Page 62 of The Princesses of Ruin
“Emillia,” Adrik calls again, the tent flap opening with a bright yellowsnap.
I whirl around. “What is it?”
He steps into the snow in just his thermal pants and unlaced boots, his coat thrown on hastily. He marches toward me, a determined look in his gaze that feels aggressive. My finger twitches on my thigh where the dagger was strapped earlier today but isn’t anymore.
Adrik reaches for my face, and I rear back on instinct, raising a hand to ward off his attack. He stops, the aggression in his eyes shattering straight to shock. To fear.
“I…” He blinks rapidly, looking away. “I’m sorry.”
Oh. Fuck.
Was he going to kiss me?
He stammers again. “I shouldn’t have—”
I grab the lapels of his coat and drag him into me. Our lips connect with heat and smoke, the sound a purple swirl of lust in my mind’s eye. I run my tongue along the seam of his lips, asking for entry. He groans, adding a sparkle of white to the whirlwind of violet. He pushes his arms into my jacket and wraps his arms around my back, pressing us together.
We fit so well.
I lean into him, grabbing the back of his head and tugging on his short hair. A weak whimper that bursts like sunlight ekes from his throat. Feral hunger descends, and I open my mouth into his. I need this. I need him.
“Wait,” Adrik says through my onslaught.
I pant as I pull back, biting my lip to keep from feasting on him again.
“You…” He swallows. “You need to piss.”
I laugh. “I needed to escape you.”
His arms tighten on my back. “I’m already ruined, so you don’t have to worry.”
My heart is speared through. I loosen my tugging hold on his hair and cup the back of his neck. “What do you mean?”
He shivers. “I like to be tied up.”
I can’t help but laugh again. This sweet, innocent man. He thought I was talking about kinks.
I kiss him gently. The only soft thing I’ll enjoy tonight. When I pull back, I see the bleeding devotion in his eyes. It hurts.
“I’m leaving when this is over.”
“But we need to get the dire wolf fur,” he says.
I shake my head. This silly man.
“Not that. I mean…”
He stares at me with big, hopeful eyes and shivers again, this one more violent.
“Come back to the tent with me.”
He doesn’t let go. “Explain first.”
He’s a stubborn thing, too. His nature speaks to my desires, and I fight the urge to pressure him into submission.
“When we’ve killed your queen, and Fynren is safe, there’s business I have to attend in Wolfsheim.”
He nods. “I understand.”
