Page 21 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
He gives me a quick nod and tugs on my hands, pulling me to him. “Give me a reason to relax.”
A smile escapes him, and I grin in response, holding his hands tightly as he tries to slip them out of my grasp. “Nope. Ugh-ugh. You can’t have these back for now.”
“Why not?” He asks with a wolfish grin.
“Because you will use them to distract me.”
His heavy gaze drops to the swell of my breasts, and he bends down to kiss the hollow of my neck. “I don’t need my hands to distract you.”
Keenan braces his arm around the passenger seat headrest. “Hey there. It’s me, yer good old Celtic driver. Cut it out, or I swear I’ll pull over and join ye.”
Alec grins against my neck. “We better stop.”
“I don’t know. His threat’s not the turn-off he wishes it to be.” I wiggle my brows to make it clear that I’m joking. I’m curious about a lot of things, but having a threesome with Keenan while Leo is passed out in the front seat of the car is out of the question.
It takes a few minutes for Alec’s breaths to settle down and the self-conscious frown to leave his face.
“I did hear your thoughts earlier… I heard that you didn’t want to be King, and the phrase had such an unshakeable taste.” My gaze flicks over to meet his. “Did you mean it?”
“Yes. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not cut out to reign. I’d be a horrendous king. And it’s not just me being self-deprecating, I just… the politics of it all, the diplomacy skills needed… I’m a hunter first, Lucky. I enjoy working alone. You remember how explosive our first meeting was or how I treated Felipe Pereira. I have no finesse. War councils annoy me to no end and tribunals bore me to death. It’s not a responsibility I think would fit me. I can tell it fits you, though,” he adds with a hint of admiration. “You’ll make a fantastic queen.”
My heart aches at how certain he sounds, and the ramifications implied. Sure, we’re nowhere near serious commitment territory, but I’m quickly falling in love with him. “It doesn’t mean we can’t be there for each other, you know.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“I don’t plan on following the same old pattern of arranged marriages and empty relationships my family seems to have adopted. I want you by my side for what’s to come, Alec.”
He kisses me then. One kiss. A slow, disarming caress that leaves me more confused than before.
He starts playing absentmindedly with my hair, and his inner voice finally becomes clear enough for me to hear.“Damn… I wish I could feel so hopeful. Peter is a kingmaker. He will fight for his legacy. The royal guards and a few ministers will rally behind us, but it won’t be enough. If Garrett is the father of Adele’s kids, he’ll use his power over the army to seize control, and there will be war. Bloodshed. Even if we win, hundreds will die.”The bitterness lacing Alec’s inner monologue shivers through me.
The mental images flanking his assertions are so vivid that I can taste blood on my tongue. Alec has seen his share of battles, and so many lives hang in the balance… I need to find a way for me to sit on my rightful throne without tearing my kingdom apart, or I’ll be Queen of nothing.
Also, the unshakeable knowledge that he feels our relationship is doomed before it even starts hangs heavy in my chest. If he’s so convinced that we’ve got no future together, how am I supposed to change his mind?
Chapter11
Ancient History
ARIELLE
Still reeling from Alec’s silent admission, I reach between the front seats to dial down the music and offer Keenan a measured smile. The angel took a sword to the heart to save me, and his offer to join Alec and I in the back of the car earlier wasn’t entirely in jest.
I’m no fool…he’s not only attracted to Leo. “Tell me, K.” His tongue darts out to lick his bottom lip at my new nickname for him, and I know I got his attention. “The murder-for-hire business must be flourishing on this continent given the state of the Pereira court.”
I need to grasp the depths of our laws’ demise on this side of the ocean, but Keenan being an outlaw himself, I doubt he’ll be eager to admit to his crimes unless I give him a solid reason to.
“Do you have a particular question for me, my queen? Or are you just fishing?” The angel answers with a similar grin, his delightful aura luring me closer.
I find myself staring at his brown curls and wonder exactly how they’d feel between my fingers. “The Pereiras were certainly not eager to forfeit their comfort to uphold our laws, and if we’re not careful, our entire species will be at risk.”
Alec rubs the sharp angle of his jaw, his eyes narrowed slightly at our driver.
Keenan’s gaze flicks over to me, his gaze as inviting and pure as a blue, endless summer sky. “There are plenty of other demons that would love nothing more than to claim the role of leader of the Shadow World.”
“Mm…Starting with you and others of your kind, I bet?” I add with warmth, leaning ever closer. Alec’s possessive grip on my waist keeps me from being swallowed by the angel’s thrall and crawling onto his lap, but barely.
There’s something to be said about the tug of everlasting peace…it’s irresistible. Even demons crave a taste of heaven.
