Page 102 of A Legacy of Poison and Lies

Her best friend. Her lover. Her mate. The male she would do anything, give anything for, no matter the cost.

Holt moved in time with her, thrusting up into her as his mouth devoured hers and his fingers dug into her rear, her erratic breaths matching his as the most sensitive part of her ground tight against him.

Power seemed to flare around them, the air humming with the intensity of their magic coming together, testing, teasing, accepting, the feeling so intense it was as if Zylah had been lit up from the inside. Bright, white light burst from within her, hazing her vision as their pace quickened, Holt’s breath catching as the magic rippled through them both, the last pieces of their bond falling into place.

Every part of her was his. And every part of him was hers, and the maddening, possessive tug that accompanied that thought settled something inside her. Something that had been waiting for him, for this, for the other half of her soul to bind itself to hers. Her pleasure built with each rise and fall of her hips, with each of Holt’s matching thrusts, each pulse of magic tingling against her skin, her body alive with his touch.

Together. Whatever waited for them after this, they would face it together.

Together.His voice in her thoughts was her undoing. Holt’s grip was punishing as he slammed her down onto him, her release obliterating her wholly until she was nothing but the feeling of him moving inside her, their magic thrumming through her, the unrelenting press of his mouth against hers as his own release quickly followed.

Holt’s arms tightened around her, fingers stroking her back until she stopped shaking, his forehead resting against hers as their chests heaved against each other.

I think I knew that day you found me in Varda, she told him.

His eyes shot up to meet hers. It was the first time she’d spoken to him through the bond, the first time she’d intentionally pushed her thoughts to him, his surprise so acute she pressed another kiss to his lips.

“I felt you following me all day. I told you it was the spell that needed work. But I knew. And I…”I was afraid,she told him.

I know, came his reply as he kissed her back. Not just that she was afraid. But that she’d lied about the spell.So was I.

Zylah pulled back to look at him. Saw the flicker of fear in his eyes that was still very real for him. He’d been afraid of pushing her away with the truth. Of losing her.

Holt hummed an acknowledgement against her mouth.

Nothing would keep me from you.She pressed a hand to his heart, felt the tremor that shook through him as she traced kisses along his jaw.

His throat bobbed, and his voice was raw as he said, “I know.”

She could feel his regret. His remorse over the compulsion, that Zylah knew went far deeper than he’d been able to explain, to affirm only through their bond. He’d protected her in the only way he could, by getting her away from him.

“I know your heart, Holt. I know you’ll have fought every moment of it. There is nothing you could do to make me turn away from you. Nothing.”

His arms tightened around her.

“The strength of your actions is what matters. The way you’ve fought so tirelessly for so long. The way you’ve never given up on your desire to see Fae and humans live freely, without fear. The greatest privilege of my life is being able to stand beside you and fight for that freedom. To stand beside you as your mate.”

He swallowed heavily as the words seemed to settle over him, the rawness of his emotions causing her to choke back a sob. So much of what she knew he felt for himself was an echo of what she’d fought with since leaving Virian. The resentment. The guilt. But there was hope, too. So much hope and determination poured from him, a bone-deep gratitude that had her shuddering in his arms as he kissed her again.

Zylah couldn’t help the breathy moan that escaped her, couldn’t help the roll of her hips against him, the firmness of him inside her echoing her need as the bond pulled taut between them. And she didn’t protest as he lifted her from the lounger, worshipping her with his mouth and his body as he took her again.

After only a few hours of sleep, Zylah had awoken sprawled across Holt, a blanket he’d summoned from somewhere draped over them both, his fingers brushing her spine in slow, lazy strokes.

She looked up to meet his bright green eyes, wondering if he’d slept at all.

A little, he told her, his voice gentle in her thoughts and yet still somehow rough with his lack of sleep. A flicker of worry, gone as soon as it was there, his hand still stroking, roving over the curve of her bottom as his hard length pressed against her thigh.

Zylah traced kisses over his chest, angling herself so that the tip of him pressed at her entrance, every inch of her body still alive with the afterglow of accepting the bond with him, already aching for more.

The threat of what Marcus and Jesper might do, the time Marcus had robbed them of sharing hung over them, but she wouldn’t let this moment be stolen from them. Would do anything to ease Holt’s worries, to shoulder the burden for her mate.

“Zylah,” Holt rasped, tilting her chin up so that he could have access to her mouth, his lips on hers the moment she complied.No matter what happens, I’ll find you. I swear it.

She gave him her acknowledgement down the bond, a gentle stroke of her soul against his, and he answered by pulling her down onto him, making love to her slowly, savouring every moment.

A silent vow passed between them to take whatever came next day by day. First the mine. Then Virian. But this moment was for them, and no one would take it from them. No more hiding what they felt from each other, for each other. No more disguising what they were.

Holt murmured promises against her lips, in her mind, in her heart as release found them both, and even after, between tugging on their clothes, and summoning their supplies and a clean shirt.

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