Page 57 of Protected By the Fae King

“I know there’s nothing I can really say that will put your mind at ease with all this,” he said quietly, which made me feel better. Perhaps it was the acknowledgment that I needed to work through it on my own time. “But I want you to know that you’re not alone, Elix. I’m here for you, and with me come all of my resources. Don’t forget that.”

I dropped my forehead toward him and nodded. “I haven’t forgotten everything you’ve done for me.”

“Stop that,” he growled, surprising me.

“What?”

“We do this for each other,” he insisted. “I do because I love you. I’m in love with you, not because I’m doing you any favors.”

I gasped at his unbidden confession, the statement so pure and clearly stated, I could only gape at him.

“Y-you’re in love with me?” I finally sputtered.

Jace smirked. “You’re surprised?”

“I’m… speechless.”

“That’s a first,” he teased.

I shook my head and leaned forward. “No, that’s a lie. I’m not speechless.”

“Oh, thank all the gods. I was going to call for a healer otherwise.”

“I’m in love with you too, Jace. I think I probably have been since I was a kid, but was too stupid and stubborn to know it or accept it.”

He rubbed his nose against mine, and the tension I’d been holding there melted away slightly as he brushed his mouth against mine.

“Took you long enough,” he growled. His strong arm snaked around my waist, and he yanked me toward him.

“Wait,” I breathed worriedly, but he didn’t loosen his grip on me.

“What?”

“You should take it easy?—”

He silenced my concerns with the crush of his lips, the tendons of his bare chest flexing against my breasts, flattening me to him as we embraced.

Our mouths meshed, parting to allow our tongues to twine. Baby bolts of electricity danced through every pore of my body,and I let my eyes fall closed as the rest of my arguments fell away entirely. Whatever worries I’d had about his health earlier were moot now. My Jace was back in tiptop formation again.

My temperature spiked, and I leaned toward him, ready to straddle him, but he was faster, pinning me back on the bed. His hardness bored into me through the thin material of my nightie, and I arched my hips up to grind against his crotch, the familiar wetness washing through me to welcome him already.

I’m always ready for him.

And I suspected that I always would be. Every fiber of me responded to his touch, his fingertips trailing over the prickles of my skin, causing the hairs to rise and more heat to fire through me like pistons.

Jace’s hands inched down toward the hem of my nightie, and I raised my legs to make his reach more accessible, allowing him to shake the silky garment off my wanting body. His head bowed along the curve of my neck, his exploration starting all over, always like it was the first time.

“Have I ever told you how much I love the way you smell?” he mumbled.

“Mm…”

More kisses rained over me. “And taste?”

He nipped and licked and sucked at my flesh, leaving no part untasted, and my moans intensified as he descended lower along my belly.

Hands beat his lips along the cleft in my legs, and I spread myself wider to allow him. I closed my own hands along the thickness of his hair, curling my fingers tightly as he began to tease my swollen nub. His tongue lapped out over one rigid nipple, and I jumped at the electric shock.

Jace raised his head in surprise, our eyes locking, and we both snickered, our breaths escaping in short, excited rasps.

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