Paradise of Shadows and Devotion by Gaja J. Kos

Author:Gaja J. Kos [Kos, Gaja J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boris Kos

The truth slammed into me with such force that by the time Santino reached me, hovering within reach but not touching, my fear for him rivaled the carnal longing rushing through my veins. I focused on keeping my magic from permeating my voice, reeling it inside until the lake around me stilled, no longer bound to me, but a separate entity in which I reigned.

Santino noticed the change. His gaze swept across the reflective surface, then fell back on me, warm and unafraid.

“You don’t have to do that, piccola,” he whispered, swimming closer despite my silent protest. “You wouldn’t hurt me. So don’t hide who you are. Please.”

I shook my head, biting my lip when the heat rolling off his body brushed against mine. The droplets that made their way languidly down the line of his neck glistened in invitation and, more than anything, I wanted to press my lips to his pulse. To trace the alluring curve leading to his shoulder and caress the sun-kissed skin as he wrapped me in his arms—

“Did you know?” I asked instead.

A smile touched his lips. Light. Loving. “No, I did not.”

“Then how can you be so certain I’ll be able to control this power?” My voice threatened to break, from the changes I was still only starting to uncover. From my desire for him—so misguided and inappropriate, yet real. Stronger than anything I’d ever felt. Even the pull of the water.

But even if I somehow managed to forget about the differences between us, even if I succeeded in pushing beyond the knowledge that I was a hunter, I couldn’t change the fact that in my very nature, I was still designed to seduce—and ultimately kill. As a mermaid, my voice might not be lethal unless I wished it, but I didn’t know about the rest of it…

Santino’s knuckles brushed against my cheek. “I saw you, Liana. What you did… It wasn’t malevolence, but a thing of beauty.”

His other hand snaked around my back, drawing me to him. I looked up into those silver-blue eyes, slowly taking his weight to keep us afloat, then ran my fingers down his honed chest.

Keeping us apart. Keeping us together.

Gods, I wished he was right. That there was more to my existence than the velvet call of death.

My kiss hadn’t harmed him before—perhaps…perhaps fate would be kind. Just this once.

“The Rusalkas taught you to hunt,” he breathed onto my lips. “They taught you to kill. But patterns can be broken, cara. It is only you who has the power to decide who you want to be. A killer”—his lips touched the corners of mine—“or a lover.”

A weak, barely audible moan spilled between us, filled with such yearning that surprise swept through me as I realized it had come from me. But I didn’t have time to dwell on my body’s treacherous admission, because in that very moment, Santino crushed me to his chest and slanted his mouth over mine.

I opened up for him, my arms curving around

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