Famine (The Four Horsemen #3) - Laura Thalassa Page 0,72

entire night.”

A fat drop of water lands on my cheek.

There we go.

At my back, the horseman goes rigid.

“One would almost think you cared about me …” I say, baiting him.

Another raindrop hits my face—then another and another.

“Enough.”

The raindrops come faster and faster.

Wonder of wonders, this is working. And now I have not one, but two revelations to ponder over—the most obvious one being the fact that the horseman clearly has some power over the weather, which, holy shit is that spooky.

But then there’s another revelation, which is somehow even more mind-blowing than Famine’s ability to affect the weather.

“You do care about me, don’t you?” I say, shocked.

Abruptly, the Reaper pulls on the reins, jerking his horse to a stop.

Without a word, he swings himself off his horse and walks away.

“Where are you going?” I call, fumbling to get myself out of the saddle. Awkwardly I do so, grimacing when the action tugs at my shoulder.

Overhead, the sky is turning worrisomely dark and the rain is coming down harder and harder, the raindrops stinging as they hit my skin.

“Wait!” I call after Famine, hurrying after him.

All at once he swivels around, facing me. “One of these days, your inability to listen is going to get you killed.”

I step in so close to the horseman that our chests nearly brush. He’s giving me an angry look.

I reach out and touch his cheek, for once not restraining my baser impulses. Just as he’s beginning to rear back, surprised and a little horrified, my hand goes around his neck and I pull his head towards me.

Lifting to my tiptoes, I press my lips to his and kiss him.

Chapter 26

I don’t know what I’m doing. I mean, I do—I’ve done this so many times I can kiss better than I can write my own name—but I don’t know why I’m doing this now, with the horseman of all people.

For a long moment, Famine is stiff against my lips. Then, almost like he can’t help it, I feel his mouth move against mine.

Sweet Mother of God, the horseman knows how to kiss—and he’s responding to mine!

A bolt of lightning arcs down from the heavens. With a loud crack it hits a tree, fire and wood exploding on impact.

A surprised cry rips from my throat, and I rear back.

A split-second later, Famine stumbles away from me.

“What the fuck, Ana?” he says, his fingers going to his mouth.

Around us, hail begins to pelt down, the clusters growing larger by the second.

Cursing under his breath, the Reaper closes the distance between us once more, shielding my body with his own.

My eyes eventually move up to him. “You really can control the weather,” I say. I can’t keep the wonder from my voice.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Famine says, glancing at me. After a moment, his eyebrows rise. “Is that why you kissed me? To test a damn theory of yours?” Even as he asks, his gaze strays back to my lips.

I can practically feel the heat of his anger. I think the only thing that might piss the horseman off more than getting kissed right now is getting kissed for the wrong reasons.

The corner of my mouth lifts. I definitely shouldn’t enjoy toying with him—people tend to die when this happens—but I can’t help it; he’s fun to tease. He takes it so poorly.

My eyes drop to his lips. “That … and I was curious.”

I’m still curious. He felt like sin against my lips. And damn me, but now all I want is to do it again—if only to see another tree blow up.

Famine stalks back to his horse.

“What?” I call after him. “Did I say something wrong? Don’t be mad—you’re much less pretty when you’re mad.”

In response, he growls.

I grin. So much fun to tease.

The rest of the ride is full of silence—heavy, tense silence. Behind me, Famine broods away.

Even though the worst of the storm is behind us—both literally and figuratively—rain still pelts down on us. There’s no escaping it, but it’s not altogether unpleasant. It cools my skin against the stifling heat of the day.

We continue down the road, following one of Brazil’s old highways. By the looks of it, the thing has been patched over and over again since its creation. Here the farms have thinned out, replaced by rolling fields and thick, verdant forests.

Every so often we pass by a trading post or an inn, but that’s it. We don’t pass by any travelers today, and for that, I’m immensely relieved.