Page 73 of Conquering the King of Storms

I didn’t know if I was going to respond anyway, but—

Our tongues danced as we moved together, his wind still hot on my clit as my back arched against the shower’s wall. We shattered together, losing control as one.

The thought crossed my mind as Sirus held me tightly in his arms that maybe I was falling in love too.

We driedoff together and got dressed, making out like horny teenagers in random bursts. Sirus dried both of our hair and then braided mine before we stumbled back to bed and collapsed in each other’s arms.

When the morning came around and Sirus woke me with a gentle hand on my shoulder, I realized that Dove had climbed between us both and was snuggled up in our arms. The mental image of all three of us snoring together made me grin.

We made sure our bags were packed, Sirus made sure that I put on the pair of water-fae-style fingerless gloves so that the elements couldn’t take control of me (whatever that meant) and then we headed out. After Dove and I hugged Ivy—Margo was still claiming that they weren’t friends, and Ayla was still staying firmly beside Flood—Dove hugged Tariq too, and then we headed out of the city.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel as we walked further away, but ended up not caring about the distance from the city.

The hiking though, started grating on me immediately.

I was so damn tired of hiking.

We headed down a road of sorts, since luckily there was a trail that led to the heart of their land, which made things easier. The sand was starting to give way to swamp when we finally stopped for the night, which was not affecting my attitude for the better.

We all stopped, picking our spots and opening up our bags. Storm was the only king who was awake, and Dove was getting sleepy, so things were quiet. Without Ivy there to keep everyone upbeat, there was a feeling of despair settling back over the group.

Or maybe just back over me.

Being out on the road again was not doing wonders for my newly-established optimism.

Dove chattered sleepily about how much she liked the trees there, earning a few smiles and lifting the mood slightly. But when it was time to put the food away and lay down for the night, dread slid over me again.

Another night out in the wilderness.

Even though I knew it was ridiculous, I wondered for a minute if everything that happened in the Aboa and the inn had just been a figment of my imagination.

“Would you like to go on a walk with me?” Sirus murmured.

My eyebrows lifted.

We had literally been walking all day.

But… a walk still meant a chance to get away from everyone.

I glanced over at Dove, and found her chatting with Ayla, who was much friendlier to the little girl than she was to me.

“Hey, Ayla? Would you be up for keeping an eye on Dove while me and Storm go for a walk?” I checked.

Dove’s face lit up, and she looked at Ayla expectantly.

Ayla smiled back at her, and nodded to me. “Of course.”

“Thanks.” I flashed her a quick smile as I stood, and Sirus took my hand.

His fingers slid between mine, and I silently mused about how different this walk was from the first one we had taken on the beach all that time ago.

Things had been awkward, then.

I hadn’t wanted him to touch me. Or at least, hadn’t wanted toadmitthat I wanted him to touch me.

And now, we were… something.

Something I didn’t exactly have a term for, but I liked it anyway.

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