We’re close. Way too close. Enough to kiss or kill each other.
Right now, I can’t decide which one I want more.
Mia’s eyes fill with fire again. The kind of fire that makes me want to draw closer to the flame, see how bad it can burn.
All this time, I’ve been the one burning down empires left and right.
Never have I let another’s flame touch me.
But Mia’s heat almost matches the intensity of mine.
“I’m not your property,” she says. “I’m not—”
“Yes, you are. You are mine. Until the sun comes up six months from now, you belong to me and only me. And I won’t have youquestioning me.”
“Or what?” She trembles. “You’ll hurt me?”
“No, Mia. I’ll never hurt you. I’ll never need to.” My lips graze her cheek, just shy of her quivering, open lips. “There are
much easier ways to teach someone
