Profound Devotion

Chapter 30

August 1st
Monaia

I couldn't believe Seraphina forced Cass to join us. His tensed posture and flat rate stare screamed discomfort, his vice grip on the arms of his chair proving he would rather have been anywhere else.

"So..." My sister drummed her fingers against her knees as she balanced her weight on the armrest of the couch across from him. "I think it's time we take off. Monaia, we'll see you later."

Jamie and Syrene were ushered onto their feet and shooed out of the room before they had a chance to protest. Jamie groaned, staring longingly at her spot she had once been comfortable in.

Before the door was closed behind them, Sera popped her head back inside and shot me a wink. "Be safe. Don't do what I wouldn't do."

I smacked both of my hands on the surface of the door, slamming it closed and silencing her teasing laugh that followed her out. How embarrassing.

Cassius and I were alone now, only the sound of my ragged breathing filling the once energized air.

Now what? I didn't think things through all the way. Would he reject me? Was he embarrassed by what I had done?

A shrill shiver racked my spine, and a burly scent besieged me with an intent to find answers. My heart leapt up to my throat as I spun around on my heel and pressed my back into the door, Cassius' intimidating stature close enough for me to reach out and trail my fingers along his still exposed chest if I so chose.

His hot breaths fanned my already warm cheeks, his lungs expanding with his own inhale of my scent. It was as if all my instincts had been suppressed, and I was now relying on one thing—the craving every fiber of my being had for him.

He was utterly perfect, down to the brush of his thumb along my jaw, stopping just before my parted lips.

"You told me to find you." He took a slow, confident step forward until there was no room for me to escape him. "What is it that you were saying?"

"I—" I croaked, any sane thoughts jumbled into a mass of tangled webs as I struggled just to fill my nose with air. All I'd managed to do was open and close my mouth like a gaping fish, desperate for water.

My exasperation only worsened as he used his forefinger to lift my chin, tilting my face and lowering his own until we were close enough to make out the littering of faded scars along his tanned skin.

"Mona."

My name spilled from his lush lips like honey, eliciting yet another shiver of desire that involuntarily pressed my body against his warm chest. My hands landed flat on his skin, and yet he didn't seem to mind as he released his hold on my face and brushed the tips of his fingers up to my hairline, twirling the hair that had fallen past my crimson ear.

"You are not doing much talking."

My hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they wandered the real estate of his muscles, memorizing every groove and the faint gashes that had long healed and left a permanent mark on his body. I pressed my thumb against one that sliced over the placement of his steadily beating heart, this one seeming much fresher than the others.

Cass's throat vibrated with a soft purr of approval, and he dropped his head to bury his face in my neck, running his nose along my cheek.

He was right—I wasn't talking. Instead, I let myself finally rely on my emotions and nudged him back far enough to raise his face. His disappointed frown tugged at my chest, and I all but lost control of myself then as I clung to his shoulder and rose to my toes, finally bringing our lips back together for the second time that day.