Summoned to the Wilds (Villains & Virtues, #2)

by A.K. Caggiano

He could have sat there all day, the rain pattering against the window, just watching her read.

“It’s going to be a tight fit,” mused Damien, squinting at the narrow tunnel. “Well, if experience has taught me anything,” said Amma, handing Kaz over to him, “a little preparation makes a world of difference.”

What had at first been a hateful and cumbersome chain had grown into a tether he desperately held onto, an anchor he relied on in an arcanely dark sea so easy to become lost in, and as selfish and terrible as that was, the thought of severing it pierced him deeper than any blade ever had.

“You know I’ve got a special place in the hole where my heart ought to be for you, so I just thought I’d give you one last chance before I really turned my back on whatever this is, this thing you insist exists.”

After being denied and bottled up and misconstrued, feelings too have a limit, and if they find they cannot be expressed in their natural, honest states, they will resort to putting on the cloaks of other feelings, adopting new accents and a little makeup, and when they are finally convincing enough, roar out into the world disguised as something completely different.

“I know you can do better than that.” Damien slid a hand up over her shoulder to the back of her neck, hot against her skin and tugging her close. “And you will do better than that for me,” he growled, and then his lips were on hers.

“There’s my good girl.”