Page 83 of A Story of Sinners

Ryken pulled out my chair, and I sat down. Then, he moved to the other side of the table and took a seat. “I robbed the palace. George was in for quite a shock.”

It was unclear whether he was serious or just jesting, but nevertheless, I burst into laughter, buckling over as I imagined George being robbed by Ryken. My smile softened upon noticing Ryken’s hooded gaze. He looked at me as if I were some sort of miracle. His lips parted, and his chest rose on a deep inhale.

“Thank you, Ryken. I didn’t expect anything like this,” I claimed, waving my hand around the table, the décor, all the work he’d put into this dinner. “I’m surprised.”

His face dropped at my praise. “You shouldn’t ever have to be surprised by my doing something nice for you. I’m sorry. You deserve nice things.”

I shook my head then smiled at him. We’d never had the chance to be nice to one another, never gotten the opportunity between all the chaos. “Well, if you would like to do something nice for me, you could pop open that bottle of wine.”

He did, pouring me a glass and then one for himself. We drank and laughed and finally talked. I told him of my time spent in the Dragon Lands, the constant training and newfound abilities, the dragon rides and presents from Fin’s father. I told him of Eulalia and Fin’s relationship troubles, something he was already aware of, and how Gabriella seemed to be taken by that nightmare friend of his. I described our nights out at the local taverns and restaurants near the sea, of the joy it brought me, and he listened intently to every word, smiling all the while.

We discussed my dreams and all the moments we shared within them, cut too short by Malachi’s design. Then, I told him of my childhood spent with the male who’d tormented me, how I hoped he changed, something that seemed to be doubtful.

He told me of Malachi’s withdrawal of the shadows over the continent, the sudden silence coming from Aiden’s end, and how he’d spent nearly every minute of every day traveling to each nation, signing treaties, Redmond at his side. He told me of what Malachi had done to me while I slept, cutting off the strands of my hair and whispering promises of something more. My stomach churned, and I begged him to speak of anything else. I’d almost gone to the Otherworld with that male.

He changed the subject, describing the constant nightmares that plagued him and how they left him terrified of sleep. How every night when he awoke from those haunted visions, he would find himself in the Scourged Forest surrounded by death. He told me of the dark, ancient voices that sometimes filled his head, and when he described them, a shudder wracked through him.

I listened with my hands cupped over my mouth. Eulalia had told me of the shadows withdrawing from Cambriel, as well as Aiden’s insistence on retrieving us, but I had no idea the amount of pressure Ryken had been under—so much, it seemed as if his sanity was slipping away.

While I’d been healing, he’d been falling apart.

He described his meeting with the oracle, a cursed fae who seemed to be incredibly taken with Redmond. She’d been his mother’s best friend, and she had kept her secrets sealed until the day he’d arrived. She claimed he wasn’t entirely fae, and when I pried, he hesitated on delving any further into the subject, claiming it was difficult enough to wrap his mind around, while promising we could discuss it another day.

I let it go, knowing it pained him to spill so much truth. It pained me too. There was more than enough honesty for the night.

We moved on to brighter subjects, our heads spinning beneath the weight of the three bottles of wine we’d consumed, and when we’d run out of items to discuss, he stared at me, love and admiration shining through.

The screech of his chair made me jump in my dizzied haze, and he stepped forward, holding out his hand.

“May I have this dance?” he asked.

I chuckled. “To what music?”

He snapped his fingers and offered his hand once again. “To this music.”

The sounds of violins spilled into the room, as if playing on the wind. My gaze darted about the room in search of its source of origin, and Ryken chuckled. “It’s magic. Eulalia set it up for us.”

I had no idea how she’d found the time to do such a thing, but I beamed and took his offer. Our movements were simple, nothing of the dramatic sort like when I’d danced with Malachi. We only held each other close, moving slowly and inhaling the scent of one another.

Just smelling him and feeling the hard planes of his body, so relaxed and close to mine, made my core melt. His chest was even broader than before, legs even thicker and muscular. My fingertips trailed along his body unhurriedly, and his did the same. His hands moved from the nape of my neck, tracing along my neckline, chest, and down to my stomach. With a groan, he pulled me closer, planting both palms onto my backside and squeezing. He pulled my center flush to his, and I could feel the thick hardness straining against the seams of his pants, the material so tight, it might tear.

Our dance transformed into a slow and steady grind, and my core melted as he hitched my leg around his hip. Our lips brushed as we tasted one another for the first time in a very long time.

My head tilted into the dip of his shoulder, and my nose brushed along the skin of his neck. I would never get tired of that scent, woodsy spice. The feel of his body against mine would never get old. Goosebumps rose along his skin, and his chest vibrated with pleasure.

This was where I was meant to be. With him. Always.

We danced for hours, until the sun’s rays slowly started to slip into the window. The night was over, but I wasn’t ready for it to end.

“Take me to your room. Our room,” I whispered into his ear.

He squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled a sharp breath, as if he thought I would never ask.

The next thing I knew, we were falling, carried by the weight of that wind, sifting to a place that would be even more private and secluded than the last. Our lips locked to one another as we fell, the warmth of his breath and the taste of his tongue filling my mind with bliss. When our feet touched the ground, his shirt was gone, missing somewhere within the funnel we’d traveled through. I chuckled and dragged my hands down the contoured planes of his chest, muscles rippling beneath my touch. With a raise of my brow, my hands dragged lower.

He grasped my wrists, halting my movements, and his eyelids lowered, eyes hazed, as if under the influence of a heavy potion. “It’s not only about this.”

I knew attraction wasn’t the sole part of our shared connection, but it was a major benefit, one I fully intended on receiving tonight, especially after all the teasing touches. It had been so very long.

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