Orion's kiss overwhelmed me, igniting flames I'd never felt before. His lips were firm yet surprisingly soft, moving against mine with desperate intensity. The raw passion in that kiss broke something inside me. This was my first real kiss – not the clinical ceremony at our wedding, but something primal and consuming.
I should have pushed him away. I should have slapped him. But my body had other ideas.
My hands found their way to his chest, feeling the rapid hammering of his heart beneath my fingertips. I kissed him back with equal fervor, tasting his anger and something else – something that felt dangerously like need.
When we finally broke apart, both gasping for air, his eyes were wild and conflicted.
"Don't," he rasped, his fingers still gripping my hair. "Don't ever say you want to die again."
The vulnerability in his voice caught me off guard. This wasn't the cruel, dismissive Orion I knew.
"Why do you care?" I challenged, my voice barely above a whisper.
