Page 56 of Scarlet Wars
How had I not seen thisburning, this war right beneath his skin?
And why, gods help me, did I want to be consumed by it?
He dragged me even tighter into him, like he needed me to feel it, every word, every intention.
My wrists twitched in his grip, not in protest, but because I didn’t know what to do with the electricity pulsing through me.
Caden leaned in closer, so close his nose brushed mine.
I dragged in a shallow breath, trembling against him. “Caden?—”
“Don’t say my name like that,” he growled as his forehead pressed hard against mine. “Not unless you want me to lose what little fucking control I am barely clinging to right now.”
His thumb brushed my hip, slow, dragging along the curve of bone. I felt the full, devastating heat of him—his body, his anger, his restraint—and it drove memad.
“You think I haven’t dreamed of this?” he whispered, his voice dark silk. “You think I don’t wake up hard and aching from thoughts of you underneath me?”
I whimpered—an honest, humiliating sound—and his eyes darkened, flashing with something feral.
Then his gaze dropped to my mouth. “Tell me not to kiss you,” he breathed.
His lips hovered barely an inch from mine, while time collapsed around us.
Every part of mescreamedfor his kiss. No way in hell was I telling him not to.
But right before contact, right before the point of no return, Sean barged into the room, his expression wild and panicked. “What the hell did you guys do?”
FOURTEEN
CADEN
After my brother crashed the most important moment of my life, he herded Emma and me into another abandoned meeting room, where James was already waiting.
Sean then retreated to Jackson’s room without further explanation, apparently deciding it was more important to keep the broody Orator updated than us, preferably at close range, where they could glare meaningfully into each other’s eyes.
So now the three of us were sitting there—walls cracked, ceiling stained, chairs probably older than all of us combined—waiting for Kanata C’s First Offensive to explain what the hell was so urgent.
As we waited, my mind kept replaying the moment Sean had interrupted. The way Emma had leaned toward me, the heat sparking in her gaze, then dipping to my mouth. One more second and I would’ve known exactly how she tasted. I’d almost had her.
My focus snagged on her now, and she immediately looked away, but not before I caught the flush climbing her cheeks. Scarlet, deep and startling, the exact shade of her haze. A color that was quickly becoming my favorite.
She was attracted to me.To me.Fuck, the way she’d said it. That charmingly awkward admission… Clear enough to wreck me for life.
I should’ve felt victorious. Instead, I felt restless. Stripped open. Like I’d been handed something I could never keep.
Now all I could do was sit there, hands clenched against my knees, pretending to study the cracks in the wall while my thoughts circled her mouth, her voice, the inch of space that had separated us before Sean had barged in.
Before I could break the silence—or my own head—the door burst open with a loud crack, and Rachel stormed in, her face a mix of confusion and urgency.
“Where the hell were you?”
I raised a brow. “We just came back from the hair salon. Walker had some braids done, and then we all went for a late afternoon stroll around the rose-garden to sniff the petals.”
Rachel’s attention snapped to me with fury. “Glad you’re feeling funny today. You know what’snotfunny? The United Chiefs just portaled in. The High Chief wants a word with all three of you in private. So, tell me, what the hell did you do now?”
James’s gaze snapped to me, and I could see the tension coiling beneath the surface like violence on a hair trigger. “They’re not here to make dinner plans.”
“No,” I said quietly, my eyes on Emma. “They’re not.”
