Page 124 of Until the Stars Fall

Connor shifted his arm around me and sighed contentedly into my hair. Panic sparked in my chest. If I told him and they found out—if somehow they learned I’d warned him—they’d kill him. Or Brennan. I might be angry with Brennan, but I didn’t want him dead. If anything happened to either of them, especially because of me, I would never forgive myself.

You’ll think of something.

Anna’s assertion repeated in my head.

Yes, I would think of something, except there was one problem.

I was falling for him.

I didn’t know when or how it had happened, but the thought of being without Connor now created an unbearable ache in my chest. Unfortunately, no matter what—whether he died because I told him or he hated me because I sabotaged the alliance—he would leave me.

He wasn’t mine though, not really. I had no claim to him. This had never been real. It had always been a ploy, a way to save me from the gallows. Nothing more.

Tears surfaced, and I squeezed my eyes closed, capturing them in my lashes and holding them hostage before they could fall freely. I choked back the sobs and bit my lip, desperate to keep him from noticing.

He had so much on his shoulders already. He didn’t need my problems too.

Even if my problem was him.

Matching my breathing to his, I worked to settle my mind and my heart. With the rhythm of his pulse in my ear and the steady rise and fall of his chest against me, I drifted off to sleep in his arms.

“Sapphire.”

The word floated softly into my ear, and my eyes fluttered open. Darkness surrounded us, and the smell of dust and hay and horses enveloped me.

“Wake up. We’re home,” Connor whispered gently. All I could do was hum in response.

A shiver crept down my back when he pulled away from me, swinging his leg back over the saddle and stepping down to the ground. My hands gripped Honey’s mane as if she were galloping at full speed instead of standing still inside the palace stables. Connor reached his hands up to me, his golden eyes searching mine with a tender eagerness. Turning, I leaned toward him, letting his hands trail slowly up my ribs as I pulled my leg up and over my horse’s back. His hands settled below my arms, and I rested mine on his shoulders, never pulling my gaze from his as he lowered me down to the ground.

“Connor,” I whispered, not sure what I planned to say.

He stepped closer, dropping his hands to my waist and pulling me gently to him. My stomach tightened in anticipation. I licked my chapped lips, and his focus drifted down to them and lingered there for what felt like forever. I should say something—remind him again of the rules, tell him we couldn’t do this.

But I didn’t want to.

And when he caressed my neck, all remaining hesitation melted into a desire that refused to be ignored.

All I wanted was him. His hands. His lips. His eyes. His heart. I wanted all of him, and the realization scared me.

Trailing my trembling hands up his neck, I lost my fingers in his hair, my thumb brushing over his ear. He lowered his face to mine, and his breath lingered teasingly over my lips. His scent wrapped around me like a warm embrace, as if welcoming me home to his arms.

“This is really going to complicate things,” I murmured, my voice cracking nervously.

Connor’s eyes sparked. “Then tell me to stop,” he said.

I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to change his mind and realize how stupid this was, so I shifted forward slightly in invitation, and he took it. His lips claimed mine with a hunger and a passion I’d never known. All doubt, all fear, all worry vanished, and I gave myself over to him, parting my lips for him, offering my heart to him. He tasted of bliss and security, of desire and belonging, of peace and…

He was leaving.

Pulling out of my arms. Backing away from me. Staring at me with trembling fear.

He lifted a hand to his lips as if to wipe away any trace of me. Then he spun around and left me in the stables to wonder what I’d done wrong.

CHAPTER 61

Connor

My mate.

---