His finger matching the pace of that wicked tongue of his, causing me to squirm and moan against his lips.

He curls his finger inside me, sending a shudder through my body.

My ankles lock around him as his thumb strokes my clit in slow, teasing circles, and then he adds another finger.

He finally lets go of my wrist and uses that free hand to explore my breast once more.

My arms wrap around his neck, my fingers digging into his skin.

“More,” I beg, unable to say much else. Every touch of his is electrifying, and just when I think it can’t get any better, he of course proves me wrong.

If one finger is amazing, two is magical and I begin to cry out, his mouth still covering mine.

I could spend the rest of my life kissing this man and never get tired of it. “Let go for me, princess,” he pleads, again adding a third finger that is my undoing.

Just like that, he pushes me over the cliff and into an orgasm.

Shallowing my cry with his mouth, my back darts forward.

The first wave rushes through me, and I think I may explode, as his fingers still work their magic.

I’m convinced I am going to shatter into a million pieces when the second wave hits me, and I swear my eyes begin to start glowing.

Tortuous pleasure weaves through me, leaving me wanting more.

Satisfied, Callon pulls away and examines me once again, a predatory grin lining his face.

Meanwhile, I lay there, unable to move beneath him, completely naked, while he is completely clothed.

Fuck, that needs to change. Now. I lean forward, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and, with his help, it goes flying across the room.

Luckily, his pants are much easier to get off.

As I reach for the hem, his hand covers mine.

“If you take my pants off, darling, there is no going back. I won’t be able to stop.

” Something tells me he wouldn’t be able to stop now even if he wanted to.

But I give him a quick peck on the lips before I pull them off.

Causing him to laugh as he shakes his head.

“So evil,” he chimes as he flings them across the room with his shirt.

Now it’s my turn to take him in. Gods, he is more beautiful than I thought possible.

His sculpted muscles and chiseled chest are breathtaking.

The tattoo of the eagle proudly displayed on his chest. On his shoulder is the same design that marks my forearm, another great mystery I have yet to solve, but that is the least of my worries at this moment.