Page 59 of Ruled By Magic

It was so long since I had a decision to make, the feeling was alien. For months I’d been powerless—first in the prison, then swept up in Leo’s orbit. And now I had a choice. An uncertain future with Leo. I wanted it with all my heart. To stay in the strange cocoon of happiness we’d built, but not as a prisoner. By choice.

It wouldn’t be easy. I didn’t fit anywhere in his world. Choosing Leo meant separation from everyone who might have supported me, and it would break Hex. I studied his face, as familiar to me now as my own. Could I trust him? Place myself in his hands?

“If we do this, if I say yes, I’d need more freedom. I can’t live my whole life waiting for you to come home. I have to do something. I don’t know what.”

“Of course. We’ll make it work, somehow. You can pursue whatever dreams you want. And I’ll release you from your sentence.” His fingers caressed my neck, and he gave my hair a sharp tug. “You’ll still be my good girl at home, though. I can still punish you. That won’t change. You wouldn’t want it to.”

The confidence in his voice made me shiver. He was right. I wouldn’t.

The yes hovered on my lips as my mind spiraled through all the reasons I shouldn’t say it. He’d taken my freedom. He could be cruel. I’d be burning my bridges in the most spectacular way. But he also made me feel alive, happy in a way I’d never been before him. Could I go back to a normal life without him in it? No. He wanted to keep me and, with a pull deep inside my bones, I wanted to stay. Did I love him enough to make the leap?

“Yes. I’ll stay.” My voice cracked on the words, and tears pricked my eyes. I didn’t have to leave him. The goodbye I’d been dreading didn’t have to come.

His face softened, and a smile touched his lips. He pulled me close and kissed me, exquisitely gentle.

When he released me, I gripped his fingers again. “I love you, too.” My hand flew to my mouth at the words. I’d never let myself think them, but they were true. A smile tugged at my lips even as a tear tracked down my cheek. “I thought it was impossible, because I’m not a mage.”

And because he’s the Lord Commander, and I’m a criminal, and all the other million reasons we shouldn’t love each other. But we did.

He traced the curve of my cheekbone, over his mark. No magic sparked. Right now, he didn’t have any. We were the same.

“I don’t care about that. I’ve never done what’s expected. I won’t let you go because of tradition.”

A tradition which made perfect practical sense, but I wasn’t about to argue. He loved me. We could be together. No longer his prisoner, but still his. The reality of it sank in. His, but without the restrictions and limitations that chafed at me. Joy enveloped me, and I saw it reflected in his face.

I lifted my chin toward him. He kissed me again. His hand slid up my back, under the thick jacket, down again to my waist. The kiss grew urgent, and the warmth inside me turned to heat. Our last encounter had been brutal, full of anger and shame. I wanted to burn the memory away with something new.

Leo broke the kiss, pulling back to examine me, the tiredness in his face replaced by hunger.

“You’re wearing too many clothes. Take that jacket off.” His voice held the commanding note my body loved to respond to. I sat up, pulled the zip down and took off the jacket. My necklace shone bright against my black silk shirt and Leo reached out to hold it.

“You kept it on.”

“I’ll never take it off.” I kissed him again.

His hands slid under my top, his fingers cool against my skin. His thumbs grazed my nipples and I arched into him as he rolled them between his finger and thumb.

“I love how sensitive you are here.” He pinched hard, the pain a bright flare, then stroked the sore skin. Lightning shot into my core. “I think I could make you come just from this if we had enough time. I’ll do it one day.”

That sounded like the best kind of torture.

“Take the rest off.” He sat back. “I want to see all of you, now you’re going to be mine forever.”

The desire in his voice sent mine into overdrive. I pulled off the shirt and threw it into the corner of the tent. With a glance at Leo, I traced my hands over my body, lingering over the hard points of my nipples. If he wanted a show, I’d give him one.

He leaned forward, eyes dark. “Very good. And the rest.”

I stretched back against the pillows, undid the buttons of my skirt, and slid it over my hips, along with my underwear. The chill air raised goosebumps, but his gaze seared me. Naked, I stroked my hands down my stomach, over the soft skin of my inner thighs. I delved between my legs just long enough to graze the wetness there. Teased myself, as he so often did. The brief spike of pleasure tantalized, and I bit my lip. I circled over my thighs again before allowing myself another, longer touch. My body cried out for more.

His eyes were wide, lips parted. He nodded. “Carry on.”

No more teasing. My eyelids closed as I slid my fingers deep inside myself and whimpered at the sensation. The first time I’d touched myself in three months. I’d missed it. The slickness on my fingertips, the contraction of my muscles. Penetrating my own body felt like a guilty pleasure. A rare extravagance. I shifted my hips to press even deeper and brought my spare hand up to pinch my nipple. I pictured what Leo would see, and the wanton abandon of the image made my blood race. The beginnings of my climax built.

His fingers closed around my wrist and pulled my hand away.

My eyes snapped open. Surely he wouldn’t deny me now?

“That’s my job.” He shifted position to kneel between my legs. “I love the way you taste. You’re just perfect, every bit of you.”

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