Page 93 of A Legacy of Poison and Lies

Zylah tried to focus on Rin. But her eyes kept falling on Holt’s door over the Fae’s shoulder.I’d die a hundred times for you. It was as if she could feel him moving around in the next room, feel his presence even with a wall between them.

“…let you get some more rest; Holt can fill you in on everything before you leave. Zylah?” Rin raised an eyebrow, head tilted to one side as she looked at her cautiously.

“Sorry,” Zylah murmured. She hadn’t heard half of what her friend had been saying. “Rest would be good.” But rest wasn’t what she needed. She needed to move. To burn off the energy of all that had happened, to move through it all, to not be still, not for a minute longer.

Rin gave her a warm smile as she paused beside the door. “It never mattered to us that you were half Fae.”

“I know.” And Zylah believed her.

She waited for the door to click shut, and then she was on her feet, moving, her hand resting on the door between her room and Holt’s.

Time is the only thing I could give you, Zylah.

I can’t look at you like I’m just a friend and fine with that.

Tell me what you want, Zylah.

I’d die a hundred times for you.

It’s always been yours.

She took a deep breath. Tapped her knuckles against his door and waited. The doorknob twisted a few heartbeats later, and Zylah cleared her throat. “I didn’t—”

She looked up from the knob as the door opened to Holt standing before her, hair dripping wet, a towel at his waist, the wildness she’d often glimpsed in him darkening his eyes as they swept over her body.

“I needed to cool off,” he said by way of explanation.

She didn’t need to look down to know it hadn’t worked, the thick length of him tucked against his stomach beneath the towel. Zylah swallowed, a delicious heat dancing along her skin in anticipation, not caring what scent she was throwing off. She was bare beneath the nightdress, and she knew he knew it, too.

“Damn it, Zylah. We should talk first.” There was a roughness to his voice as he pulled her into the room and pushed the door shut behind her, but his eyes were full of the same hunger and need she knew he could see in her own.

But she didn’t move away from the door. Planted her feet firmly, grounded herself in the strength of her own body and let it fill her with confidence. “What’s there to talk about? I want you.” She tilted her chin up to him as he stepped closer, his half-lidded eyes taking her in. “You want me?”

Her gaze fell to his lips as her back pressed against the door, down to his heavily muscled chest where she could hear his heart racing in time with her own. His skin was still wet, his heat mixed with his intoxicating scent radiating from him as he ran his knuckles lightly down the bare skin of her arm and she waited for his answer. Waited as he lifted her with one hand, her nightdress riding up her thighs and she ran her fingers through his wet hair, their eyes locking for a moment as he held her close enough for them to share a breath.

“Yes, I want you, Zylah,” Holt said, his lips brushing over hers.

She couldn’t help but arch into his touch, her voice breathless as she said, “Then there’s nothing left to say.”

It was as if something inside him snapped. His mouth was on hers, his tongue parting her lips to taste her, one hand gripping her waist as he claimed her with his kiss. Zylah’s fingers tightened in his hair, her tongue sweeping across his and matching him stroke for stroke.

She’d almost lost him. And the thought made her curl her fingers tighter, claim him in return.

Holt’s hand slid under her nightdress as their kiss grew hungrier, needier, her skin sensitive and every muscle in her body tightening at his touch, but it wasn’t enough. Heat curled through her as she pulled the straps off her shoulders, the silk falling over her breasts, and Holt’s gaze turned predatory as he drew back to take her in. His fingers fisted in her hair, pulling her head back for him to trace kisses down her throat, over the swell of one breast, until he took her nipple into his mouth and Zylah let out a breathy moan, her hips moving against the hard length pressed between her thighs. He made an approving sound in the back of his throat, his teeth coming together over the soft flesh, his tongue quickly following to soothe over the hurt as she writhed beneath his touch, demanding more of him.

She’d been so afraid to give in to this feeling that she hadn’t realised how long she’d been waiting, wanting him, and with the way he moved against her, she knew he’d been waiting, too. Knew he’d been trying just as hard to conceal it as she had, and that he’d done it for her, no matter how difficult it might have been for him. Zylah pushed the thought away, no longer willing to let the guilt get in the way of what she wanted. What she’d craved, for so long.

Her hips rocked faster against him where their bodies pressed together, his thin towel the last barrier between them, the scrap of fabric driving her crazy, the wild heat burning inside her threatening to burn it away to nothing. She ached to touch him, to feel him, reaching for the towel as he moved to her other breast. There would be no more hesitating. No more waiting. Only him.

But as her hands found the towel, he caught both her wrists, planting them above her with one hand and capturing her mouth again. He pinned her against the wall with only his hips, his free hand caressing every place his mouth had just been until it rested on her cheek, his thumb tracing her swollen lips like he couldn’t get enough of them.

“Holt,” Zylah whispered as she tried to move against him, desperate for more friction between her thighs, her ragged breathing matching his. She needed to touch him, to taste him, to explore him the way he had her, to map out every inch of him with her mouth and her tongue until they were both breathless and sated.

The corner of his mouth lifted into a knowing smile, eyes smouldering as he released her wrists to wrap both arms around her, kissing her fiercely as he moved them away from the door and across the room.

Zylah let herself get lost in the heat of his kiss, the feel of him against her, the strength of his arms wrapped around her as he set her down on his bed, his teeth biting into her lower lip before he pulled away.

“Do you have any idea how distracting this mouth of yours is?” he asked, his thumb rubbing over the sensitive skin.

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