Page 102 of Keep Her from Them

“Be a good boy and stop holding back. Come for me.”

Her mouth returned to encase my desperate dick, and one more suck and I came, nearly losing my mind. That praise thing she’d worked out? Fuck did I need that so badly.

She drank me down then grinned at her victory, leaving me a panting, sweating mess, with no other thought in my head but her.

Her victory, in that respect, was sweet.

Sunlight spilled around the curtains of our bedroom, and in my arms, Alex stirred. She kissed me, and we moved together in slow lovemaking that felt like we’d never stopped. Insistent, demanding presses of our lips, and our hips working together. She clung to me as she came. I said her name like a prayer when I fell after.

This. I wanted this forever.

The decision had been made and tattooed to my soul.

Alex climbed from the bed and slid my shirt over her head, disappearing for a moment then returning to the doorway. “Up. You showed me yours last night, I want to show you mine.”

I followed her into the spare bedroom. As far as I knew, there was nothing in this room, but the collection of items in the corner showed me that had changed. A canvas. A piece of board with smudges of paint. Tubes, brushes, and more.

Alex hugged her arms. “We found most of it at the house clean. Valentine lent me his daughter’s easel.”

My focus locked on the painting itself. I’d guessed from Dori’s shot that she’d done something artistic, but we hadn’t gotten around to discussing it. Her surprise broke new happiness over my heart.

The subject? The profile of a man’s face. Light lines to show the features. A well-defined mouth.My mouth. She’d drawn me.

“Is he turning away or towards the viewer?” I asked.

Her beautiful eyes held mine. “Towards, at last. It’s you, five years ago, back when I should’ve done what my instincts demanded and brought you near. I’ve thought about you so much since then. This is the view I remembered of your face as I looked up when we danced. Is that okay?”

I backed her to the wall. Claimed her lips again. “It’s incredible. You’re painting again. Fucking love that.”

She smiled into the kiss.

“Eyes on me,” I murmured, stealing her words from in the night, and ready to tell her how much more I loved than just her art.

Someone hammered on the front door, the sound ricochetting through the cottage and shattering the calm. We stared at each other, and my hackles rose. Nothing good ever came from an early morning wake-up call like that.

All that fear from in the night rushed back.

“Stay here.”

In the living room, I went to the door. “Who is it?”

“Valentine. So sorry, but there’s some shite going down. It couldn’t wait.”

I swung open the door, blinking at the bright sun. “Talk to me.”

He indicated his head to the room beyond. “I’d better come in. Ben and Jax are on their way.”

The warmth from spending the night twisted up with Alex left me fast. Peering around to make sure she wasn’t in sight, I let him in, then held up a finger to pause him and snatched up our remaining scattered clothes. In our bedroom, Alex was already pulling a fresh outfit from her bag.

“I heard,” she said.

I offered a grim smile. When dressed, we returned to the living room.

Valentine was staring at his phone. “I’ve been monitoring the news and alerts for your name, Alex. This appeared ten minutes ago.”

He held up the screen to display a headline.

Concerns at the Palace Over Princess Alexandra’s Whereabouts.

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