Griffin looks at me like I’ve gone mad and doesn’t bother answering. His jaw flexes, and he glares at me, silently fuming. Then he throws back his head and howls. It’s a sound of utter frustration, and I feel a moment of sharp anxiety when both his hands clench into fists. Maybe I shouldn’t have wanted him to crack. His tanned skin and dark hair blend into the shadows. Only his eyes stand out, and they’re feral.
He drags both hands over his scalp, raking his hair back and tugging hard. “You get shot. You nearly burn to death. Twice. You think a good escape plan is to jump off a flying Dragon. You disappear for two days and then come back griping as usual. You make selfish, impossible demands.”
His tone is scathing, and I feel my face flame. I should scream at him. I should knock him over the head. Who is he, to scold me like this? He should be in awe of me, not slinging me around like he has every right to do as he pleases.
Griffin kicks a rock, sending it flying into the darkness. His barely controlled fury feels like a third person in the cave. I can’t take my eyes off him. I’m not sure I should.
“You’re rash, willful, and hostile. You have no self-control.” He whirls on me. “Do you even think before you act?”
I stare at him, my eyes wide, my heart in a knot. He’s listing my worst traits, everything I fear and wish I could change—things that make me like her—and it hurts.
My eyes sting. I try to breathe.
“Impetuous, obstinate—” The flat of his hand rockets into a stalactite, sending it flying with a crack. His nostrils flare, and he swings his burning gaze back on me. “If I ever see you throw yourself in front of a Dragon…or off a Dragon…” His voice trails off in favor of an ominous growl. “I swear to the Gods I’ll lock you up for the rest of your life.”
My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. My chest tightens painfully. He’s…worried about me?
“Don’t you have any sense of self-preservation?” Griffin thunders. “Don’t you fear?”
“Fear?” The word echoes eerily, louder and more high-pitched than I intended. “I have nothing but a sense of self-preservation, and there’s only one thing I fear.”
A tiny muscle contracts under Griffin’s eye. “Alpha Fisa.”
I nod, watching him carefully. He exhales with a curse and starts walking. He paces the cavern for a long time, his jaw grinding, his fists tight, glancing furiously at me every now and then. Minutes pass, and I eventually see the smoke settle.
Inhaling a deep breath, he stops in front of me, his hands on his hips. “Don’t leave the castle grounds without one of us,” he finally says. “Please. I’ll worry if you do.”
Everything in me stills. Did he just ask nicely?
I swallow, my throat suddenly thick. My voice comes out raw. “Why? I’ll always come back. I can’t leave you unless you release me from my vow.” Or I’m abducted, so he kind of has a point.
“I have enough to worry about. I don’t want to worry about you, too.”
I press my lips together and look away, escaping something in his eyes I don’t want to face, or even acknowledge. I stall by brushing myself off and then pushing disheveled hair out of my face. My braid is a mess, my clothes are dusty, and I’m pretty sure I have a scrape on my hip. It stings, but it’s not bleeding. If I could use magic on him, Griffin wouldn’t dare toss me around, and I wouldn’t end up the loser at the end of every fight. I hate him. I really do.
Sort of.
Not really.
Gods! I’m such a mess!
“Fine.”
“Fine?” He looks surprised.
“Do I have to repeat it?” I snap.
He flashes a lopsided grin. “Or say it in sign language?”
My insides dip, going cavernous and light. There’s a flutter deep in my belly. “Why don’t I ever think of stabbing you?” I ask, sliding my fingers over the knife in my belt.
Griffin chuckles, and before I can frown, or curse, or say something cutting, he closes the gap between us, sweeps me into his arms, and kisses me.
I must be demented because I don’t even put up a fight. A long rumble of thunder vibrates through my body. Lightning races under my skin. Stunned by the strange and startling rush of power, I open my mouth, and Griffin invades it, his hot tongue rolling over mine. Desire instantly surges on a wild, irrepressible storm. I’ve never been kissed like this before—part passion, part possession, part need. All heat.
Temporarily insane, I slip my hands around Griffin’s neck and touch my tongue to his. I taste his husky groan as he spears his fingers into my hair, gripping the nape of my neck to tilt my head back and deepen the kiss. His other hand tightens on my waist, pulling our bodies together. He’s intense, hungry, and yet surprisingly gentle. No one has ever been careful with me before. I don’t need careful, but something inside me still cracks, a fissure created by this earthquake of a man.