“Then I’m definitely not letting you go alone.”
His warmth continued to vibrate all around me, and the depth in his eyes suddenly became endless.
“We do this together.”
“Alright,” he said. “We do this together.”
* * *
I was dead asleep when something woke me up.
It wasn’t a bad dream.
It was a feeling.
Heat crept up my skin, made the tips of my fingers burn. I felt like I’d lain in the sun too long, fell asleep on a blanket and got a sunburn on my face and arms. The feeling was gentle and could coax me back to sleep, except for the fact that it was so intense.
It made my eyes pop open.
Green eyes looked into mine, assertive and attentive, like he’d been awake for hours. He was beside me in bed, his body turned to face mine, my thigh hiked up over his hip. His hand cupped my neck and cheek. I hadn’t even noticed. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I blinked a few times, feeling the emotion slowly retreat into his body and disappear. My hand automatically moved to his wrist and settled there, feeling his fingers rest against my throat. “Why are you awake?” My voice cracked, so I must have been asleep for several hours.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“It was a long ride…” I’d fallen asleep the second my head hit the pillow. It was one of the few nights we didn’t make love. I was just too tired.
His arm moved to my waist, and he tugged me closer, bringing my stomach right against his hardness. Our foreheads came together as we shared a single pillow. The fire in the hearth was nearly out because the wood had burned to embers.
“You can’t sleep without sex first?”
He rolled me over onto my back as he tugged down his boxers. “Not when it comes to you.” My panties were pulled to the side, and then his thickness sank deep inside me, burrowing until every empty space was sealed around his big dick.
I released a moan, just his touch enough to get me ready.
He held himself on top of me and slowly began to rock. The headboard didn’t tap against the stone wall. We moved so gently, refusing to make a single sound, as if someone might overhear us.
Still half asleep, I lay there with my nails deep in his back, feeling him take me over and over. My thighs squeezed his torso, and I rocked with him, panting with pleasure, moaning right against his ear.
The golden warmth circled me again, hot as the searing sun, wrapped around me like a mighty cloak. As it squeezed, it suffocated me, forced me to absorb the heat into my skin, deep into my body. I accepted it—and let it fill my darkest and loneliest places.
8
KINGSNAKE
My father called for my presence, so I ended up in his study again. My armor was left behind, but my muscles were so rigid, it felt like I still wore it for protection. Fang remained in the room to protect Larisa, who was still asleep when I left her. She’d probably be up by now if I hadn’t disturbed her in the middle of the night.
This time, it was just the two of us, across from each other in the armchairs. The fire roared and crackled in the hearth beside us, almost too warm despite the snow everywhere outside.
Since it was morning, he had a cup of coffee instead of his usual poison. Steam wafted from the surface toward his face. He brought the mug to his mouth and took a drink, his eyes on me the entire time.
He offered me nothing.
When he set down his mug, he spoke. “I realize I’m too late, but heed my warning, nonetheless. Don’t trust that woman.”
I had no reaction despite my surprise.
“It’s Ellasara all over again.”