The corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly in a hint of a smile that makes my heart stumble.
Fuck, I want to kiss him. Lose myself in him so completely that all the carnage around us disappears.
I don’t know who moves first. Our lips connect, mouths part, tongues stroke and tangle. I hold him close, clinging to his shoulders as I groan against him, kissing him with everything I have. One firm hand on my spine holds me steady while the other cradles the back of my head. Another lick into his mouth and Solan shudders. Fuck, I love this. How he loses control, is close to unravelling completely.
The clearing of a throat, or maybe more than one, cuts through the lust connecting me to Solan. I pull back, wide-eyed and gasping for breath. Solan peers down at me, his chest rising and falling in a rapid beat. He’s beautiful. It doesn’t matter that he has black splats of blood on him or even that?—
“Are they… are they gone?”
Fuck. Jamie. I turn quickly towards him, relief flooding through me when I see him pale but unscathed.
“For now,” Shanae replies, wiping her blade on the grass. “But we need to move. There could be more nearby.”
I swallow hard as I look around, reaching out for my nephew to hold him close. “That wasn’t the monster you were worried about, was it?” I confirm even though I already know.
Her gaze shifts to me, and she shakes her head. “No.”
Fuck it all to hell.
Solan steps into my line of sight, his golden eyes scanning me for the second time. “You’re hurt,” he says, his voice low and intense.
“It’s just a scratch,” I say, brushing at the blood on my sleeve. “Nothing serious.”
His jaw tightens, but he nods, brushing his fingers against mine for a brief moment.
But before I can say more—or worse, do something like throw myself at him and kiss him senseless again—Shanae interrupts.
“We need to get moving,” she says, her tone brisk. “That fight might’ve drawn more predators. We can’t linger.”
Solan steps back, his hand falling away, and I curse the timing. With a nod at Shanae, I gather my things, giving Jamie another quick once-over to ensure he’s still in one piece. He’s pale and shaky, but he meets my gaze with wide, determined eyes.
“You okay, kiddo?” I ask, crouching down to his level.
He nods quickly, his voice small but steady. “Yeah. You were amazing.”
“So were you,” I say, ruffling his hair. “You kept your head. I’m proud of you.”
Calythra shoots me a look that I think might be approval, and the group begins to move again.
The jungle opens up as we press on, the air hot and humid. Despite the tension and how battle-weary we are, Jamie seems to have found his second wind and peppers Shanae with questions, his curiosity undiminished.
“So, you’re not taking us to the main camp right away?” he asks.
“No,” Shanae replies, glancing over her shoulder. “We’re going to the headquarters. It’s smaller, more secure.”
“What’s the main camp like?” I ask, curious despite myself. She gave the basics earlier, but I need to have a better understanding of where I’m leading my nephew. I click at Geralt to keep up, his reins in my hand as he walks at my side.
Shanae pushes a low-hanging branch out of the way. “It came through in one of the early merges—a whole chunk of another world, including buildings, streets, and people. We’ve built onto it over the years, but the original structures are still there.”
Jesus. The whole thing boggles my mind, but damn if the excited curiosity isn’t bubbling in my gut too. I peer up at Solan, whose gaze immediately lowers to meet mine. “Have you seen lots of evidence of rifts since you’ve been here?”
He bobs his head. “Yes, a few larger settlements and areas, but more like your home.”
“As in my house, my property?” I clarify, checking he’s not simply talking about my world.
“Yes. We can return one day, gather your things.”
That would be incredible, but what would be even better would be staying there. If not for my own sense of self-preservation, then definitely for Jamie. It’s something I’ll ask Solan, but not right now when surrounded by rebels who may or may not want to welcome us in. Hell, from some of the initial sneers and what we’ve already discovered, them trying to kill us might still be on the cards.
