Page 47 of Nightshade

“And yet, something tells me you are not really afraid,” he whispered, before pulling away from her ear so she could see his face once more. “Are you, Lustina?”

“No. I am not afraid.”

“You are perhaps the only girl I have met who is not. Most either see me as a dangerous and erratic cannon, capable of firing off any minute, or a plaything to covet. But not you, Lustina. I do not know how you perceive me, and that is what intrigues me about you.” He ran a finger down from her temple to her lips, where he held his gaze.

Only then did Lustina recall what it was she felt in his presence. The cold rush of adrenaline coursing through her. An unrelenting flutter of silk wings in her belly. It reminded her of the time she went foraging for herbs in the forest and happened upon a horned snake in the brush.

Not fear, per se, but the necessity for instinct and the thrill of survival.

“Of course you would not know how I perceive you, unless you ask.”

“I prefer not to know.” Leaning into her once more, he dragged his nose and lips over her throat, inhaling, as if to savor her scent before the first bite.

“Why do they believe you to be evil?”

Instead of answering, he left a faint kiss at the crook of her neck, the sensation sending a distracting tickle up her spine. “One should not desire the very thing which stirs his madness.”

Palms took hold of her wrists like shackles, dragging her knuckles along the stones as he held them up at either side of her head. When he moved to her lips, he plundered them with the greed of a bloodthirsty pirate. Just like the first time he had kissed her, dizziness swept over her, the clash of fear and excitement pulsing through her veins like Poppy’s Blood. He dipped his tongue, brushing it against hers, and a growl rumbled in his chest, his grip of her wrists tighter than before.

“I will have you one day, Lustina,” he said against her lips, and he kissed her again. Trembling hands cradled her head as if she were fragile as glass. With the growing intensity of his kiss, he dug his fingers into her hair. “Mark my words. I will take you with such rapacity that there will be nothing left for you to give. At which point, I will take you again.” Teeth grinding, he exhaled a sharp breath. “And again.”

“What is it that makes you so angry, My Lord?” Over the steady beat of her heart, she fought to catch her breath. “Why would you take? Why not ask?”

“For fear you would allow it.”

“And you’d think me a fool for such a thing.”

“Inexcusably so.” Fingers still threaded through her hair, he took her bottom lip between his teeth and kissed her so hard and long, she pushed at his arms to break for air. “The next time you think of this kiss, let it be while you bathe yourself. I want you to touch whatever part of you aches and imagine it is my fingers and lips upon your skin.”

The sound of approaching steps spurred her pulse, and though she glanced away from him, she still caught his undeterred gaze in her periphery.

“I have to go,” he said quietly.

“What is going on?”

Unless Lustina had mistaken the look, sadness swirled in his eyes. “Do not leave this place until the guards retreat, understand? It is important they not see you.”

“Why? Please tell me.”

He ran his thumb over her lips. “They stay to listen only for a few moments then leave. At which time, you will be free to go.”

“Listen for what?”

Brows pinched, he continued to stare at her lips, still ignore her inquiries. “What bliss it would be to stay with you here, instead. Promise me you will set the bird free from its cage.”

Although he obviously spoke of the once-injured bird, something in his words tugged at her, and she pondered whether there might be a deeper meaning to them. “I promise.”

A moment later, he released her and strode from the alcove, toward the approaching footsteps.

“Ah, I wondered where you’d gone, My Lord.”

The voice of Bishop Venable sent a shudder down her spine, and Lustina kept to the wall, not daring a single breath. The jangle of keys and creak of a door stirred her curiosity, and she knelt low, only peeking around the corner.

Four doors down from her, Bishop Venable stood with two of the clergymen she recognized, along with Lord Praecepsia, Drystan, and two guards. The bishop set a hand on the baron’s shoulder and guided him into one of the forbidden chambers. The pentroshes and the elder Van Croix followed after. Drystan turned to smirk at one of the guards, before entering the room behind them.

The door closed.

Minutes ticked, as Lustina watched the guards talk low to one another, occasionally letting out a chuckle.