During sex, I felt like I could finally sense his emotions like he did with mine. And what I felt in that moment? A profound wholeness. Pleasure and happiness but also relief that, after everything that’d happened and all the uncertainty because of it, he and I were still together.
“Lake.” His name left my lips like a deep moan. Tingles of pleasure rippled through me as his cock nudged my prostate. I gripped his thrusting hips and arched my back.
“My Evan.” He lowered his face to mine and kissed me softly.
“More,” I whimpered, clinging on to him. “Don’t stop.”
It felt too good. The sex, sure, but also the closeness. Being joined with him, our bodies and souls dancing to a melody only we could hear.
Lake grazed his teeth along my jaw, pumping his hips harder. Each time a growl sounded in his throat, I felt him shy away. I recalled the way he’d torn into the lamb at dinner—how he’d let his inner wolf free. He was trying so hard to keep that part of himself at bay.
“Let me hear them,” I said. “I don’t want you holding anything back.”
“But I don’t…” He hid his face in my hair. “I don’t want to scare you.”
“Why would you scare me?”
He regarded me with the saddest eyes. Something else swam in them too. A deep shame. “I saw your expression in the woods, Evan. When I… when I killed the mercenary.”
When he tore out her throat with his teeth.
“Oh, my sweet wolf.” I took his face in my hands, a crack forming in my chest. “I wasn’t afraid of you. I was just sad that you had to do it. Because I know you never want to hurt any living thing.”
“I acted without hesitation,” he rasped, trying to hide his face again. I wouldn’t let him. “She almost shot Briar and Callum, and… instinct took over. What if I lose control like that again? With you?”
“You did it to protect us.” I placed a featherlight kiss to the edge of his mouth. “I could never be afraid of you. I trust you with my entire heart.”
Then, to prove it, I tipped my head back and guided his mouth to my throat. Right over my jugular vein.
He tensed and tried to pull away. I held him in place. A second passed, then another, before the tension eased and he made a soft, strangled sound. He kissed my throat. Something wet and warm landed on my collarbone.
“I love every part of you, Lake. Even the parts you try to hide.”
He silently cried and held me tighter than he ever had. Maybe it was all that kept him from fully falling apart. I ran my fingers through the hair at his nape and lifted my hips from the bed, starting a slow grind and taking more of him back inside me. He grunted under his breath.
“My heart is yours, Evan.” He drove his hips forward, thrusting deeper. “My life… everything I am… it all belongs to you. Always.”
“I’ll cherish your heart,” I said. “Giving you mine in turn. Always.”
We sealed the vow with a kiss.
Both of our worlds had been turned upside down, leaving us in a different realm with no guarantees we’d ever find our way home. But in that room, on that unfamiliar bed, we found comfort in each other.
We found a little piece of the home we’d lost.
Chapter Sixteen
Evan and the Realm of Misfit Beings
Morning arrived with a hard knock on the door and a feisty Fane delivering our breakfast. His mistake was barging in before Lake and I could cover ourselves. Lake’s naked body was wrapped around mine, and the sheet had been kicked off.
“Oh. Pardon me.” Fane placed the platter on the table and rushed from the room as fast as he could.
I snorted. “Poor Fane. He’ll be scarred for life.”
Lake lifted his head from the pillow and sniffed the air. “Potato hash, bacon, and eggs.”
“Ugh. No more potatoes,” I said with a small groan. “I still haven’t recovered from last night.”
