Fight for her.
“You owe me nothing. I go where you go. So if you want to run tonight, that’s fine. I’ll run with you. You can yell, rail at me, hate me, but I won’t, I can’t, leave your side. Not when doing so would be like leaving a piece of myself behind.”
“But you hate fighting.” She blinked a few times. “You hate conflict.”
“I hate the thought of a life without you far more than either of those things.” I pressed my lips to her jaw. “So if that’s what you want, I’ll fight with you.” I pressed my lips to her cheek. “I’ll fight for you.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “Every day for the rest of my life.”
She didn’t move, her jaw tensed.
“Is that what you want?” I asked, voice low as I trailed my lips along that exquisite jawline. “Do you want to fight with me?”
A breath of silence passed. “No,” she whispered, arching into me. “I think the time for fighting is past. I think we should skip to the making-up part.” She trailed a finger down my chest, and my body responded, cock stiffening.
She was willing to give me everything, and I’d give her everything in return. I hoisted her up against me, hands cupping her ass. Her legswrapped around my waist, chest heaving against mine so that I could feel all the curves and divots of her body.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she admitted.
My perfect little bird. “Lucky for you, I do.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Then show me.”
“Gladly.”
Chapter Forty-Two
POPPY
“First, there are far too many pieces of clothing between us,” Loch growled.
He undid the clasp of my cloak with one hand, and it floated to the ground. He still held me tight to his body, his thumbs kneading into my ass.
“You’re going to have to kiss me now,” I said.
His lips crashed into mine as he spun us around and pressed me against the carriage door, his mouth teasing mine open. Spirits below. Tendrils of heat slipped down my body as his lips roamed over mine, tasting, teasing, nibbling. All the while, he pinned me to the door, and I clutched his shoulders tight, then let my hands wind around to the back of his head, my fingers tangling with his hair.
He pushed his tongue into my mouth, his palms splaying wide across my ass. We kissed like that for what felt like forever. Our mouths moving together with an insatiable hunger, until my lips felt swollen with the most delicious heat. All the while, he held me so firm and steady, and I never once doubted that I was completely safe in his arms.
“We should fight more often,” I said.
“I don’t care what we do. As long as it’s together.” His lips met mineonce again, kissing me with a frenzy, a deep-seated need blooming between us. He broke our kiss, and a guttural sound came from my throat.
“Poppy,” he said, breathing hard. “I want you, but if you’re not ready for this, that’s okay. I will wait as long as you need me to.”
“Say that again.” I played with the hair at the back of his neck, making him shudder.
“Say what again?” he asked.
“My name. Say it again.”
A smile curved his lips. “Poppy.”
I kissed him hard, sucking at his bottom lip before letting it go. “I’m ready.”
His eyes blazed with desire, all of it for me. “Are you sure? Because there are other things we can do, other ways I can make you come apart.”
“Oh, I know. I remember.” I brought my hands to his face. “But I said I was ready to give you everything, and I meant it, Loch. I want you. I want all of you.”
“That’s the point. You already have all of me.”
