Page 135 of Shadows of Ruin

I could sense the unease spilling from Lana. She drew closer to me, and I wasn’t sure if she was even aware. I welcomed her presence, letting it soothe the unsettled worry inme. There was too much at stake, and all of this going wrong seemed a probability instead of a mere possibility.

Lana checked the dagger hidden in the sheath of her tunic, and the newly added white one at her thigh. “Come.” I took Lana’s hand, clasping it in my own. I had meant what I told her in my tent—I refused to act as if I didn’t need her. Not even here at the palace would I hide my feelings for her anymore.

She offered me a small smile and handed the reins of her horse to Jax to return to the stables.

“Go get a few hours of sleep after doing your respective tasks,” I reminded my friends. “We will meet after breakfast in the training ring, just like normal.”

I led Lana through the palace halls with fervor. I needed to be alone with her. I needed to feel her beneath me. Preferably naked and writhing.

I jolted into my bedroom, desperate to have a moment with Lana to reassure myself of her safety. The sinking feeling from waking up alone and finding her missing had not fully subsided.

We hadn’t taken much time to eat over the last few days, so I grabbed a pitcher of water and bowl of berries from the antechamber of my rooms as we finally settled. Ensuring Lana had some sustenance while also keeping her to myself would hopefully help calm the frazzled thing inside my chest. We both devoured the fruit and drank two glasses of water before speaking again.

“Are we sure this is going to work?” Lana asked as we moved toward my bedroom.

I eyed her as my shadows slinked over her, desperate to touch her, to be near her. “It will work, Little Rebel.”

I watched her enter the bedroom as though she did this all the time. The ease with which she settled in here calmed me.

“We only have a few hours before we have to meet with Cassandra and then the others,” I said, moving toward her. “You were almost taken from me. I’m not sure you understand the absolute terror I felt when I realized you were gone and I wasn’t able to protect you.”

Lana sat on the end of the bed. “Kade, it’s not your fault—you were literally poisoned. I’m here now. Safe and in one piece.”

Approaching her, I wiggled myself between her legs, resting my knees on a pillow fallen on the floor. I reached for a strand of hair that had come loose and twirled it in my fingers. “I need to feel you, Little Rebel. I need you everywhere. I want your scent all over me so there is no mistaking who you belong to.” I ran my nose along her jaw, her soft skin begging to be touched. “I promised you the next time I had you completely, we wouldn’t be rushed, or in the middle of a field. We can worry about saving the world in a few hours, but for this moment, you are mine, and I am going to worship you like the queen you are.”

Pink hues blushed Lana’s cheeks. “We’ve been riding for days, I need to bathe.”

“Shh.” My shadows caressed her lips, silencing her protests. “I am a Fae on my knees, craving the sanctuary only you can provide. One I desperately desire.”

The shadows receded and I leaned forward, my lips lightly brushing against hers as I barely contained the unsated beast coiled up inside of me, still consumed with thoughts of losing her. Within a breath, her lips parted and welcomed me inside. Our tongues danced, swirling in a hot, heady need.

My hands clasped the back of her neck and angled her chin upward, allowing me a deeper reach into her mouth as a soft moan escaped her lips.

I moved along her jaw, stopping at the bottom of her ear, nipping at the lobe, as my hand palmed her breast. “Let me make you mine,” I whispered.

Lana pulled back and looked directly into my eyes. Her playful gaze did nothing to hide the longing. Her lips parted asher breathing grew heavy. Even the Fates themselves couldn’t ignore the pull between us. The absolute inferno of desire. “Do your worst, Kade Blackthorn.”

Without another moment’s hesitation, her arms were above her head, signaling for me to remove her tunic, which I gladly obliged. I followed suit, kicking off my shoes. Lana did the same as she removed her pants but lost her footing and had to grab the edge of the bed for support.

Chuckling, I couldn’t help but admire the sheer beauty of the woman before me. She was smart, brave, and beautiful. And she wasmine. Even without magical abilities, she was more of a queen than any who came before her. In either kingdom.

I pressed her against me and picked her up by her ass as she let out a yelp in surprise. One I cut off as our mouths met again, desperate for each other.

I walked us over to the small wooden desk in the corner of my room, covered in maps and other papers I had haphazardly strewn over the years. I plopped her on the edge and with one flick of my wrist, the shadows sent the papers careening onto the floor. Perhaps I would reward them later for removing the obstacles by feeling Lana come around them. Come around us both.

Letting my shadows roam her body would have to do for now. They tweaked and palmed her nipples as her hands raked down my back.

“Now, Kade,” she whispered in a demanding tone. “Don’t make me wait.”

Trailing kisses down her body, I licked and tasted her inch by inch. She arched her back, placing her hands on the desk behind her, pushing her breasts toward me, teasing me and begging to be played with.

“Patience, Little Rebel,” I teased. “Good things come to those who wait.”

She smacked my arm playfully. “And you’ll have a dagger in your side if you don’t fill me with your?—”

My shadows tweaked her nipples, and she inhaled a sharp breath, as I plunged my finger into her entrance. My Little Rebel was already soaked with need.

She moved her hand, bracing it against the wall, pressing her body down onto my hand. The walls inside of her throbbed, begging to be massaged.

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