Lightning split the sky, and before I could stop myself, I grabbed his shirt and kissed him.

Hard. Desperate. Like the world was collapsing and he was the only thing holding it up.

He kissed me back like he’d been waiting his whole damn life — hands gripping my waist, pulling me flush against him, heat and rain and blood mixing between us. I moaned into his mouth, claws scraping his shoulder as thunder cracked.

Then he pulled back, forehead pressed to mine. His eyes burned. “If I ...