Page 110 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
His hips jerked, and Kieran came with a muffled groan. For a moment, we stayed in each other’s arms. Neither of us wanted to move, too busy basking in the moment. But eventually the pleasureful haze faded, and we had to get back to reality.
I forced myself to leave his arms and got dressed. All the while, Kieran kept his gaze on me. Handsome jerk. I wanted to crawl back into bed with him, but it was too risky. If I allowed myself this excuse, I’d keep coming back. Once Kieran dressed, I cleared my throat. “I—I—”
“I know.” His hands twitched at his sides like he wanted to cup my face but thought better of it. “Howdid I do? Will you think of me when you slip a hand between your thighs, when you’re aching for relief?” His lips quirked into a grin.
I flushed and straightened my spine. “You—” But it hit me then what he was doing. It was just like what he did that night when I almost killed Luther. He was intentionally winding me up. And in this case, he was making it easier for me to part from him. But dammit, he was right. I would think of him when I touched myself. I expelled a breath. “We can’t do this again. No more kissing. And no more sex.” The Mother help me. I’d lost all control. “It was only this one time. No more.”
Kieran’s gaze lingered on my lips before meeting my eyes. “All right.”
I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to ignore the fact that his lips had reached my innermost places. And that he was so fucking talented with his tongue. “I’m fine to work together but not—not like that. There’s too much at stake.”
“Okay.” Again with the knowing tone.
“Just drop me off to the bathing chambers. We can’t be seen together.”
Kieran laughed. “Whatever you say, Selena. I look forward to working with you.”
A few days later, we all stood in front of Luther in his throne room for a debrief. It was hard not to stare at Kieran, to study his sharp jawline and broadshoulders. Now that I knew what his lips tasted like and the feeling of his cock inside of me… gods, I wanted to go back to him. Our eyes locked and Kieran smirked. I couldn’t look away. He had me trapped. It was only when Nimue brushed her shoulder against mine did I find my escape.
Fuck.I needed to get it together. I had to think of Clara and her safety, my happiness be damned. But I wanted more kisses. I wanted that closeness again, and I wanted to give into the dream of sharing my life with someone, but ever since that night, I avoided him. Because whenever I was around him, I lost all sense. The worst part was, Kieran kept his distance. Because he knew. Sooner than later, we’d find our way back to each other. We always did.
Luther leaned forward in his chair. “The festival was a success. I’ve received your reports on the various complaints brought forth by the Noble Houses. I’ll be sending out assignments at the end of the week, but we do have a pressing issue that we’ll address tonight. Lady Adelaide Caddel has requested a dragonsguard patrol at Caddel Province’s capital as there have been suspected sightings along the trade route.”
Luther fixed is gaze on me. “We’ve tested your ability to attract gryphons. This is the perfect opportunity to use your training in a more practical mission. Since Kieran knows the lands best, he’ll assist you. You two will patrol for two weeks and then report back.”
The Mother help me. So much for avoiding him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The flight was grueling. The longest I’d ever flown in one shot was five hours, and that was the night I tried to kill Luther. Even then, I had a long break before flying back. The flight to Elidad, the capital in Caddel Province, was much longer—twenty hours.
Kieran said we’d fly for ten straight hours, stop for the night, and then fly the rest the next day. A part of me was curious about the Caddel family after what I’d heard about them. I’d been lucky enough to avoid them at the festival, but there was no way I’d get away with that during the mission.
I snuck a glance at the hard line on Kieran’s jaw as he rode Hesperos. Six hours in and he was still pissed off. And because he had a stick up his ass meant we had to eat lunch on our dragons. Umarawasn’thappy being reduced to a living table and made it known by rocking every time I tried to take a bite of my sandwich. Whenever I dropped a piece, she’d swoop down to catch it and swallow it whole. ‘Jerk.’Not only that, we only stopped to peetwice.It was absolute torture because I had a bladder the size of a walnut.
When we finally descended, Kieran easily slid down his dragon, looking entirely unaffected.Asshole.As if we hadn’t just spent ten straight hours on dragonback. I stumbled as I walked forward, my inner thighs throbbing. I snuck another glance at Kieran.He has thighs of steel. And I would know.I flushed, and Umara chuffed smoke at me, blowing my hair into my face. Gods, I couldn’t get him out of my thoughts. It wasn’t often a man focused on a woman’s pleasure, and Kieran had been all about that. He feasted on my core like a starved man. The things he could do with his tongue…
“You’re not going to make us keep going, right?” Technically, we could. Our dragons could handle the flight, and Gareth said in emergencies, twenty hours wasn’t even the longest they’d flown.
He smirked as he grabbed his satchel from Hesperos’s pack and slung it over his shoulder. “You don’t have to whine. We’re stopping for the night.”
I was too relieved to argue, though I did settle for lightly shoving him.
Kieran laughed. “Come on. There’s an inn that always keeps a room open for us. Plus, they have a diner.”
My stomach growled. I ignored his amused glance and trailed after him. The village was a small one. Quaint was the first word that came to mind. All the houses were relatively small. Only the inn and a handful of other buildings were more than one story tall. The trees practically concealed the village from view with how high they towered over everything.
The inn was separated from the rest of the town, positioned right by the main road, a perfect rest spotfor weary travelers. It was one of the few places still open and booming with life. When Kieran sauntered in, all the life in the restaurant died down. All eyes went to him and a few at me too.
“Lord Kieran! Lady Selena!” An older man, who stood behind a counter right by the door, jolted to attention. He spoke Kieran’s name with obvious familiarity. It made sense given that this was Caddel Province. “It’s a pleasure to see you here, truly a pleasure. What do you require?”
“Dinner for two, and two rooms. You can charge the crown.” Kieran grinned. Just like that, the little dining room came to life once more. People went back to their conversations, but their curious gazes still went to us occasionally.
The man jerked his head in a sharp nod, his curls bouncing. “Done. Take a seat anywhere you like. I’ll have the rooms prepared. Unfortunately, they’re not right next to each other, but they are on the same floor. I hope that’s alright.”
Kieran merely nodded. His hand went to the small of my back, and he led me to a private table tucked into the corner. I tried to ignore the jolt of lightning that went down my spine. I’d never been this affected by someone before.And I can’t be with him.
I bit back a sigh of relief when I sank into the cushioned seat. It was nothing overly fancy, but clearly this table was one meant to house nobles or the dragonsguard. My thighs ached, and I reached down to massage them. “That sucked.”
