Page 259 of The Ascended
“You don’t mean any of this Xül. You’re scared. It’s getting real. You’re realizing I’ll be gone tomorrow.” I tilted my head, willing for him to hear me. “You will regret this later. And I won’t allow it.”
“Stop trying to reason with me.” His fingers tightened in my hair. “This is going to break me, Thais.”
“Xül—”
“You don’t understand.” He cut me off. “I love you, starling. I’m in love with you.”
My heart seized.Love.
I took a deep breath, and then whispered, “but is that enough in the face of everything else, Xül? Is it really?”
“You’re not the only one of us with a hypocrite as a father. Mine chose love over duty—nearly sent the entire realm crashing down around him.” Xül inhaled, moving closer. “And I’ll be damned for eternity if I’m not willing to do the same. I’d burn Voldaris to the ground for you.”
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The raw confession stripped me bare, left me defenseless against the tidal wave rising in my chest.
He surged forward, his lips finding mine with a desperate hunger. His hands left my face, sliding down to my waist, pulling me against him. I gasped against his mouth as our bodies pressed together.
"Xül," I breathed as his lips trailed from my mouth to my jaw, then down my throat. "If you mean this?—"
He groaned against my mouth. "I’d wage wars for you," he murmured, his breathing ragged. "I won’t hide from it anymore. I’m done doing what everyone else requires of me. Done. I’m choosing me now. And I’m choosing you. Tell me that you want this too," he murmured against my neck, his hands already working at the fastenings of my dress. "That you’ll be mine."
In answer, I pulled his face back down. My fingers tangled in his braids. It was everything I wanted. The taste of him, the feel of his hands on my skin, the strength in his body as he lifted me, my legs wrapping around his waist.
"You’re the only thing I’ll ever want," he confessed between kisses. “I’ll be yours for as long as you want me, Thais. Eternity is a long time, and I know I’m asking a lot of you. And that there’s a chance that you’ll change your mind, a year from now—a thousand years from now.” He paused, looking directly into my eyes. “But when that day comes, my heart will stop. It will only ever beat for you, Thais."
“I’m yours, already, Xül.” I murmured. “I have been for a while.”
"Tomorrow, I tell him everything," he growled, fingers digging into my thighs. "After the forging, I'm done being his puppet."
"He won’t take it well," I warned, already breathless.
"Probably not," Xül replied. "But I’ve played his games for too long. Now I'm taking what I want." His gaze raked over me, hungry and possessive.
When our mouths collided, it wasn't with tenderness but with bone-deep certainty, teeth clashing, tongues battling for dominance. I bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, and he groaned into my mouth, the coppery taste making my head spin.
He lifted me effortlessly, hands gripping my ass as he carried me across the room. With a violent sweep of his arm, he cleared the massive desk, sending scrolls and inkwells crashing to the floor. He tossed me onto the polished surface, the wood cold against my fevered skin.
"We certainly have a proclivity for desks, don’t we starling?" he murmured, teeth grazing my ear. "During every tedious council meeting, every negotiation—all I could think about was that night."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
His eyes darkened as he reached for the fastenings of my shirt, fingers working impatiently. "I should rip this off you," he muttered, tugging at the delicate fabric.
"Do it," I challenged, arching into his touch. "I want to hear it tear."
A wicked smile curved his lips before he gripped the bodice and yanked, the sound filling the room. The rush of cool air against my exposed skin made me shiver, but it was nothing compared to the reverence in his gaze as he looked at me.
"Fucking perfect," he growled, hands immediately finding bare flesh.
I reached for his own shirt, frustrated by the complexity. "Get this off," I demanded. "Now."
He chuckled darkly, the sound sending shivers down my spine. "So impatient." But his own hands moved to help, tearing at fasteners until he could shrug out of it.
The sight of his bare chest made my mouth water. Bronze skin stretched over hard muscle, his broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist in a perfect V. His abdomen was a landscape of ridges and valleys that tightened with each breath, and a tantalizing trail of dark hair disappeared beneath his waistband, drawing my gaze down.
A wicked thought flashed through my mind. I pushed against his chest and slid from the desk, dropping to my knees before he could stop me.
His sharp intake of breath was immensely satisfying. "Thais?—"
