Reckoning Read Online Free Page A

frustration. But on the inside, she was soft, needing my strength and willing to give for the safety of others. I stroked her hair, letting my hand travel down the length of her back and lower.
    Raising her head, her eyes dancing, she said, “Seriously?”
    Unable to turn away from the temptation, I kissed her then, savoring the soft fullness of her lips. She sank deeper against me, her hands sliding up to the back of my neck as she drew my head closer to gently nip my lip, nearly sending my senses into overdrive. “God, Juliet. I love you.”
    She switched her position to climb into my lap to face me. Cupping my face in her hands, she whispered, “I will always love you. Please don’t ever forget that.”
    The seriousness of her tone fanned a spark of unease in my gut. I leaned back. “Why would I forget it?”
    She smiled and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “This…us… It scares me because it’s beauty out of the madness we were both raised to believe. That I found you and you found me despite our families hating each other feels like a dream. I never want to wake up from it.”
    Taking her hand, I slipped it underneath my shirt and pressed it against my chest. “Can you feel that? My heart spells out your name with every beat. I was born to love you, and I’ll die doing that. Don’t worry.” The tears spilled down her face, and I wiped them away with my thumb. “You know you’re destined to be my queen, right?”
    She gave me a watery smile and arched her eyebrows. “Depends on how good you look in a crown.”
    “Oh, I’ll rock the crown.” I wagged my eyebrows suggestively.
    “King Riley,” she murmured and skimmed the top button of my jeans with her fingertips. “Or would you prefer Your Majesty?”
    I twisted my lips and sucked in a breath. “You can call me whatever you want.” I kissed her again, and when Mallen’s warning tried to intrude, I kissed her even harder. I trusted Juliet.
    “Stone,” she whispered against my lips.
    “I changed my mind. You can call me everything but that,” I said.
    She laughed. “I’m sorry. It hit me he’s been gone a while. Maybe we should look for him.”
    I groaned and taking her arms, shifted her from my lap to sit beside me. “I’ll go drag him back.” I waited a second for my body to calm down before I got to my feet. Kissing Juliet was an addiction that always left me hungry for more.
    “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re worried about him.”
    “I’m not worried.” I was being honest. I wasn’t worried about the guy, but I was sorry for what he was going through. I could imagine how I’d feel if Juliet died. I don’t know how I’d find the will to carry on. Walking backward, I said, “I’m sure his mind’s on other things, and there are a lot of places he could fall if he’s not paying attention.” I turned around, taking quick strides away from her before I gave in to the urge to kiss her again.
    As I walked away, I was smiling, then Mallen’s worried face popped into my mind’s eye. The blood pulsed in my ears. I’d known Mallen all my life. He’d never steered me wrong. Was it possible he knew something about Juliet? I shut down the thought. No. Whatever he knew or suspected could never be bad enough to make me stop loving her. Feeling better, I moved stealthily through the darkened corridor in search of Stone.
     
     

Chapter 3
     
    JULIET
    I’d never had so much to lose until now. The future, my future with Riley, would be on shaky ground if he knew what I had to do. His reaction would be swift, I was sure of that. Riley would fall out of love. He would despise me.
    I didn’t know if I could blink, move, breathe if I lost Riley. Losing him was a definite possibility. There was no reasoning, nothing I could say that would make sense to him. He wouldn’t understand even if I were allowed to speak the words in the Untolds aloud. I could imagine what would happen when Riley discovered I was destined to betray