His confession had ripped through her defenses.
Austin's hands went to his back, tentative at first, then firm.
She leaned in, pressed her mouth to his.
Kaius stiffened for a split second, then utterly surrendered.
His kiss was a hunger, raw and desperate, a man reclaiming what was his. His hands gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him, fingers digging in, as if to anchor her.
She tangled her hands in his hair, kissing him back with an equal, desperate urgency.
All the lies, all the distance, burned away in the sudden, searing heat.
The world shrank to his lips, the faint rasp of his stubble, the solid weight of his body.
He backed her into the wall, caging her. His thigh pressed between hers. Austin gasped into his mouth. He deepened the kiss, slow and d
