Page 42 of Blood Bearon
Rachel shook her head. “You’re not forgetting. The first time just melted your brain into mush.”
Khove laughed heartily. “Oh isthatit? I see, I must have missed that part,” he teased, one hand snaking up to pull her head down to him.
Their lips met and he tasted the fire that burned within her. Fighting to keep his body from showing any outward signs that might scare her off was tough, but he remained calm even as she parted his lips, tongues brushing softly against their counterpart.
Strong but gentle fingers settled on either side of his face as the kiss lingered on for longer than any previous. Khove’s other hand settled in the small of her back, holding Rachel tight to him. He could feel the press of her breasts into his chest, aware of every slight shift of her body as she tried to press deeper into him.
There was no way Rachel didn’t feel the attraction all but burning between them. Not now. If he’d had doubts about that, it faded as they lay on the couch, making out like a bunch of teenagers all over again. Neither one was ready to push the boundaries past though, much as Khove was interested by the idea.
What he didn’t want, however, was to scare her off. There still remained the possibility that Rachel might crack as things hit home with her, and if she bolted, Khove would have no choice but to go after her and prevent her from leaving. Thelastthing he wanted was to go from being her friend—and whatever it was they were—to her jailer. It would destroy him to betray her like that, but his family’s secret was bigger than any one person. It couldn’t be let out.
Stay strong, Rachel.
She had it in her, he knew that. Khove had to trust her. Pushing aside his fears, he sank deeper into the couch, and into all that was Rachel. It felt good to let someone in, to feel it reciprocated. There was still plenty they didn’t know about one another, but that didn’t matter, not right then. In time, he would learn all he needed to know.
As would she.
“What is it?” Rachel asked, pulling back abruptly, azure orbs studying him intensely.
“I didn’t say anything?”
“You didn’t have to,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “You tensed there. Like you were bracing against something.”
“Nothing that we need to stop this for,” he promised.
Rachel looked at him side-eye for a long handful of seconds, but eventually, she nodded and fell back into his embrace.
He was going to have to tell her the rest of the truth eventually. About Korred, and everything that he was capable of. Magic. The Fae.Allof it. Khove vowed then and there that he would not risk losing this wonderful woman simply because she was uneducated about what they were going up against. No matter what it might cost him personally to do so.
“Stop it,” Rachel murmured between kisses. “You’re doing it again.”
“Sorry,” he said, relaxing into her.
He tightened abruptly again, but this time it wasn’t because of the thoughts in his mind. It was the direction in which her hand was headed, pushing down between them. If she kept going she would hit his—
Someone knocked heavily at the door.
Khove froze, looking down his body, to where Rachel’s hand was paused, fingers just encountering his belt.
“You havegotto be kidding me!” he moaned. “That is not fair.”
Rachel giggled, rolling off him, her hand dragging down the inside of his leg, careful not to touch anything else. “Go answer the door,” she said, giving his quad a slap.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” he mumbled, standing up and tugging his clothing mostly back into place as he walked over. “What do you w—”
His voice died as he saw who was at the door.
Kaelyn arched a single eyebrow at him.
“My Queen!” Khove swallowed nervously. “What are you doing here?”
The Queen of High House Ursa smiled wryly at his change in attitude, but didn’t say anything about it. “I heard that you were back,” she said. “And that you’d brought a guest.”
There was a curious tone to her voice. She was prying, to find out who Rachel was to him. Khove had been around his Queen long enough to know her tendency to play matchmaker though, and he wasn’t about to let her do the same with him. He would do this on his own, if there was indeed anythingtodo.
“Who is it?” Rachel asked, wandering over to the door.
Khove swung it open wide. “Detective Corningstone, meet my Queen.”
