Page 39 of Queen of Ever

‘I have thought about you every day since you left, sometimes in anger, sometimes in misery, but always those thoughts came to the same end; I knew I would see you again, and when I did, you’d never run from me again.’The possessive undertone of that whole statement should have got my back up.It didn’t.I clenched my hands to keep from reaching for him.We held still for a long pause, poised in a frozen moment, our eyes locked, watching each other for a sign.

And then it was like something snapped and we came crashing into each other.His lips were on mine, urgent, insistent, full of all the emotion he hadn’t let me see, emotion that mirrored my own.Grief and loss tangled with love and desire.I realised too late that my memories hadn’t done him justice.I wasn’t prepared for the way kissing him unravelled me, flooding my body with an aching, smouldering need I’d do just about anything to sate.His lips left mine, tracing my jaw, moving down my neck as his hands gripped my waist.I could feel the warmth of his touch beneath the fabric of my dress and it made me want more, want to feel his fingers on my bare skin, want to trace the contours of his muscular form with my own.

‘I forgot what this was like,’ he rumbled against my throat, sending another shiver through me, setting my nerves on fire.I knew I should push him away, tell him we shouldn’t, that we needed totalk, but I couldn’t get my mouth to speak the words.The weight of his body against mine, pinning me against the door at my back, awakened every memory of every time he’d had me like this.Those memories lived and breathed in me, leading me in a direction I knew I shouldn’t be going.But I couldn’t stop.

I didn’t want to stop.

‘I’ve missed you.’The words slipped off my tongue, unbidden, dangerous.He stopped then, to search my gaze there in the dark, and then his lips were on mine again, harder this time, something desperate in it—or maybe that desperation was mine.I was desperate to touch him, to feel him on me,insideme.Desperate to be near him.The part of me that had resisted him was succumbing to the part of me that wanted to cling to him, to let him sweep me up with sweet nothings and pleasure and pretend that nothing had ever gone wrong between us.

His tongue slid between my teeth as he pressed himself against me and I could feel him growing hard, which was like pouring gasoline on the flame of my own hunger, making me feel powerful in a way that only he could because he only responded tomelike this, he was only this vulnerable withme.Suddenly, my hands were moving of their own accord as I kissed him back, pulling at his shirt until it was freed from his pants, sliding my hands beneath the fabric to feel the skin that lay beneath it.It was as if a dam had broken inside of him and the raw, untethered emotion radiating from him pushed me well and truly past the point of no return.

I needed this.Needed him.And that need consumed me.Consequences be damned.

His shirt was over his head before I’d realised what I was doing, revealing his muscled torso.My hands traced the contours of him, working their way up as I committed him to memory once more.I didn’t know when I would have the chance again,ifI would have the chance again.I knew that once I opened the door behind me, the real world would come crashing back in, demolishing this little fantasy we now found ourselves in.

But just for one night, we could have this.

Tarian stood still, as if he was afraid to move while my hands traced his skin.As if he was afraid he’d spook me and it would all come to an end.But the tension riding his shoulders, his neck, the bob of his throat as he swallowed, told me just how difficult that was for him, and I felt another surge of satisfaction, another hit of my own power.It was intoxicating, almost as intoxicating as his warm scent.

He was waiting for me to take the lead, and I found myself curious to see where that would take us.

I made him wait as I moved my fingers over the ridges of his stomach, up to his chest, taking my time as I explored, my movements slow and taunting.I wanted to see how long he could hold out, even though my body cried out for him to touch me again.

Finally, his hand snapped around my wrist, stopping me from continuing my torturous exploration.‘You’re abusing your power,’ he said, his voice a low rumble that rolled through me.

‘Am I?’I asked, mock innocence in my tone.‘What are you going to do about it?’A devious look crossed his face.I felt the prickle of magic in the air and realised my mistake.‘Wait—’

‘But it would be so satisfying to watch that dress disintegrate,’ he said, a wicked smirk on his lips that had my heart pounding.

‘You can’t.’The protest was weak—he absolutely could and there would be nothing I could do about it.Hell, I’d probably have let him if we were somewhere else, but I couldn’t go traipsing back to my room naked.

‘Then you’d better turn around.’

I did as I was told, aware that he’d managed to take the power back far too easily.But he’d also cheated.Still, I couldn’t seem to feel anything but the excitement thrumming over my skin as he undid the buttons and laces of my dress, taking his time, taking his revenge as he slid his finger along my spine, as he dropped a kiss to my neck, my shoulder blade, making me itch to turn around, to feel those lips on mine again, to feel more than the featherlight touch of fingertips in teasing strokes.I swallowed down the urge, not willing to give in so easily.

The final button came free and I felt a tremor in his hand as he pushed the sleeves down my arms.The warmth of his touch, the knowledge of what was to come, made my breath hitch in my throat.Doubt began to creep in, and I wondered if I should stop this, if I shouldn’t just open that door and run.

But I’d been running for far too long.Whatever was happening with us, I knew with every fibre of my being that this was where I was meant to be, and I was tired of fighting it.

The cool air hit my bare skin, sending goosebumps racing across it.And then my dress was gone, swathes of fabric pooled at my feet and suddenly I felt very exposed, self-conscious in a way I didn’t expect.It had been so long since he’d seen me like this, it felt like that first time all over again.But it was more than that.This felt like a vow, somehow.Like I was agreeing to something if we kept going, but I didn’t know what, and even if I did, I was positive it wouldn’t stop me.

If I turned now, I knew it could change everything.

But what scared me more was that it would change nothing at all.

‘Don’t hide from me,’ he said and his lips brushed against the skin behind my ear.I could feel the heat of his body against mine, even though he wasn’t touching me yet.

‘I don’t think this is a good idea,’ I said, hating myself as the words came out.I couldn’t look at him as I said them.I wouldn’t have been able to say it at all if I had.He had too strong a hold on me and it sent all reason out the window, leaving raw emotion and instinct in its wake.

‘If you think I’m letting you get away from me again, you don’t know me very well,’ he said and there was no room for argument in his voice.He turned me around, his hands both gentle and firm.He took my chin between his fingers, forcing me to look at him.‘I’ll do whatever it takes to win you back, Imogen.’

I believed him, and whatever resistance I still had hold of disintegrated, slipping through my fingers entirely.My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, as close as we could possibly be, because I had missed him, like a piece of my soul had been torn from me.His lips met mine and his hands circled my waist, holding me to him like he really would never let me go again, making me feel secure like I hadn’t in a long time, making me feel relieved, because now that I had him again, I didn’t know if I could let him go either.

I didn’t want to.

Something in the back of my mind was telling me to slow down, but the reasons seemed vague and unimportant and I couldn’t think straight with his tongue tangled with mine, the feel of him pressing against me, the sounds of our ragged breaths filling my ears.

I was lifted off my feet and my legs wrapped around him, that throbbing sensation growing stronger as he carried me across the room.I sucked in a breath as he placed me on a cold, stone surface, the chill biting at the back of my legs doing nothing to quiet the fire raging inside me.

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