Blood And Breath

22

“It has been … so long, Cat. So long since I have touched a woman.” His words ghosted across my skin. “I only have so much restraint within me.” I licked my now parched lips, straining to think through my lusty haze. “Is there a reason to restrain yourself?” He pulled back, his eyes tracking mine, almost pleadingly. “There is every reason, yet none seem sufficient.” I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t care why he seemed to be begging me to stop him. I needed his lips on mine like I needed my next breath. I wanted Fen to be the very air I breathed. Tossing aside his wordless plea, I lifted onto my toes and brought our lips together in a tentative kiss. Fenodree held perfectly still, chiseled in stone. I began to question if he’d respond to my advance until I made one last effort and trailed my tongue along his full bottom lip, desperate to taste him. The contact drew forth a savage groan from deep in his chest before his lips crashed down on mine. I’d never felt more desired in my entire life. Not just desired. Owned. As though my body was his to command in a way I’d never known was possible. Invisible strings bound us together, tightly woven and impossible to ignore. Even our hearts pounded with the same punishing rhythm. His tongue tunneled inside me with relentless possession, and I was his willing captive. I’d never been certain of my purpose in life, but at that moment, I knew it was him. He was my purpose. My very reason for being. I would have continued kissing him forever had he not reluctantly pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. Our shallow breaths shuddered and melded as we regained our bearings. If he was half as disoriented as I was, it would take weeks rather than days to come down from this high. My kiss-swollen lips lifted in a small smile before I pulled back to peer up at him, but all my newly acquired joy froze over and crashed to the ground in an icy heap when I saw the look on his face. Unadulterated disgust dripped from his snarled lip while his eyes sliced me wide open with cutting disappointment. I stumbled back a step, unable to formulate a word through my shock. “I’m sorry,” Fen mumbled, running a hand through his newly trimmed hair. “I should not have done that.” “What? Why?” Had I done something wrong? How had I misread our kiss so drastically? I’d thought we were both equally as swept away by the current running between us, but now, I could only sense turmoil and regret. Did he think he was taking advantage of me? Couldn’t he tell I liked what we’d done? “Fen, I—” “Enough,” he cut me off in a harsh tone. “It is time we get back. I am sure you will need to return home soon.” He kept his gaze cast aside, erecting an impenetrable barrier between us. I didn’t feel comfortable arguing with him, though a voice inside me pleaded helplessly with him. I had no clue what had happened, but now wasn’t the time to push for answers. He was clearly upset. I nodded and followed in his wake as he led us back to the car. We made the entire trip to the hotel in awkward silence, and minutes later, I was on the road back to Belfast, completely at a loss. OceanofPDF.com Chapter Nine OceanofPDF.com CAT The line between wallowing and relaxing was ambiguous at best. I spent most of the following day in bed watching television, assuring myself that my debilitating lack of energy resulted from a busy week. I hated to think Fenodree’s emotional slap could affect me so profoundly. We hardly knew one another, after all. I’d only met him weeks before. But after a full day of fighting off thoughts of the confusing Fae man, I had to admit that my bleary-eyed exhaustion was born more of heartache than anything else. The most crippling part was my confusion. I couldn’t understand what had happened to turn our day so sour. The kiss I’d wanted to savor forever now sat bitter on my tongue, the residue impossible to scrape away. My mood had been irritable at best, so I kept to myself. The last thing I wanted was to deal with my mother’s nonsense when I was already fending off an oppressive black cloud over my head. However, I could only avoid her so long when my stomach rioted for food, demanding supper. When I finally emerged from my self-imposed isolation, I found her dusting the insides of the small china cabinet. “Hello, love. You feeling better?” she asked a little too cheerfully. “Yeah, just a long week.” “Oh, yeah? Work goin’ all right?” She shot me an odd look, making me suddenly wonder if she hadn’t discovered that I’d skipped work. She seemed too energetic to be angry, but I wasn’t sure what else could be behind her odd behavior. Sweat began to drench my palms, and the hunger I’d felt just moments before evaporated. “Same as always. And you—how was your day?” My words came out clipped, but my mom was apparently too absorbed in whatever she had on her mind to notice. She picked up each cup and saucer, wiping them thoroughly before replacing them on the glass shelves. “I have good news! I think we’ve found a place for you and Aileen to move into soon.” Oh. Well, that was good news. The tension in my shoulders eased, knowing my secret was still safe. Still, as I watched my mom continue to clean with abandon, the suspicion resurfaced. “Is that all that’s on your mind, Mom?” I asked hesitantly. She stalled her frenzied action and turned my way. “Yes, just getting the place tidy for tomorrow. I have Sunday dinner plans for us, so make sure you’re home.” I knew my mom like I knew my own freckles, and there was something more she wasn’t saying. “What exactly are these plans?” “My friend Moira O’Keane, her husband, and their son are coming in from Downpatrick. I’ve invited them over. It’s important you’re here, that’s all.” She spouted the words quickly without glancing my way. “Is this a date? Are you trying to set me up with her son?” I blurted, hands going to my hips. She put down the plate she’d been wiping and slowly faced me. Her features hardened with determination, making the hackles raise on the back of my neck. “You’re getting older, Catronia. It’s time to find you someone, and it’s not like you can be with just anyone.” Her words were firm, and I could see her knuckles whiten as they gripped her dusting rag. “Of course, I can be with just anyone. This isn’t the Middle Ages—you can’t tell me who I’m going to date,” I stuttered with indignation. My mom’s lips set firmly as she took a menacing step forward. “I can, and I will if needed. At one time, there were so few of us that marriage to outsiders was a necessity, but now, we are a large enough faction that the knowledge must stay within our numbers.” She lifted her chin haughtily before continuing. “It has been decreed by the elders.” “What has? What the hell are you talking about?”