Page 39 of Hunting the Warlord's Daughter

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“Aral—wake up!”

He sucked in a mighty breath and jerked upright. He was in his bunk on theResilience. Wren was hunched over him, on her knees, her warm, soft hand on his cheek. The sight of her, hair wild and loose, dressed in nothing more than a shirt over her bare legs brought him up short.

Fates, she was so beautiful. “I thought I’d…”

…lost you.

“Bad dream?” Clearly, she’d been dragged out of bed by his nightmare.

Kaz was used to hearing his nighttime battles, but not Wren.

“You called out my name,” she said. “You begged me not to leave you. I won’t.” Then her mouth was on his, and he was kissing her back. Her bare skin blazed, her scent intoxicating, her body yielding as he wrapped his arms around her. The need to hold her close went beyond wanting to pleasure her and wanting her to forgive him—for all his mistakes, all his imperfections, all the invisible inner scars left from his boyhood. They shared something, he and Wren, something that ran so deep he struggled to define it. There was no one else for him, no one but her. He’d known it the moment he first saw her… and decided to make her his.

What in the bloody fates are you doing, Mawndarr?

He swore, rolling sideways, almost spilling her off the bunk in his hurry to disengage from their embrace. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“What? Kiss me, you mean? Was it that awful?”

“Fates, no. It was…”

Her tentative, darting tongue… her sweet lips… the moan she made when you kissed her back…

He pushed away from her and sat on the edge of the bunk. By now, he had a raging erection. She scooted closer, sliding her arms over his shoulders from behind.

“Amazing?” she supplied. “The best you ever had? It was for me. But I’ve never done anything like that before. It was better than all my daydreams.”

“That was your first kiss?” He dropped his head into his hands. “Goddess help me.”

“I thought you weren’t religious.”

“I’m calling on any help I can get.”

“Was I any good? I’m an eager learner. You seemed to like it, but since I’m not exactly experienced, I can’t be sure—”

“It was freepin’ fantastic.” He rotated, sweeping her into his lap and a ravenous kiss, his hand cradling the back of her head, burying in her thick hair as he pulled her hard against him. His other hand all too eagerly slid up the back of her thigh, over her panties, kneading her ass. Her breasts were pressed against his chest. He wanted to taste them, to taste her everywhere. The image of her writhing and sighing like she was now, with him deep inside, yanked him back to his senses again.

He broke off the kiss and wrapped her in his arms, holding her close as she sat crosswise in his lap. She wound her arms over his shoulders. He felt the rapid beat of her heart. “Best I’ve had too,” he said in her ear, holding himself back from nibbling it. Too much temptation in doing so, and his self-control was definitely suspect. His protective instincts still roaring, he wanted to possess her here and now.

He lifted her off his lap and hobbled, hard-cocked, to the sink to splash cold water on his face. The nightmare’s aftereffects were almost gone—but not the all-consuming drumbeat of desire from the kiss. He scrubbed a towel over his face and neck.

Watching him, she sat with her legs tucked under her in the middle of his bunk. As if she belonged there. He fought hard not to throw the towel down then throwherdown, on her back. Ever since the ice had cracked between them, he’d been painfully aware of her presence… her scent, her voice, her larger-than-life attitude, her cute little nose—every blasted thing about her. Even when she was angry with him, he wanted her!

“You said you have trouble sleeping,” she said. “Is it because of the nightmares?”

“Aye, mostly.” The recurring nightmares reiterated his greatest fear: losing Awrenkka to Karbon. “Usually, they’re versions of my past. This was new. I dreamed of the five points of light. That they were dangerous.” And that if he took her to the treasure, he’d expose her to even more danger than she was in now.

“You mind must have been chewing on what happened on Issenda Crossroads—with the sisters. Thinking I was being attacked. It’s just your worry playing out.”

Legitimate worry.His skull throbbed. Tipping his head back to stretch his neck, he stifled a groan.

Her eyes glinted in the dim light, but her voice was gentle. “Will it help if I stay?” Without waiting for his answer, she curled on her side, pulling the sheet over her body. “Come back to bed.”

He thought of a hundred reasons in support of the idea, and an equal number against. Well, maybe a few more on the plus side, but…

Her muffled voice came from under the sheet. “Aral. Don’t overthink it.”

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