“I thought I would drown.” The words floated on her jagged breath.
Destonne knotted her last lace, but his hand didn’t leave her. No, instead, it slid from the boot to the back of her ankle. Her breath snagged and she went still as a rabbit caught in a snare.
“I will only say this once,” he drawled, his voice like crushed velvet.
His fingers trailed from her ankle, up the curve of her calve in a long, luxurious stroke. Emmery bit down on her bottom lip as her body drew tight as a bowstring and her heart thumped in time with her magic.
“I want you to listen and sear it into your memory.”
Destonne’s hand slid higher yet, cupping the back of her knee and every nerve in her body narrowed on that touch sending that delicious tingle up her leg. Her magic pounded like a galloping horse, and there was no doubt in her mind that he saw that reaction—the wavering betrayal of her vestige glowing and swelling for him. That wicked glint in his eyes told her all she needed to know. But it seemed, despite all logic, he held her like he couldn’t help himself. Likenottouching her was a strain. And he’d given in.
Though this was a game like all the others, the intensity inflated by the second. If she pulled away, he won, but if she let him continue, he won too. Emmery wanted to scream in frustration.
She should pull away.Should.
But she didn’t.
She could play, too.
Emmery lifted her chin and met his stare with equal fire. But while hers was a golden caress and liquid honey melting on one'stongue, his was dark desire and crackling midnight embers. The epitome of sinful embraces.
His heat sank into her chilled flesh and, damn her, the imprint of his fingers in her skin, made her traitorous mind wander to his beautiful hands on other parts of her. Softer parts. Intimate parts. What if his hand continued up her thigh, if he leaned in, his warm breath on her neck as his fingers—
Emmery shook the thought loose.
Ridiculous. It wasridiculous.
And so, so wrong.
His thumb grazed her inner thigh and her whole body leaned into it, her back involuntarily arching. Back and forth, each swipe a longer, slower caress.
Fuck.
Destonne knewexactlywhat he was doing. “Are you listening?” he asked.
Too baffled by his commanding words and the direction of his touch, Emmery merely nodded.
“I will never let you drown.” He said it so simply, once he claimed it, she believed it to be true. His promise flitted through her, playful and heavy and all the things in between. “This isn’t the first time I’ve saved you from drowning and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
Emmery frowned. “What—what do you mean?”
At his silence, her stomach dipped. If he’d saved her before then there was really only one time: when she fell through the ice in the mountain village.
But how was that even possible? How did he know she was there, let alone pull her from the water? But therehadbeen someone chasing after her. She recalled the pursuing footsteps, someone calling her name through the smoke, and Destonne was keen to protect his asset and ensure his pactum with Vesperwas executed successfully. Now that she thought about it, Vesperhadbeen dry when they sat at the camp.
Had that been Destonne’s mouth that breathed life back into her? The air from his own lungs? By the twinkle in his eyes as his gaze dipped to her mouth, he was recalling how her chapped lips had given under his.
Gods save her.
Emmery couldn’t form a reply that wasn’t a babbling ramble of nonsense. She opened her mouth, gaped like a floundering fish and then clamped it shut. When she finally spoke, she said, “I—I haven’t a clue what to say.”
“A simple thank you would suffice. Perhaps that gift I’ve anxiously awaited.”
Emmery closed her eyes as her head swam with everything that happened—all the emotions, feelings, and desires battling within her. “I let fear win again,” she said, her whisper as broken as she felt.
When she finally opened her eyes, she found Destonne watching her with impossible gentleness. “You know the mechanics,” he said. “You only have to put it together and push past that wall of fear. You shoved that boundary today and failed. That’s fine, but don’t give up. Don’t stop pushing. No one else will push for you.”
He carefully set her foot on the ground, stood, and extended his hand to her. She took it, grateful for the support.