Violet Eden Chapters 04 - Endless

was going to hurt.
    I took the pillows out from under his head so he was lying flat. He pretended it didn’t bother him, but the muscles in his neck betrayed him, bulging. I moved up, straddling him to get in the best position, ready to push his shoulder back into place. Suddenly, Lincoln’s attention shifted back to me. I gnawed on my lower lip, and an idea.
    ‘Ready?’ I asked.
    Oh crap, what am I thinking?
    He gritted his teeth. ‘Do it.’
    Screw it.
    ‘Close your eyes,’ I ordered.
    Surprisingly, he did. Without giving it another moment’s thought, I leaned down and pressed my lips to his.
    Lincoln’s body flinched at the contact, but it only took a couple of seconds for the shock to end and then he was kissing me back. All the emotion that had been building as I’d been healing him released. He made a sound low in his throat and I took that as my cue.
    I thrust my hand down hard and fast. His shoulder popped right back into place. His body jerked with the pain and I released my power back into him, my strength healing him quickly.
    Lincoln’s lips stayed on mine even as he tensed in pain. In a matter of seconds his kiss had changed from one filled with surprise, to pain, to relief and then … to something else altogether more urgent.
    Yes, my plan had a significant flaw, because just as desperately as he kissed me, I was kissing him back. Both of hisarms, now fully operational, pulled me down to him and in a particularly stealthy move he somehow flipped us so that I was lying under him.
    My hands found their way up his bare back. Lincoln made another sound and something within pushed me forward, demanding that I have all of him. When his hands started to push my top up, I felt myself repositioning and whipping it over my head.
    Think, Vi. Think.
    Can’t.
    Lincoln’s lips were at my throat, his hands travelling up my sides. Everything about him was surrounding me. His warmth reminded me of summer days and seeped into me, igniting my desire. This was exactly where I wanted to be, exactly what I wanted to be doing. Mind, body, soul. I ran my fingers through his hair and he did the same to me.
    But his body began to tremble.
    No.
    I knew what he was doing.
    I could feel his power, the distinctive honey flavour beginning to flare while the sun sensation faded. He was putting up the walls between us again.
    But my walls weren’t up. Mine were all the way down and my soul was hungry, agonisingly so.
    ‘No,’ I heard myself say. ‘No!’ I was growling. I didn’t care.
    I pulled his face up to mine and I kissed him. He kissed me back and his power dwindled, but he continued to tremble, continued to try to put walls between us that did not belong there.
    Hislips moved down along my jaw, but they were slowing now. His hands stroked my hair, gently instead of frantically.
    ‘Don’t stop,’ I almost yelled, overwhelmed by a sense of panic at losing him. ‘I need you. I … No! You can’t stop!’
    I arched my body towards him, trying to break down the walls, but he didn’t respond, he just kept kissing me up to my ear and started to talk soothingly.
    ‘You’ve used up all your strength. Your defences are down. Listen to me, Vi. Come back to me. Remember all the reasons.’
    I ran my hands up and down his back, feeling every groove that was meant for me.
    We are supposed to be together, damn it!
    Our souls were matched and not only that, they’d tasted one another and would settle for nothing else.
    My mind and body were on fire with my need for him. Everything that made me who I was, was crying out to be with him.
    He wrapped his arms around me and moved to the side of me, pulling me close. I couldn’t let go and he didn’t make me. I pressed kisses into his neck, his shoulder, I kissed his lips and he let me, all the while talking to me softly and building the wall between us. Eventually, my soul’s demands overcame me. Tears poured from my eyes as I started to pound my fists against his chest, small screams falling from my lips.
    He took it, let me hit him, let me scream. He just pulled me back to him, waiting patiently for me to remember. Letting me know he was there for me, letting me know it was okay.
    Finally, my screaming and the hitting stopped, replaced by exhaustion and a feeling of loss. I fell weakly into his embrace, tears pouring down my cheeks as he kept holding me.
    ‘I’mhere. I feel it too. It’s … crushing and it hurts. You’re not alone. You’re not alone.’
    But I