But it’s not enough. None of it’s enough when Annora’s not there. When I have to wake up each morning knowing she’s in danger, knowing Aleksander could force her to do the gods know what else.
“The gardens miss you too. Those little blue flowers you planted? They’ve spread everywhere. The gardeners keep trying to contain them, but they’re stubborn—like someone else I know.”
She lets out a small laugh against my chest, and for a moment, everything feels right. Like we’re back home, just us, no war looming, no magical bonds, no brothers who deserve far worse than death.
“I should be there with you.” Annora’s words mirror my thoughts. “We shouldn’t be apart like this.”
“No.” I tighten my arms around her. “We shouldn’t.”
Soon, she’ll have to return to Bakva, to Aleksander’s control. And I’ll have to let her go, knowing what he’s already forced her to do. The fury rises again, but I push it down. There will be time for rage later.
For now, I hold her close and try to make this moment last as long as possible.
Chapter Thirty-One
Annora
My eyelids grow heavierwith each passing moment, but I fight against the exhaustion. Every precious second with Jasce matters more than sleep ever could.
“Stay with me.” I run my fingers up and down his arm as I continue. “Please, just a little longer.”
Jasce’s eyes soften as I shift in his arms, straddling his hips.
“I don’t want to fall asleep,” I say as I reach down and stroke him.
“Annora,” he says through his teeth as he threads his fingers through my hair, holding on to me as I scoot back on his thighs and lower my mouth to his cock.
It doesn’t matter that I’ve never done this before. It feels right, worshiping his body this way.
He’s everything I never dared to dream of—a partner, an equal. Someone who sees me, who believes in me even when I struggle to believe in myself.
He grips my hair, guiding me in a slow, relentless rhythm, and I let him take that control as he angles my head, speeding me up with subtle shifts of his hips.
Greedily, I revel in this dance of power and submission, conceding to his lead while knowing he’s the one truly trapped. I hold the power to either grant him release or keep him wanting more.
He’s so hard, so thick, that my jaw aches, but I don’t care. I want to give him this, to show him how much I love him, how much I need him.
With a sharp tug, he pulls free of my mouth and spills into his hand. His chest heaves as he catches his breath, eyes closed tight.
“Did I do it right?” I ask, suddenly shy.
Jasce’s eyes flutter open and lock with mine. “Perfect,” he breathes. “You’re perfect. That was perfect.”
Heat flares across my cheeks at his praise. I duck my head, but he tilts my chin back up.
“Don’t hide from me, Annora.”
My heart skips at the tenderness in his touch, the way his eyes trace every detail of my face. The scars that used to make me want to shrink away feel different under his gaze, like marks of survival rather than shame.
His thumb traces my bottom lip, still swollen from our intimacy. “I love seeing you like this. Flushed. Confident. Taking what you want.”
He shifts to lying on the marble floor and pulls me until I’m straddling his chest. His eyes hold mine as he tugs me closer, tears away my undergarments, and buries his face between my legs.
My fingers tangle in his hair as he licks me with long, lazy strokes of his tongue.
“Jasce,” I gasp as his fingers join the fray, mimicking the sensual glide of his mouth.
I squeeze my thighs around his head, eliciting a deep groan that reverberates against my swollen flesh. Slowly, he suckles, pulling gently, then presses flat, languid licks that unravel me.
