“No,” he growled, the word tearing from his throat, and before Elyria could even form a shadow to step into, Cedric had shot upright. His hand snaked out, catching her wrist before she could flee into the dark.
With one pull, he yanked her forward, pulling her onto the bed with him, slipping one arm around her waist and rolling so that she was pinned beneath him for once.
Elyria blinked up at him, green eyes wide, lips parted in surprise. Cedric swallowed the gasp that escaped her, crashing his mouth to hers in a tangle of tongues and teeth, of fire and fury.
His body settled over hers, and her hands came up as if in reflex, gripping his shoulders, her nails grazing his back just enough to send a delicious shiver down his spine.
She moaned as he devoured her, her fingers tangling in his hair, her body arching against his own. Cedric moved with her, his palm smoothing down her torso, over—and then under—the hem of her nightdress, his fingers dancing over the scars on her thighs with reverence.
His hand slipped further, searching for that place where heknewshe’d be wet and wanting...until a strong leg was suddenly clamped over his arm, locking it in place. Locking him out.
Fuck, why did she have to be sostrong?
“Tsk, so quick to want to tip the scales right back to your side,” she said, though the reprimand was somewhat undermined by the smile in her eyes.
He huffed a laugh. “If this is what settling scores entails, can you blame me?”
“This was supposed to be about you,” she tutted, releasing him before pivoting the lower half of her body away, even as her arms remained wrapped around his neck.
Cedric splayed his hand on the mattress beside her head. “Are you truly saying you don’t want me to?—”
“I want and don’t want a lot of things,” she said simply, shadows winding aimlessly down her arms, like her magic wasn’t quite sure what to do with itself.
He didn’t know how, but Cedric could feel it—her hesitance, the uncertainty beneath her bravado.
“Tell me one thing you want—right now, right here—and I’ll give it to you,” he said, and he thought maybe he should have been embarrassed by how desperate he sounded.
He wasn’t.
Elyria bit her lip, her fingers tightening on the back of his neck. Several long moments passed before she spoke.
“I just want to stay,” she whispered.
For a heartbeat, Cedric couldn’t breathe. Her words felt like they slammed into his chest and rooted themselves there. Relief flooded his veins, so potent he might have staggered in place, were he standing.
He didn’t understand it, didn’t fully comprehend why it felt like something had been set right, had clicked into place. But it did.
“So stay.” His thumb brushed her cheek, swept over the curve of her jaw. “Stay with me.”
There was another moment of painful hesitation. Her shadows flickered. Eyes of emerald green and gold-ringed brown met. Stared. Held. But, eventually, Elyria nodded.
Cedric might’ve said thank you. Might’ve said a lot of things. But in the end, none of it mattered. What did matter was the fit of her body as it curled into his—perfect, like that was exactly where it was always meant to be. And maybe all that really mattered was the way she’d looked at him as he pressed his forehead to hers—with an expression that felt a lot like...
He didn’t finish the thought.
Didn’t let himself.
Didn’t want to jinx it.
Because they still had their missions. They would still have to go their separate ways when dawn broke. But of this, Cedric was certain: If that look meant what he thought it did—hells, even if it didn’t—there was not one damn thing in the entire realm that would stop him from returning to her.
Cedric awokewith Elyria in his arms, her head on his chest, one leg curled over his own. Her wings were out, loose and free as they poured across his bed—a captivating tapestry. He didn’t dare move, didn’t want to breathe too deeply, for fear of rousing her. She looked so peaceful. So utterly devoid of that hard outer shell, that prickly exterior that, though he knew he was fully capable of cracking, must have taken so much effort to maintain.
He knew it couldn’t—wouldn’t—last long.
It didn’t.
The moment broke as soon as Elyria stirred, the slightest furrow to her brow when her green eyes fluttered open.
