Soulless (Maiden of Time Book 2) Read Free Page B

breathe!
     
    He pulled back, his breath ragged, fists clenched. He reminded himself it was only the memory of her nightmare, that she’d survived and he had no cause to charge after Bellezza and make her suffer. 
    Alexia’s chin tilted up after him, eyes falling open but lost in a wash of desire.
    She gasped, hands exploring the mattress below her, furrowed brows straightening as her mouth dropped open. Shock and embarrassment filled her stare. Heat radiated off her cheeks, eyelids lowering demurely as she swallowed.
    Kiren followed the movement of her lashes as they pointed him back to her vulnerable lips. Two voices screamed in his head: one that remembered danger lurked on the horizon, and the louder one that growled to be appeased.
    He lifted himself a couple inches. “You should not place yourself completely at my mercy.”
    She caught the collar of his waistcoat, her pupils dark and wide. “But mercy is your strongest virtue.”
    Did she have any idea how difficult she was making this for him? He groaned and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “This is not the kind of mercy heaven would smile upon.”
    She swallowed and he traced the movement with a finger.
    “You have been dreaming again,” he said.
    “And you are prying.”
    He opened his mouth and closed it. It was true. She had asked him not to intercept her thoughts, but he couldn’t stop it from happening when so intimately connected. He put a little more space between them.
    Alexia looked away. “You promised you would not—”
    “Sorry.” But he wasn’t. If she was withholding vital information, he must know. “You did not think it important to tell me you are dreaming again?”
    “Only one dream.” Twice. She scowled. And how am I supposed to tell you anything when you are dazzling me?
    He smirked, one eyebrow peaking. “I dazzle you?”
    She pushed against his chest and rolled out from under him. Kiren moved an arm and let her go, although it took all his self-control. She moaned and sat up, holding her head.
    He sat next to her. “Love?”
    She lifted a hand.
    Scooting closer, he massaged the back of her neck. Only a month ago the Soulless had ambushed them in this estate after he’d been shot by John while attempting to rescue Sarah. Alexia had fought the Soulless off, using her gift to slow time until it nearly killed her. He had yet to forgive himself for being so vulnerable, for allowing her to save him at such a high cost. She would recover, eventually, if she would just stop using her gift.
    He closed his eyes and probed. Her tender cerebellum pulsed, swelling as it had right after the incident. Kiren groaned, wishing he could heal it completely. He never wanted her to suffer, to experience the pain he was directly responsible for bringing into her life. The best he could do was soothe her physical aches.
    Cells throbbed under his touch, ripe for his command. He summoned blood flow through the region and a release of endorphins while reshaping damaged cells. Strength seeped through his fingers, fueling her remedy.
    “Should I wonder what else you have been dreaming?” He kept his tone light, but the question weighed on them both.
    “Why?” She looked up. “What are you afraid I have seen?”
    He smiled sadly, wishing he could tell her everything; that he didn’t have to withhold some secrets for now. He brushed her cheek and she winced. Redness he’d mistaken for a blush spotted her cheekbone. He flattened his palm across it and ordered the cells to replicate, relinquishing another dose of his own energy.
    He nudged her chin up. “I will not leave your side again.”
    She grinned, her emerald stare narrowing around dark pupils. “Is that a promise?”
    Do not look at me that way, Alexia. His own need for her was difficult enough to stave, but to combat hers as well?
    He inhaled a calming breath. She shifted and light twinkled off the chain around her neck. He touched the golden ring it bore, a coral diamond center with