Firefox

Besides, she needed an ally. She’d been bracing the storm by herself all these years and just once, she wished that someone would share her burden. Maybe someone to protect her.

From Norman.

She leaned forward, meeting him halfway. His lips brushed over hers tentatively, sweetly, before his tongue slipped out and pressed between her lips. He tasted of oranges, and when Chloe thought about what she’d seen as he’d opened himself to her, she could taste something else. A spice. A heat.

Is this what lightning tastes like?

And then it came to her what she tasted, what she felt vibrate into her with his deepening kiss.

Power.

A pure, raw blinding power.

Chapter 8

The kiss they’d shared reaffirmed everything Sparrow knew in his blood and his very marrow. He was meant to be with her. He’d been destined to win the Selection from the moment he sprang into being, destined to be the consort of his goddess.

When he kissed her, not only was his arousal instant and urgent, but his power swelled within him, felt the fullness of it in a way he never had before. And he could feel hers, wanting to be set free, as well.

She touched his chest with a gentle push, forcing their lips apart.

“I…” Chloe swallowed and blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“You want to. Do you need more time?” he asked. He knew trust must be earned, hearts must be won.

“I do.” Her blue eyes were big and uncertain. She licked her lips as if chasing the taste of him. “I can’t just…sleep with you.”

He smiled. “Technically, you’ve already slept with me.”

Chloe stiffened, the opposite of what Sparrow had been hoping for. “That makes you a liar, doesn’t it?”

“A liar?”

“You said our consummation would restore my powers. If we’ve already fucked, then—”

He laughed. “Gaia, I would never have taken advantage of your inebriated state. We slept, literally.”

“I woke up naked.”

“You kept pulling at your clothes until I helped you undress. I thought you were going to tear them.”

“You were also naked.” Her eyes narrowed.

“I sleep naked. Who doesn’t?” Sparrow shrugged. “And you did pull at my clothing, too.”

Chloe sighed. “None of this makes any sense.”

“I’ve never forced myself on a woman. But now we have the opportunity, with you fully aware of what we’re doing and why, to bring you back into the fullness of your power.” He stepped close enough that she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. “And I know you want me as much as I want you.”

“How can you be so sure?” she whispered and leaned forward against him, perhaps not even aware she’d done it. Sparrow knew he was right, she was drawn to him whether she understood what was happening or not.

“Because I can feel it. I can taste it.”

He was aware how dark his vo

ice was, dripping with lust. He pressed his lips against hers again, and she melted against him, her arms wrapping around his waist and hanging on tight. When she gasped into the kiss, he slid a hand to the back of her neck, fingers slipping into her hair, and kissed a line down her jaw until his mouth pressed against her neck.

Her skin was warm and smooth. Her scent nearly drove him insane with need. He could feel the dormant power within her, stirring awake. It called for him, waiting for the awakening. Every fiber of his being responded to its summoning.