Page 57 of Of Daggers and Deceit

His gifted hands trailed the front of my body, one gripping my hip, the other resting on my belly, sending heat spiralling to my core. I fidgeted, trying to edge away from him to put that distance between us again, but his hand merely applied more pressure to my stomach, attuning my body entirely to him.

“I cannot shield you unless I touch you,” he whispered, his breath feathering against my neck. Reactively, I tipped my head the other way, exposing my neck entirely to him. I didn’t truly know why I had instinctively done it, only that there was a terrifying and fierce ache inside me that I seemingly knew only he could relieve.

I felt his smile of approval, followed by his lips sucking the exposed skin, trailing heat as he licked higher to nip at my ear playfully. My nipples hardened in response, my body now tingling with need.

“You can tell me to stop. I am merely distracting you with something else,” he whispered quietly in my ear as I inhaled another nervous breath. Butterflies took flight in my stomach.

He hesitated, awaiting my challenge, though we both knew it would never come. There was a shifter still lurking near our carriage, after all.

Sly’s deft fingers slid beneath my shirt, tracing light patterns against the skin of my stomach. It was more innocent than some of the things I’d done before, but at the same time, it felt like something much more sinful.

I hated that I loved what he could incite in me. I didn’t want to want him, but it was undeniable. He was everything I ever wanted in a partner wrapped up in a forbidden package.

I bit my tongue despite feeling the urge to beg him to drift lower, right to where I was throbbing. Sly was so very good at distracting.

Instead, his finger swirled higher, lifting up and over my ribcage to caress the underside of my breast.

Every soft brush of his calloused hands felt like torture.

Because I wanted more and I knew I couldn’t have it.

Sly’s life would be destroyed if we were ever caught, and all of my dreams would crumble.

I sucked in a sharp breath the second his hand lifted and squeezed my breast, hard.

“Your thinking is always so loud,” he murmured before his lips dragged down my neck. I shut my eyes briefly before forcing myself to regain my lost control. I had a job to do tonight. I needed to stay focused.

My body became slightly rigid again, alerting Sly to the change. He paused and sighed softly before placing a soft peck on the side of my neck and slowly withdrawing his hands from under my shirt.

I exhaled.

“We need to focus,” I whispered. He didn’t reply, but I felt his reluctant agreement as he rearranged his position on the seat.

Disappointment swirled inside me to settle alongside the dissatisfaction already simmering within.

The shifter lingered for a few beats as we waited intently until a whistle sounded, and he quickly darted back over the top of the carriage and away across the expanse.

When I couldn’t hear anything further, I pulled away from the male who was slowly ruining me and tried to suppress any longing evident on my face at the loss of contact.

“Time to go,” I confirmed, and he nodded, looking wistfully at me.

I grabbed his outstretched hand and felt a cool energy slide over my skin, alerting me to the fact that we were now hidden.

There were two major problems with facing the desert and pulling this off. Bodhi and Raya were one, and the risk of the Dominants taking us was the second. It was a terrifying risk, but not moreso than continuing to watch my family and others endure the Outer Ring and being powerless to change it. I needed to do this, even if the cost would be great.

When we stepped up to the edge of the field, we were met with absolute silence. The lack of sound acted as on ominous warning that death had already swept in and seized every breath of air from the lungs of our defence.

We both didn’t dare move as our eyes swept the field, the light of the moon only just choosing to edge out from the clouds, casting luminous light onto the dunes before us. It was only then that we saw them.

Several unconscious Alphas from our own defence littered the dunes around the two males standing proudly in the middle of the wasteland. My gaze darted around the field, desperate to spot a body with a resemblance to my sister, but came up short. Dread mounted higher.

But I swallowed it down as we prepared to move.

I’d just have to hope for the best.

“Okay, let’s go. Keep us invisible until I say otherwise, and make sure you have your weapons drawn. Two squeezes to drop your shield, two squeezes to raise it again.”

Though the risk to my life was lessened by Sly’s handy gift, his involvement in tonight’s plan meant it was another life on my conscience if we got caught. It was why I hadn’t told him anything in the first place.

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