“I’m pleased I didn’t kill you.” My voice caught, and I didn’t realize how afraid of losing him I was until that moment.
He moved closer until I could see the unearthly aqua light shining inside in his eyes. A loud purr came from his chest and I felt it through that ineffable connection between us. I could have sworn it was his dragon reaching out to me. It wasn’t something I’d ever heard being possible, even between mates. Shifters only spoke to their own clansmen, never to each other’s.
“Were you injured?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, no I’m fine. Does it hurt? I should check your bandage.”
“I’m fine.”
Swallowing hard, I said, “You did it on purpose.”
His hand came to my face, and I found myself turning into his touch. I didn’t realize I’d come to need it so much. This was dangerous. He was dangerous. “What’s that, pet?”
“You got yourself hurt so I couldn’t be mad with you about leaving me behind.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to focus if you were around. It would have gotten us both killed.” His body was pressed against mine, and the last thought in my mind was about wounds.
“I can hold my own,” I said. I put my hand on the uninjured side of his chest. “You don’t have to protect me all the time.”
The humming in his chest transferred to mine, and he crushed me to him. I felt it all the way down between my legs and I shuddered against him.
“That’s two times in less than two weeks when someone has tried to kill you, pet. I think the last thing you need is less protecting.”
A weighty silence greeted his words, and I didn’t need our bond to feel the tension emanating from him. Despite the dying fire, it heated the room to an uncomfortable temperature. My skin buzzed with energy trapped just beneath the surface.
“You should rest,” I said, trying to ignore how much I wanted to do anything but sleep. “We still have a lengthy journey until we reach the Northlands.”
He was equal parts terrifying and alluring, like a dare I desperately wanted to indulge. A risk I knew may be my undoing.
His responding smirk was feral, and he clucked his teeth, chastising. I unclenched my fingers, allowing him to pull the furs down. The weight of his gaze traveled down my body like a touch, searing a path with each revealed inch. Despite my resolve, I found myself trembling by the time the furs reached my waist.
“No more rest,” he said. “Now lie back for me.”
14
Rhysander
My shoulder ached, but it was nothing compared to the overwhelming desire, noneed, to have Elena. To prove, irrevocably, that she was safe, here,mine.
Naturally, she ignored my command. My mate was no submissive. Instead, she pushed on my good shoulder and made me lie back for her.
“We have to be careful,” she said and straddled my hips. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you even more.”
My hands went to her waist as her weight settled over me. I groaned, already hard against her heat. “Nothing you do could hurt me, sweet.”
“I thought you were dead,” she said softly. “I was so afraid he’d cut too deep and I wouldn’t be able to save you. I was really scared.”
Reaching up, I pulled on the fabric of her nightgown and it slipped down her shoulder to reveal more creamy white skin. She was so beautiful. To Slaine with keeping her at a distance. She belonged with me, at my side. The mere thought of the knife to her throat had me burning with rage.
Whatever the humans were up to, we would get to the bottom of it.
“You’re thinking too much,” she whispered. “I must not be doing this correctly.”
She had no idea. “Perhaps you should remove this,” I said and tugged at her nightgown, causing it to slip down her breasts. The material caught on her nipples and I felt sweat bead on my brow, but it wasn’t from the fire in the hearth.
“Help me?” she asked, and I hissed out a breath.
My eyes followed the material as I pushed it up her thighs, then over her lifted hips and finally over her head. She wore nothing underneath, her skin glowing in the combination of moonlight coming in from the window and firelight. Shadows danced over her, and so did my hands.
