Page 20 of Definitely Dead

“No.” Adjusting his hand, he pressed his thumb to his mate’s lips and rubbed gently to quiet him. “I love that you have such a big heart, but if you let it, that kind of empathy will eat you alive here.”

“Interesting choice of words.”

Tyr rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, fair, but hear me out. Maybe we could post a sign, yeah? Or form a welcoming committee?” Slowly, shyly, he wrapped his arms around Tyr’s neck and leaned into him. “If you hadn’t found me when I arrived, I would have been so lost. I wouldn’t have known how to get Lizzie across the river. What would have happened if we had touched the water to get a drink or clean our hands?”

Tyr growled, a storm of emotion building inside him at the thought of something happening to his mate. “What do you think we’re doing here?”

“But you can’t always be here. I’m proof of that. And that Reaper douche wasn’t helpful at all.”

“Poor baby,” he teased. “Do you want me to punch him in the face if I see him again?”

Sunne pretended to consider his offer before giving him a resolute nod. “Yes.”

“Done.” Gods, he loved that laugh, and he would do anything to keep the smile on Sunne’s face. Even form a fucking welcome committee. “Look, I get what you’re saying, and you’re not wrong, but this is how things have always been.”

He and his fellow Guardians filled some of the gaps, but they couldn’t hold back the flood on their own.

“And people used to piss in the streets. Just because a system exists doesn’t make it a good one.”

Tyr barked out a surprised laugh. His mate really did have a way with words that never failed to both impress and amuse him.

“Fine. You want change? Make it happen.”

“Me?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Who else?”

“But…” Trailing off, Sunne dropped his gaze and chewed his bottom lip. “Do you really think I can do it?”

“Lelien.” He slid his hand along Sunne’s jaw to grip his chin and waited for him to meet his gaze again. “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Gratitude and something deeper flickered in Sunne’s eyes, and he leaned forward, capturing Tyr’s lips in a kiss that was both spontaneous and fleeting.

“Oh, my god,” he gasped, jerking away abruptly, his gaze wide and filled with panic. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

But Tyr was having none of it. With a possessive growl that echoed his need, he tangled his fingers in Sunne’s hair, pulling him close.

“Well, that’s a shame. Because I did.”

What came next was anything but brief.

Tyr slanted their mouths together, melding their lips in a fervent, insistent dance, each touch igniting a fire that had lain dormant for far too long. There was no hesitation, no room for doubt. Instead, he kissed his mate with a fierceness born of hunger and need, a declaration of everything he felt but hadn’t yet spoken.

Tyr traced the outline of Sunne’s lips with his tongue, eliciting a sharp, needy gasp, before delving deeper, exploring the sweet contours of his mouth. Sunne’s breath hitched, and his fingers clutched at Tyr’s arms as he melted against him in quiet surrender.

Time stilled, and the world faded, leaving only the two of them clinging to one another beside the water.

Tyr’s heart crashed against his ribs, and his cock swelled inside his leathers, but he kept his touch gentle, coaxing rather than forceful. Fuck, he wanted him,cravedhim, but his ray of sunshine deserved so much better than desperate rutting on a cold stretch of river.

Yet every brush of Sunne’s tongue, every hushed moan, made it harder to remember why taking him right there was a bad idea.

When they finally pulled apart, breathless and flushed, the world came rushing back into focus, but nothing felt familiar anymore. Staring into the depths of Sunne’s gaze, everything shifted. Priorities realigned. Promises took on new meanings.

In the measure of a single heartbeat, everything had changed.

Before the realization could settle, a rush of energy swept over him, a disturbance he had become all too familiar with over the centuries.

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