“Astra,” he growls against my mouth, and the yearning in his voice makes me shiver.

This is madness. This consuming need, this desperate desire for his touch—it’s everything I swore I wouldn’t let myself feel again. But I can’t stop. I can’t pull away. I can only kiss him back with everything I have, pouring all my confusion and craving and frantic longing into this slide of lips and tongues.

When we finally break apart, we’re both panting, our foreheads pressed together as we struggle for air.

“That,” he says, his voice rough and satisfied, “was worth the wait.”

My head falls back to the bed, and I stare up...