~

The sun’s bright morning rays bleed through the slits of my closed eyes.

I don’t have to turn around to know that Kane is still holding me close, not letting go once, even after we both drifted to sleep.

Trying my best to stay quiet, I attempt to lift his heavy arm from my waist and slip off the bed to get dressed.

But that arm clamps down on me like the mouth of a Venus flytrap. It locks around the soft of my waist, drawing me closer to him.

“Hey,” I object. He takes a deep breath in, nose and mouth nuzzled into my hair. “I was trying to sneak out of bed without waking you.”

“Nope,” he grumbles. “You’re mine now.”

I melt against him. At his words. At the gravelly sound his voice makes in the early morning. Why do I want him this much all the time? Whether it’s Dessin, Kane, or hell, even Greystone. I can’t help the force that makes me swoon over each alter.

“Besides, there’s no sneaking with you.” His hand moves along my arm slowly, coaxing my skin to pebble in goose bumps. “You have the stealth of a bull. There was no possible scenario of you slipping out of my arms without being caught.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet in the mornings.”

His chest rumbles against my back with laughter.

As he shifts against me, I can feel his arousal. A firmness at my backside. Instinctually, I lean into it, arching my back against him.

Heat drips between my legs.

His laughter stops as a hiss turns into a frustrated sigh. That hand stroking my arm grips my hip, squeezing like it’s his only form of self-control.

I moan at his touch, rolling my bottom against his growing erection the way I did on Dessin’s lap in the tavern.

“Skylenna,” he warns, breathy and strained.

“What?”

“You keep doing that, and I’m going to do things to you that would make me a very bad friend.” It’s a warning to himself rather than to me. A struggle to keep his head on right.

“What if I want you—as more than a friend?” I turn around to face him, leaning my head against his arm.

He blinks down at me, completely thrown off by my response. His index finger hooks around a loose strand of hair strewn across my face. He studies it in his hand, thoroughly, as if that golden wave of hair is a lighthouse that has guided him to shore.

“I can promise you this, honey… you need me as your friend right now. Nothing more.” He wants to say more. It’s edging over his lips. Straining his eyes. “It’ll only make things harder.”

My jaw clenches shut and suddenly his fingers in my hair, hand on my waist, the scent of cedar and sandalwood infuriates me. I huff, shifting out of his arms and off of the bed.

And this time, he lets me.

“You’re right.” I shrug, finding my clothes to change into. “We are just friends.”

14. One Name to Turn The Tides

“You two look rested,” Asena hums, swallowing another spoonful of porridge.

They summoned us for breakfast in the grand dining hall. But it’s close to empty. Only two people sitting across from us. Garanthian and Asena.

“I thought you might be more comfortable eating in front of fewer people.” She’s watching me with careful intent. Asena’s hair is in two long braids today. One on each shoulder. She’s in her forties, light-brown skin, and wise dark eyes like the open night sky.

“Thank you,” I say.

Kane is careful not to let his knee touch my own. The walk over here was cold and distant. Neither of us has spoken after he turned me down.