Page 40 of An Empress of Earth & Darkness

She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t I?” His eyebrow rose, and the glittering in his eyes sent her heart into a frenzy.

She clamped her lips shut, because the fact was she couldn’t tell if he would or not. Heat coated her cheeks at the thought.

“Who needs a spear when you can have a sex swing?” He nudged her gently.

“Shut up, I like my spear.” She smiled too.

A lovely, lulling silence filled the room for a few moments as she continued to look around herself.

“I was right about the red silk sheets though, wasn’t I?” A sinful smirk pulled his lips apart.

“I will never confirm or deny anything.” She pouted.

Without saying a word, he pulled her into his chest as a little laugh broke through his grin. “I’ve missed you.” He let out a breath. “Even your fists. In fact, especially your fists, and I can’t believe I’ve already been hit with a right hook.”

Emara let out a giggle of her own. “You know that wasn’t a right hook, Torin Blacksteel.”

He hummed in agreement, and she felt it go through his chest. “The only thing missing in all of this was that sensual little leg strap holding your spear. Don’t tell me you stopped wearing it?”

“Oh, I still wear it. I wore it in the pits.,” she said as she placed her head to his heart.

“Let’s not talk about the pits tonight.”

She tried to laugh, but the intoxicating warmth of Torin Blacksteel’s chest had lulled her eyes to shut. “Oh, and by the way, I have missed you more,” she whispered.

“Impossible,” was all she heard him say back before the constant beating of Torin’s heart sent her spent body into a calming sleep.

Stirring awake, Emara was no longer pressed against the warm chest of a warrior, but against a soft, feathery pillow. She blinked a few times and stretched out her hands, a yawn on her mouth.

Sitting up, still pulling the sheets around her naked curves, she searched for Torin. Her heart began thudding in her chest, but she quickly found him, and the wave of concern wore off. Torin sat over in a chair by his window, the glow of dawn crystallising his eyes. But it also revealed the dark circles underneath his eyes. He sat with his hair askew, in nothing but loose black pants. His hand was hovering over his mouth, and his face was filled with thoughts too deep for Emara to understand upon first glance.

“Did you not sleep?” she croaked, feeling the soft cotton on the palms of her hands as she pulled the sheets around her again.

Although he appeared to be casually lounging at first glance, she could see that his full body was ridged. Something about his whole demeanour alarmed her enough to feel a wave of fear jolt through her spine. Gone were the laughs, gone were the lust-filled looks and the light in his eyes. All that goodness that had been between them last night had clearly been washed away with the stars as dawn approached.

“No, I couldn’t sleep, so I didn’t want to wake you.” He attempted a half smile, but his mask was well and truly off.

Something horrid swam in her gut. “You could have moved me if you weren’t comfortable.”

He finally looked at her properly, a sharp concern knotting his brow. “The reason for my unrest isn’t having you against my chest. Thorin knows that’s the only thing that kept me in this room all night.”

She toyed with the idea of going to him, but she stayed put just a little longer. “Torin, tell me what is going on in your head.”

He tilted his head towards the window, and a ray of soft light highlighted the fullness of his lips, the curve of his cheeks, and his strong, masculine chin. “It’s okay; it’s not for you to worry about.” He faced her again and tried to wear one of the masks he wore often. For the first time ever, he failed. “It’s early. You can still get a few hours of sleep in yet.”

A string pulled through her heart, telling her gut that something was torturing him. Why had he stayed up all night? Was it because of her? Was it because of what they had done?

“Torin…” She moved, bringing the sheets with her as she stood close to the last poster that framed his bed. “You need to learn to open up to me. If we are going to be in this together, we must share with one another our torments, the things that eat at our souls during the night.” She padded a little closer, and he watched every step she took until she had sat against the windowsill casting shadows onto his broad chest. “We need to be a team. I want to know what’s going on in there.”

She saw his chest rise and then fall before he spoke. He took a long, slow breath before he released it. “I am trying to work out how we can be together without disgracing you and your coven or without me being exiled from the clan.” His tormented eyes met hers. “The options are minimal.”

She swallowed down her heart that had somehow made its way into her throat.

“We will figure it out.” She cuffed her arms around herself. “There is a continuation from the prime meeting taking place yesterday. I could go to the prime beforehand—”

“You’re not going to anyone; you’ve done your part,” he said sharply, his jaw flexing. “Now it’s time for me to step up.”

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