Tree Of Souls (Transfusion Saga #6) - Stephanie Hudson Page 0,78

gasped and started to struggle in his hold, making him grip me tighter before banding an arm across my torso, telling me softly,

“Ssshh, be still now…I won’t hurt you.” I tensed, closed my eyes as the tears started to rise as I told him fiercely,

“And I told you once before…you already have…now let go of me!” At this I felt his arm turn to steel and the rumbling vibrations at my back matched that of his low growl of frustration. But he had no clue as to what he was doing to me right now. How much pain he caused me by being back in his arms once more.

Gods, but how I just wanted to relax back against him. How I wanted to let him hold me and say to hell with my strength. One that seemed to be sucked right out of me, especially when he suddenly turned me to face him and snarled angrily,

“And I told you, that I never would!” Then, before I could stop myself, I slapped him across the face as hard as I could, until the pain lashed across my own skin. Then, before he could react in any way, I lost every good sense I had and grabbed him by the shirt, yanking him into me. After this I reached up and crushed my lips to his the second I pulled him down to meet me! Doing so with so much passion, it felt as though it had the power to burn us both to Hell for our sins!

His own reaction only managed to fuel my own into holding onto him tighter. This was because he had one hand fisted in my hair at the back of my neck and the other fisted in the material of my shirt at the base of my spine. There he held me to him as if he feared that I would suddenly disappear through his fingers. As if he was doing everything in his power to prevent that.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I had that nagging voice telling me that this was wrong. That I shouldn’t be doing this, that he was no longer mine and I didn’t belong to him. That I was angry and upset. But above all else, it was questioning why he was even here and why was he kissing me so desperately, it felt as if he needed me like he needed his next breath? None of it made sense, least of all the way my hands curled around his neck as if to anchor him to me, never wanting to let go.

But then I started to think of everything I had been through these last two months. I thought of all the pain and suffering he had caused me. I thought about what seemed like the endless tears and cursing his name as I woke from my nightmares. And then after all of this my mind forced me to ask myself…what was I doing?

So, I let my fingers uncurl from his hair, and just as they started to lower, he knew. He knew that he was losing me because he pulled his lips back enough to tell me on a dangerous promise,

“No, I am not fucking letting you go!” Then he pushed me back until I was trapped between him and the table. So this time I had no chance of escaping him as he really kissed me. And foolishly, I opened up once more, doing so on a whimpered moan, as he plundered my mouth, tasting me, drinking me in and consuming me whole. He ravished me just with his kiss, and I swear it felt powerful enough to brand the memory to my damaged, fragile soul.

And I wasn’t the only one who was affected in this way, as when he finally released my lips, doing so now, as we were both panting, he placed his forehead to mine and told me,

“By the Gods, how I’ve missed you.” I swallowed hard, so hard that he could hear it, that along with the feel of my emotions getting too much to hold back as I shuddered in his arms. Which was why this time, instead of simply pulling away, something I knew Lucius would react to in a negative way, I tried a different tactic. Because I couldn’t let him kiss me like that again…I just wouldn’t survive it.

“Please, Lucius…please.”

“What is it, my Khuba?” he whispered down at me, as his hand cupped my face before caressing a