Page 42 of What Lies Within Blood & Heirs

Nuzzling her nose against him, she wondered, “How long have I been asleep?”

Garrik frowned. “Two days.” His calluses scraped gently along the strap of her underthings—the only thing reminding her of the savagely trained High Prince beneath that delicate touch. “It was not restful. You had fits. Get some rest, now. You need your strength to return.”

She couldn’t argue. Her limbs felt like Fourtress laid on them.

Alora managed to shift, greedily indulging in hiswarmth. The only time she had felt him like this was after the whipping in camp.

“You’re so warm,” she groaned as his hand brushed her hip. “How is that possible?”

Garrik considered a moment as if he wouldn’t speak. As if the answer was a traitorous secret. She opened her mouth, but Garrik, at last, explained, “I sent what little shadows I had away. Without them, I am warm like everyone else. Among otherthings.” Emphasizing the lack of his velvety darkness, Garrik palmed her lower back.

“I’m not sure I like it,” she murmured, closing her eyes to take in the foreignness. No one felt like him. No one else sent her body teeming with cooled comfort like him. Even in winter. Even if she needed the warmth to stay alive. There was no mistaking the pointed ache in her chest with the absence of his ice.

He breathed a laugh. “What would you like, darling? I am afraid I cannot satisfy yourcomfortuntil my shadows return.”

Satisfy.The thought of Garriksatisfyingher rushed scarlet to her cheeks. She squirmed, refusing the urge to press into him, to tighten her thighs at the heat pulsing there.

Garrik hummed at her movement.

She felt his smirk as his lips feathered along the shell of her ear. Small rushes of his breath had her choking back a groan when her skin pebbled, and he smiled at that too.

Garrik repeated the torment, over and over, having her skin return to normal only to pebble it once more. Teasing.

The mighty bastard.He knew what he was doing.

She exhaled slowly, focusing on where Garrik’s body touched.

Could he feel how her heart seemingly stopped, then thundered?

Or how her thighs pressed together? How her hand trembled where they scratched against her skin to keep from brushing his? Which was entirely impossible because, with each of his uneven breaths, his chest dusted hers. Allowing his steady heartbeat to wrap around hers and steal it entirely.

Whether it was from the journey or the harrowing day, there was no mistaking how exhausted her body and mind felt, regardless of how he was making her feel.

Relaxing into his touch, Alora’s traitorous eyes half-lidded, bobbing enough to coax a frustrated sigh from her lips.

Garrik smiled, releasing a pleasing hum as he carefully pulled the blanket over her shoulders and guided her head to rest on his considerable biceps. “It is alright, Ara,” he said softly. “Sleep.” Warm breath fanned across her head as he pressed his lips to her hair.

But there was … a gleam in his eyes.

It sent a spark of energy through her. So, Alora examined that silver glow, realizing no one she’d ever met had eyes like him. Not one. Silver like a polished blade. It wasn’t common. In fact, before she met Garrik, she hadn’t known that eye color even existed.

“What is that look for, clever girl?”

Scarlet flushed her cheeks. What had he noticed? Awe? Enchantment? Wonder?

“You have beautiful eyes,” she casually blurted and rolled her lips between her teeth. She hadn’t fully intended to say that, but …

Garrik released a breathy chuckle. “Careful, darling. Look too closely and you might discover all my secrets.”

Alora raised her hand to his cheek before she convinced herself otherwise.

He remained unmoving, tracking the cautious glide of her fingertips until they teased his hair.

Even in such dim light, his eyes glowed like a beacon on a storming sea, guiding lost ships to safety. She could get lost in them, she admitted. Perhaps they were not a beacon at all but rather the storm captivating her wandering heart until she would be hopeless, forsaking the safety of the shore to remain on the crashing waves.

Only, when her fingers traced his cheek, turning his head slightly to catch the reflection of moonlight in his eyes, she didn’t find treacherous waters. She didn’t find wrath or vengeance or savagery. Those glowing silver orbs were hope. A future.

“What do you see?” he whispered, hesitant. The sound almost broken.

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