Chapter 15 -Avianna-
\-Avianna-
The moment the cooler air hits my skin, everything gets worse. The heat already burning inside me surges violently, spreading through my body in sharp, unbearable waves that leave me struggling to breathe properly. Every inch of exposed skin suddenly feels hypersensitive, the brush of fabric against my body almost painful in its intensity. My breath catches hard enough to turn into a soft gasp before I can stop it.
And Rhydon immediately misunderstands.
I feel him shift closer behind me, his hands tightening slightly on my arms as though my trembling belongs to him.
Gods.
My thoughts are slipping badly now, fractured beneath the relentless heat pouring through me. My body feels completely out of control, every nerve alive in a way that makes no sense, my skin too sensitive, my pulse too fast, my stomach twisting tighter and tighter into something I do not understand.
Something is very wrong.
This is happening too fast. It feels forced, invasive, like something is moving through my body instead of belonging to it. Rhydon mistakes my shaking for invitation. One of his hands leaves my arm and slides slowly around the front of my stomach, pulling me more firmly against him. The contact sends another violent pulse of sensation through me, sharp enough that my knees nearly weaken beneath me. His mouth lowers closer to my ear.
“I know, baby,” he whispers softly. “I want you too.”
Revulsion cuts clean through the haze. Clarity slams into me all at once. This is not desire. Not for him. Panic surges so violently through my chest that it finally overpowers the heat consuming the rest of me. His hand tightens against my stomach before sliding lower, gripping my hip possessively as though he thinks he’s won something. I jerk against him instinctively, horror finally breaking fully through the confusion.
And through the tether, I scream for the only person who has ever made me feel safe.
Caylix…please…help me…
“I’m sorry,” I manage, my voice uneven and breathless. “I…I don’t feel well.”
Rhydon’s grip tightens slightly on my hip, concern flashing across his face too slowly, too late.
“Avianna…”
“I need air.”
The words are sharper this time. More desperate. I pull away before he can stop me. My legs feel unsteady beneath me as I move quickly out of the stable, every nerve in my body burning with unbearable awareness. The heat hasn’t faded. If anything, it’s getting worse, spreading through me in relentless waves that leave my thoughts fractured and my breathing uneven. I barely make it around the corner before I collide directly into a solid chest.
Strong hands catch my arms instantly. And everything inside me ignites. Caylix freezes the moment he touches me. I feel it through the tether immediately, that sharp spike of shock and something darker underneath it as the full force of the heat slams into him through skin contact. The heat roaring through me amplifies violently, turning almost unbearable as his hands tighten around me.
His breathing stops for half a second. Then starts again, rougher. Our eyes lock, and I feel it. It’s not just my reaction anymore.
It is his as well.
The sudden surge of desire that tears through the tether from both directions at once is overwhelming enough that my legs give out beneath me. His jaw tightens instantly, every muscle in his body locking down with brutal control. His gaze flicks over me once, sharp and assessing, taking in my flushed skin, my uneven breathing, the way my hands tremble against his chest.
Then his expression changes completely. Cold. Dangerous.
“We have to get out of here.”
One arm moves around my waist immediately, steadying me as he turns sharply toward the nearest guards.
“There is a threat to the princess,” he says, his voice hard enough to cut through stone itself. “Lock down the palace. No one enters or leaves the grounds until I give the order.”
The guards react instantly. And before anyone can question further, Caylix is already moving, pulling me quickly toward the castle. Toward my chambers.
The moment the chamber doors close behind us, I reach for him again. I don’t even think about it. I just need…him.
My fingers clutch the front of Caylix’s shirt, and the second my skin touches his again, the heat detonates through me so violently that a broken gasp tears from my throat. My body is on fire. My breasts ache suddenly, the tight peaks of my nipples painfully sensitive beneath the fabric of my dress. The material scraping across them feels almost unbearable now, each tiny movement sending fresh pulses of sensation through my body hard enough to leave me shaking.
“Oh god…”
My breath catches raggedly as another wave hits. The dress is too much. The corseted structure pressing against my skin, the fabric against my chest, the layers trapping heat against my body, it all suddenly feels suffocating. I claw frantically at the fastening at the back of my dress.
“I can’t…”
My hands are shaking too badly to undo it properly.
“It hurts,” I gasp, panic threading through every word now. “Caylix, please…”
His entire body has gone rigid beneath my hands. Through the tether, I feel the heat tearing through him too now, amplified violently by skin contact. Desire slams through the bond hard enough to steal my breath again, flooding back against me in heavy, overwhelming waves. His jaw locks so tightly I can see the muscle twitch.
“Avi,” he says hoarsely, like forcing my name out is costing him something.
Another pulse crashes through me. I whimper involuntarily as the fabric brushes painfully against my chest again, my body arching instinctively away from it.
“Please help me get it off.”
The words come out desperate. And that seems to finally cut through whatever battle Caylix is fighting inside himself. His hands move immediately to the back of my dress, rougher than he intends as he struggles to control his breathing. I feel every brush of his fingers against my spine like fire. The tether surges violently again. A strained sound escapes him this time.
The gown slips to the floor in a pool of silk, but the relief barely lasts. Cool air touches my skin and the heat inside me surges harder, a deep, pulsing ache low in my belly that makes my knees shake.
My hands clutch at his forearms. “Caylix… I can’t…”
“I know,” he says roughly, already moving toward me. “I’ve got you.”
Then he lifts me, one arm beneath my knees, the other firm against my back. A soft sound escapes me as my body presses against his. The movement only makes the heat worse, turning every breath sharp and uneven. I bury my face against his neck, trying to hold onto something steady while he carries me toward the bed.