25
The world beneath her feet quaked. She swore it moved, sending a tremor up through her legs and rocking the foundation on which she stood. Her belly did a strange, erotic flip, one that stirred awake a feral hunger and voracious pulse at the apex of her thighs. That pulse spread up through her sternum, her throat, making it difficult to swallow, harder to breathe, and that longstanding ache in her chest blossom behind an explosion of golden light.
Their bond. It might not be sealed with blood, but it reminded her how alive, well, and virile it was on its own. How much she had missed him, wanted him,neededhim to feel complete.
His eyes glowed a deeper blue, his pupils swelling. His nostrils flared a touch, casting his calm expression beneath a carnal shadow. That look, the sensation of being pinned by a predator she desperately wanted to succumb to, kept her glued where she stood when every molecule screamed for her to run, jump,climbthe heart-melting Fae.
“You had me worried.” She knotted her fingers at her waist, drawing his attention like a scorching blade from hereyes, along her throat, lingering at the crest of her breasts, down, down, down to where she stayed her hands. He took his first step toward her. The air downright shook. “No one would tell me how you were fairing.”
“As not to have me take up precious space in that beautiful head of yours.”
Somehow, she swallowed past the knot that bobbed back up to the back of her throat. His voice, a deep, richly thick husk, played over her skin and conquered her mind. His voice alone was a caress her soul craved, foreplay of an elevated nature. Every nerve within her sang beneath those few words, a melody that caused her to sway.
Another step closer. The weight of his presence pressed into her body. God, was this the effect of being soul mates? Was this the full power of having a single person destined to be hers? For days, she’d held walls, barriers, restraints up against Thaddeus. Trying to keep him at arm’s length, even if her arms often buckled, her will chipped and crumbled. She abandoned them the night Rich came to her and never bothered replacing them.
“If I want you to take up space in my head, who’s to tell me you can’t?”
Another step, bringing him within reach. Her heart drummed hard in her chest. The bodice of the dress suddenly felt too tight, too constricting. Suspended in limbo, her entire body taut, burning, aching, itching, the only way out would be at the mercy of this man.
“Moghráálainn,” he murmured, reaching for her chest. His words touched a space in her heart, despite not understanding their meaning. Only when his fingers folded around her fist did she realize she had unlocked her fingers and pressed her fist hard over her heart. His grip, tender, gentle, melted her muscles as he slipped his thumb against the heelof her palm and opened her hand. His gaze never faltered from hers, soaking in every tiny nuance, every teeny reaction. He lifted her palm to his mouth, brushing those cruelly seductive lips across her skin, and all she could think about was his wicked mouth consuming hers. “I don’t deserve you. I’ve never deserved you.”
His hand slipped to her cheek, molding to the curve of her face. She leaned into his touch, his caress. The press of his strong fingers after their absence for so many days filled her with warmth. A homecoming after being alone for so long. Here, now. This was the very place her heart ached to be, and she was through fighting what she could no longer fight. What she no longer cared to fight.
“I beg to differ.” Slipping a hand to his waist, fingers curling around the silky sash, she stepped into him and pressed to her toes. “We deserve each other, Thaddeus.”
Thaddeus wrapped his arm around her waist, pinning her flush to him. Despite the layers of fabric, his arousal was evident, digging shamelessly into her belly. The sexiest flush touched his cheeks as his pupils yawned. His breaths remained controlled, but when she curled her free hand around his neck, his pulse raced against her palm. Oh, the feel of him, solid, warm, andalive, sent her soaring.
Her eyelids grew heavy as he tilted her head, his fingers combing up into her hair. She melted in his embrace, her body languid and weak, moving according to his direction. The sweetest heat spread over her lips, his breath like butterfly wings before his mouth pressed down upon her. She moaned as his tongue swept between her lips. A single, tentative dip, teasing the tip of her tongue before drawing back.
Only Rori caught him and kept him close, unleashing the famished predator he tried to hold at bay.
His mouth became her sanctuary, his kiss her salvation.She whimpered, feeding into his starved kisses, his demanding plunders, an intoxicating mixture of desperation and desire. Yet never once did he allow their kisses to become frenzied and wild. She tasted his strength in his control, that hissing resistance, a last string screaming to be severed. To be free of any and all binds, to simplybehow they were meant to be.
Together.
Her hip bumped into the balustrade. Thaddeus tore his mouth from her, his arm loosening from her waist and his hand dropping to her hip. “Are you all right?”
“I barely felt it.” Rori stole the moment to curl her fingers in his soft hair, the cool strands running over her hand like satin. She traced the curve of his ear, following the firm shell to its point. Thaddeus’s smoldering gaze cut to hers, his tender touch at her hip splaying over her ass in a possessive squeeze. She sucked in a sharp breath, arching into him. “That, on the other hand…”
“You appear to enjoy.” A shadowed grin began to curl the corners of his mouth. “This dress on you…Goddess help me, I’ve no control around you. ’Tis not a good thing,storín, for I can be selfish in my wants and desires, feeding into your cravings, knowing how this will end…” He dipped his head, gently leaning his forehead to hers with a despondent sigh. “Rori, you need to know the truth about me. ’Tis what you deserve. I won’t lead you down this path without removing the blindfold. You must make your decisions with utter clarity and understanding.”
The unnerving flip of her stomach squandered any warm desire he’d built. A chill slithered up her body, dousing the heat, smothering the flames, and making her suddenly ill. She leaned back, breaking free of the euphoria the moment she caught the turmoil so clearly playing across his face. The Faewho could send Death itself running with one of his icy glances observed her with undisputable sadness streaked with pain.
He cupped her face once more, his touch tender, like she would break beneath his fingers. “I wish with all my heart I could change my past. To give you all you deserve.”
She inhaled and forced herself to steady the breath as it began to tremble. This was not the reunion she’d imagined.
He believes he is fated to die.
“You can.” She covered his hand with hers, trying to find strength in his touch that she lacked in her voice. “You will.”
“How sweet your words are to my heart. How soothing to my soul.”
He drew his lips across hers, a closed-mouth kiss. The simplicity of the touch belied something far more dreadful. As his lips left hers, she received a nauseating sensation of some unseen link being cut. When he stepped back, her soul fractured. The energy was off, unsettling. God, to rewind time a few minutes to when he’d kissed her like he’d die without her, and never let him end that kiss.
This is inevitable. You knew this would come. You wanted answers. You’re going to get them.
He didn’t relinquish her hand, thankfully, his fingers folding between hers. He motioned down the corridor, away from the stairwell. “Walk with me.”
