— MARA
He kissed me.
One moment we were standing there, the almost-smile fading from his face.
The next, his hand was in my hair, his mouth on mine, and everything I thought I knew about restraint shattered.
It wasn't gentle.
Wasn't tender.
Was possession and desperation and fury wrapped in something that tasted like blood and smoke and the end of the world.
I kissed him back.
God help me, I kissed him back.
For three seconds. Maybe five.
Long enough to feel the heat of him. The hunger. The way his other hand gripped my waist like he was drowning and I was air.
Then reality crashed back.
This was Cassian.
My captor.
The man who'd ruined my life.
The man I'd just agreed to fight beside.
And I was kissing him like it meant something.
I shoved him back.
Hard.
He stumbled. C
