Page 81 of Whispers of the Water

Biting my lip to fight my hopeful grin, I asked, “Is that what you are? My partner?”

He leaned forward until our faces were inches apart. Our noses lightly grazed, and if either of us tilted our heads even slightly, our lips would touch. His eyes flicked from my mouth back to my gaze. “What do you think?”

“I want to hear you say it,” I whispered.

His hand slid up my back, over my bare shoulder, and onto my neck. He pressed his thumb into my jaw to tilt my head up toward his mouth. “I’m yours, Princess. Just as you’re mine.”

He sealed his words by pressing his lips to mine. I welcomed the kiss and gladly granted his tongue access to tease my own. He urged my face closer while his other hand tugged down the sheet I’d been holding to my chest, letting it pool at my waist. I deepened the kiss as his hand traveled from the sheet to in between my now damp thighs. I gasped against his lips as his finger slipped between my folds and rubbed enticingly against my clit.

I laid back as Rune shifted in between my legs, his hand still making work against my slick heat. He broke our kiss to stare down at me from where I lay hot and breathless against the pillow.

His gaze traced every inch of me as I laid sprawled out before him. He ran his teeth over his bottom lip as he fought against whatever he wanted to say.

“What?” I asked breathlessly.

“Do you have a crown?” he asked, his voice deep and velvety.

I moaned as his finger caressed me in exactly the right spot before forcing the words past my lips. “I don’t know. Maybe? Why?”

He leaned into me, and my limbs began to tighten with the building pleasure.

“I want to see you in a crown,” he whispered into my ear. “Just a crown. And I want to fuck you while you wear it.”

I came undone, riding out wave after wave of undeniable pleasure. Rune angled his hardened length at my entrance and pushed in. His words played on repeat as he pumped into me, and once we were done, I made a mental note to check with Dallas about that crown.

Chapter Thirty

I’D BARELY AWAKENED, finding myself wrapped in Rune’s strong arms, when a knock came at the door, followed by the measured creak of it opening.

Rune was still sound asleep, so I went rigid with the sudden visitor slipping into our dark room. Instantly on high alert, my heart thudded furiously in my chest. I had no idea who’d just entered or what they wanted.

The door clicked shut, and the faint sound of feet against carpet crept toward us. I willed my naked body to remain as still as possible to feign sleep, but the beating of my heart was so deafening in my ears that I was sure they could hear it, too. Squeezing my eyes shut, I held my breath.

The footfalls stopped directly behind Rune. Before I could even guess at what the visitor wanted came Akira’s whisper. “Rune.”

Relief washed over me in calming waves. My body rested back into the mattress, and it felt easier to bring air back into my lungs. None of the monsters belonging to the family had made their way in here to end me as I slept.

It wasn’t until I felt this surge of calm hit me that I realized how shaken up Rune’s family had me. Despite my attempts at putting on a brave face around them, I’d still been nervous as hell this whole time, and after yesterday, I had lost a lot of my courage. Those creatures were like haunting, ever-present nightmares that brought out nothing but potent fear.

Rune’s body moved against me as Akira shook him gently. “Rune. Get your naked ass up.”

Gah, I hope he can’t see anything!

A groan escaped Rune’s lips, and he shifted next to me. With a renewed burst of embarrassment, I kept my eyes shut. I didn’t want to meet either of their gazes while in this state.

“What are you doing in here?” Rune asked with sleep laced in his deep, morning voice.

He shifted once more, and gently, the comforter rose higher onto my shoulder. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from outwardly smiling as Rune covered me and pulled me closer to his chest.

“I came to make sure everyone was still alive in here.” There was a pause, and I could practically hear the smile on Akira’s face as he said, “I see things went well between the two of you last night.”

My cheeks burned bright at his words, so I rolled over to lay on my other side, just in case they could see the blush no doubt consuming my face. Rune’s arm fell slack as I shifted, but once I settled, he held me close again.

“Would you leave?” Rune hissed in a whisper. “You’re going to wake her up.”

Too late!

The room fell quiet again. My ears buzzed with the suffocating silence. There was no way Rune went back to sleep with Akira still standing there, so why weren’t they talking? Curiosity begged me to look at them, but glancing over my shoulder to peek would make it pretty damn obvious that I was pretending. My need to survive this embarrassing moment won, so I kept still.

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