AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Terra
At least the view isn’t terrible.
I take deep breaths of night air as I sit at the edge of the bridge, my legs pulled up to my chest. I’m right outside the door to the Nova House. Edgar and his group were having a meeting in the homeroom and I didn’t feel like conversation tonight, so I settled for the silence of the mountains and stars.
I lean over to look through the window and see that the homeroom has cleared out. They all looked so serious and angry earlier; I wonder what they were discussing. Thoughts mingle in my head as I take another deep breath and watch it curl in the cold air. It feels nice out here, so I decide to enjoy it a little longer. I shut my eyes and let my thoughts take me somewhere less awful.
“What are you doing?”
My back stiffens at Elias’s voice. I look up and find him staring down at me with displeasure. Blinking the drowsiness from my eyes, I try to feign a smile. “I wasn’t quite ready to go inside.”
He stares at me before silently offering me his hand. I look from his hand up to his face. His brow rises just a bit. There’s warmth in his gaze. Why do I cherish that so much? The way he looks only at me with that vulnerability ignites flames inside my heart.
I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet.
“Let’s go inside,” he murmurs as he presses his mouth to the back of my head. He sounds as tired as I feel. I’m very aware of the weight of his hand against my waist, pulling me in close to him and sending heat through my limbs.
He guides me toward my room and I wonder if perhaps he’ll stay with me tonight. I hate to admit how reliant I’ve become on his presence.
My room is cold and dark. Elias steps inside, making his way over to the far wall and kneeling at the fireplace. He tosses a match on the strange black wood, which instantly ignites. He looks back up at me and for a moment, he looks anything but a Fernestian assassin, on one knee and warming my room for me.
I smile wearily and mutter, “Thank you.”
He nods, keeping that straight expression of his. “This is Shadowed Wood. You don’t need to replace it and it will burn steady for as long as it is needed. It’s imbued with power like the veil out front,” he says quietly as he stands and moves back toward my door.
I sink my teeth into my lower lip before grabbing his forearm to keep him from leaving.
Elias stops and glances down at me expectantly, quietly.
“Please, stay,” I whisper.
His eyes are rimmed in red. Fatigue pulls at his grin. “Are you begging me?”
My brows pinch together but I’m too tired to argue with him. “Please?”
He tilts his head to the side and lets out a lovely laugh. “Where is your pet? You don’t want him?” Elias taunts me, lifting his hand to my face and brushing my hair to the side. I lean my cheek into his palm.
“No, I want you,” I murmur into his hand and his other tightens on my hip.
“Since when?”
I try to pull my head away so he won’t see me scowl but he grips my jaw so I can’t move.
“Since when, sweetheart?” He brings his lips to mine, the closeness of him sending chills up my spine.
I swallow hard and stare into his hollow gray eyes. “I don’t know when it happened, maybe when I saw you tied up in the basement and bleeding for me. But… I want to be close to you.” The words are like bullets to the chest. I’m a traitor to my nation for feeling this way for Elias. For wanting all the sin and darkness inside him.
There’s no point in denying it anymore.
Elias growls—a deep and low vibration that rolls from his throat like a wild beast. He flips the lock on my door and cocks my head back, driving his mouth down onto mine. His kisses are feverish and hungry, consuming me with each push as he guides me back to my bed.
He nudges me back and I fall onto the sheets with a small gasp, my hair a halo around my head. I don’t have a moment's reprieve before his lips are back against mine. His hands slide up my wrists and pull them over my head.
I tilt my chin up and moan. Elias presses kisses down my throat, nipping and sucking as he gets to my collarbone. He’s in his full tactical gear, straps, pockets, and the tough fabric rubbing on my arms, but I want his skin against mine.
Elias leans back and raises one of his dark brows as I start to unzip his jacket and pull at the sleeves. “You look tired,” he says in a low, seductive voice as he shrugs off his shirt. His stomach is tight, muscles forming dips and valleys on his sun-kissed skin. Scars trail up his torso; I can’t help but let my fingers glide across them.
“So do you,” I say slowly.
