Page 16 of Wicked Salvation

Her lips brush against mine, hesitant, soft—like a question she’s afraid to ask.

For a second, I don’t move.

I don’t breathe.

But my restraint snaps the moment she wraps her arms around my neck. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I hoist her into my lap, deepening the kiss. Everything about this is wrong, we shouldn’t be doing this.

And that’s the problem.

I’ve always liked what I shouldn’t.

IV

EDEN

shouldn’t be here.

Lucian’s lips shouldn’t be on mine.

“Tell me to stop,” I whisper against his lips. “Please.”

He’s laying back on the couch, one of my legs on either side of him. His hands grip my waist, while I’ve got mine around his shoulders. In the crackling light of the fireplace, his green eyes look like sooty gems. Desire ripples through every muscle in his face—the heavy breathing, the sweat by his temple, his trembling lips.

“I should.”

He kisses me again, our lips moving together like we were lovers in a past lifetime. Heat streaks across my mouth, and his lips, his tongue are the only thing that can quench the fire. I arch into the kiss, his grip on my waist tightening.

There’s no pain.

Only a rush building in my abdomen that has me squirming in his lap. Lucian kisses me slowly, deliberately—like he’s memorizing the shape of me. His grip isn’t harsh, his touch isn’t demanding. He’s letting me take whatever I want.

Lord forgive me,I’m greedy but I can’t stop.

I tangle my fingers into his hair, parting his lips with my tongue. The kiss is so deep I feel like I might devour him. There’s no space between our bodies, just the frantic sound of ragged breaths, wet lips, strangled moans.

Lucian groans softly against my mouth. His grip on my waist is unyielding now. I’m sitting right over the growing hardness in his pants, and the more I rock my body against him, the more he seems to lose control.

It’s slow, it’s sensual, and it’s absolutely devastating—because I never want it to end.

But we finally pull apart.

I stare at him, panting.

He stares at me, thinly veiled desire cresting in his eyes.

Lucian rests his forehead against mine. I can’t move and I don’t want to.

For the first time in my life, I don’t feel trapped.

I feelchosen.

I feel free.

“I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”

Lucian’s thumb brushes the edge of my jaw so softly it makes me want to break apart. Every single one of his touches has been gentle, tentative. “Then don’t be, Edie.”

I close my eyes.