Page 195 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
He smirked. “The sound of my name on your lips when you come.”
Her stomach dipped at those words, and she internally scolded herself. This was not the time forthat. She was too angry.
“You made me expend my magic so the two of you could overpower me to get information from me,” she bit back.
“That’s the thing, baby girl,” Luka said, and she gasped again because when had he moved behind her? But there he was. A bare chest pressed against her back, her bound hands far too close to something she’d been wanting for weeks. His breath coasted over her ear as he said, “We shouldn’t have to coerce information out of you. Not anymore.”
“Unless you aren’t ours as much as we are yours?” Theon said, drawing her attention back to him.
“You know that’s not true,” she argued, her knees starting to go weak at having them both so close and so…utterly dominant. She hated it, and she loved it. The idea of submitting made her want to rage, but the idea of not having tothinkmade her want to fall at their feet just for a little while. After weeks of being forced to face emotions that had too much control over her—that made her hurt and grieve and rage—she wanted to feelgood. Like earlier today.
“Then why did you go without us? Why not tell us? Why go to godsdamn Blackheart?” Theon demanded.
“I…”
“Speak, Tessa,” Theon snapped, and she glared up at him because it would still always be a battle.
But before she could snap back, Luka was at her ear again. “Don’t pretend to be upset right now,” he growled. “Don’t pretend you don’t want to give him control in this moment. He’s the one you need right now. Answer him, temptress.”
She swallowed thickly, his low voice and Theon’s penetrating gaze doing things to her. Things they’d refused her for weeks. Not to punish her, but to force her to learn to feel.
And now…
She stared up at Theon. “I was protecting you both. Because you are mine, and I am yours. You taught me that’s what you do for those you love.”
“We do protect those we love, but how are we supposed to protectyouif you won’t let us in? Secrets tear us apart.Youtaught me that,” he countered darkly.
“I thought you’d try to stop me,” she whispered, emotion clogging her throat. “And I… Achaz can’t come here. That was the vision I had. There’s something here he wants. Getting rid of the mirror gates would keep him out. The Fates too.”
“Baby girl,” Luka purred into her ear, “there’s a balance here. You have to trust me to let you fly as much as you need to trust him to take control. We balance each other as much as we balance you. That’s why it works.”
“But not if you cut us out,” Theon snapped, and she could feel all the fury he’d been repressing since he found her in Falein Kingdom.
She nodded, then she gasped again when Theon’s fingers left her chin, instead wrapping around her throat and pulling her forward. His mouth hovered over hers, and she tasted the words when he said, “Say it.”
“I’m yours. Both of yours. Every piece of me,” she rasped.
His eyes fell closed at the words, some of the tension melting away. He still hovered over her mouth as if he was breathing her into his soul. It was with a start she realized she’d made them doubt her. She hadn’t meant to, had only been trying to protect them, along with the realm, but she’d made them doubt her loyalty.
Again.
Shame and guilt slithered up her spine, and she tried to pull away. But Luka was still at her back, holding her in place.
“Do you trust us?” Luka asked, pressing into her more as one of his hands snaked around her torso, cupping a breast.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“Do you? Because if you did, you wouldn’t have left us behind, Tessa,” he retorted, the soft caressing of her breast morphing into a harsh pinch of her nipple.
But the cry of surprise that fell from her lips instantly became a moan of pleasure as dark power skittered along her bare legs. Her power rose to meet it, greedy and wanting. A reflection of her own emotions, and she finally understood what they’d been trying to tell her all along. Why even when she’d learned to wield her power, she still couldn’t always control it. Some of that was because it was pure Chaos, but a greater part was because she allowed herself to be the same.
Luka’s other hand trailed up to her shoulder, gathering her hair and pulling it over her shoulder. His cheek nestled against her temple, his stubble chafing her skin.
“She says she trusts us, Theon,” Luka said, a slight mocking in his tone that made her tense in irritation.
“She says she’s ours,” Theon replied darkly, head tilting as the furious emerald depths held hers. For the first time in a long time, she felt like the prey.
“Can we believe her?” Luka continued to mock, and her annoyance crept nearer to anger.
