“I’m sorry. It was selfish, and I wasn’t thinking…” He began.
I briefly turned my head, so his face came into view. “No, you weren’t, were you?”
His stare flickered with cool indifference before sliding into a perfect mask of understanding. The moonlight reflected out of his bright blue eyes as I turned away from him. I’d lost myself in those eyes more times than I can count in the past, and I couldn’t afford to do that right now.
Damien Carnell had always been the one person I’d felt closest to in my everlasting life. Someone that pushed me through countless training routines and turned around to console me on nights when the nightmares came back to haunt me. He knew better than most what I’d gone through. He was the only one that dared to approach me on that fateful night after the sentries had caught up to me. After they found me curled in a pool of my mother’s blood, holding her limp body, screaming to the gods to bring her back. He held me, rocked me steadily back and forth, until I could breathe again. I didn’t know how long I remained in his arms. Time seemed to stop. All I remembered is how he wouldn’t leave me, not for one moment.
He broke me out of my reverie as he took my hand in his own, softly stroking the skin above my pulse. I could feel his magic calling to me instantly as my heart slowed down and the panic faded away. I snatched my hand back, cursing under my breath.
“Stop that. You know I hate it when you do that shit.” I stared at him sternly as he gave me that quirky, cocky smile that had a tendency to render me speechless. By the gods, I couldn’t stay mad at him when he looked at me like that and he knew it.
It was the ultimate weakness.
While Damien was a skilled warrior, he was also an extraordinarily gifted healer. One of the best in the kingdom, actually. It wasn’t typical that healers were also soldiers, but he’d be the first to tell you it came in handy to have an affinity for both crafts, especially when you were on a battlefield. Even if it meant healing yourself, it could save your life. He could take away someone’s anxiety with the brush of his fingertips, something he knew I hated when he did it to me. Because I wanted to feel everything life threw at me; the good, the bad, and the exceptionally ugly.
“I’m glad that through all the awful shit you’ve experienced in your life, you’ve never lost your…sass.” His eyes traveled the length of my body and I heated under his gaze. I felt his hand wrap around my waist as he pulled my body close. It was inevitable. We already knew how this moment would end from the moment he showed up in my bed. It might as well have been written in the fucking stars. I should send him away and tell him to leave me be. I still could… But I wouldn’t. He had the capability of creating a particular craving in my soul, a distraction that his body promised to mine every damn time. These moments with him? They were the only time I didn’t feel the burning heat of rage that’s with me every single day. It was a reprieve. So I gave in.
I always fucking gave in.
His fingertips traced along the muscles in my arms to the nape of my neck where he paused - as if waiting for me to tell him to stop, but there was no going back now. I didn’t have the strength to turn him away, nor did I want to. No, I wanted to feel every bit of pleasure he offered. To take away the pain, even if only for an evening.
He gently fisted my hair and gave it a slight tug, tipping my head back. Our eyes met, and his seemed to glow with immense satisfaction. He knew what I wanted, what I might have been too shy to speak out loud. My lips parted of their own instinct, my tongue dancing lightly over my lower lip. We did this every time, but this time? We didn’t hesitate as our bodies collided with one another greedily.
One hand stayed in my hair while his other drifted down to my waist and crushed me further into him. I gasped, and his lips curved upwards into a wicked smile. His hand drifted lower to the short hem of my nightdress, itching to touch my bare skin underneath.
“Damien,” I moaned. “Don’t tease me.” His lips left my mouth instantly to graze the skin just beneath my ear.
He nipped my earlobe softly and inhaled my scent. “It would seem that you like my teasing. Dare I say you enjoy it?” He whispered. I growled in frustration, but he knew just where to plant his lips on my neck for that frustration to turn into something wilder and more frantic. My hands were in a rush to pull his shirt from his body. I wanted to touch him, needed to feel him beneath me. I grazed his abdomen, and he flinched under my touch. “Fuck! Your hands are freezing, Eva.”
A smile danced on my lips. “Well, then it’s a good thing that I didn’t touch your co-” But my words were silenced as his lips crashed into mine once more. It was a hungrier kiss than before, almost as if it might be our last.
He spun me around, facing out to the darkness in the sky. I was bared to my kingdom, my birthright. His body pinned mine against the railing as he dragged one hand to my throat, the other palming my stomach. The way his lips tortured me, ravenous on my neck, nearly had me coming undone. I pushed back against him, feeling his hardness aching for me like I was for him.
“Do you feel what you do to me, Eva? Do you feel how hard you make me? I want to bury myself in you and never come back.” I pushed back harder at his words, sliding my ass against his thick member.
I felt a breeze beneath my nightdress as his hand finally slipped underneath, searching for my core frantically. His hand dipped between my legs, and I let my head fall back against his shoulder in pleasure.
“Shit, Eva. You’re perfection,” he groaned. Fingers caressed my core, teasing me as they drifted along my clit. His touch felt like ice on my skin. It left my body cold and craving warmth.Hiswarmth. I angled myself to give him better access, and just as his finger dipped inside me, a cough from the doorway stopped both of us in our tracks.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Damien, but your father…” Damien growled as we disentangled ourselves. I peered at the figure standing under the dark archway, both cursing and blessing him at the same time. They came forward, out of the darkness and I saw his face beneath the moonlight. Luka’s red hair shone brightly, the color of a bold flame even in the dim lighting of my bedroom. I could feel his dark golden eyes as they scanned over us, scrutinizing the closeness of our bodies and labored breathing. No doubt sensing what had been so close to taking place, the arousal lingering in the air.
“Surely, whatever my father wants could not possibly be so important that you had to interrupt us, Luka?” Damien looked at us, torn between his friendship and his lover. I knew Luka wouldn’t have interrupted without a damn good reason, but the sexual frustration I was feeling left little room for understanding.
Luka Eryx was Damien’s best friend and personal sentry; where one went, the other was always close behind. He was friendly enough, and I enjoyed his company, mostly. I didn’t mind when he accompanied us. Sometimes, he was downright enjoyable to be around. But that was only when we were all under the influence of Fae wine and, well… everyone was enjoyable while basking in that particular refreshment.
When we were children, I would’ve even considered myself jealous of Luka and Damien’s companionship. The two men were blood sworn to each other, like many other Fae nobility and their sentries often were. It ensured an unshakable amount of loyalty to one another and kept those who were consideredimportantto the kingdom safe. The bond they shared was more intense than friendship; something akin to being brothers, and it was completely unavoidable.
“With all due respect, I thought you’d want to know that he was on his way back from Angoria. He will be back at the palace before the sun rises. I know how…” Luka paused for a moment, making eye contact with me before straightening his back. “Lengthy your conferences with Evalyne can be.” His voice dripped with disdain. I’d had to be a fool to ignore the fact Luka despised my relationship with Damien, and there were times I might even agree with him. But tonight? Oh, tonight isnotone of those times.
My back straightened at the use of my full name. I fucking hated it when people used it. My father didn’t even use my full name. The only time it ever came up was during court announcements, and that was fine. Completely unavoidable, even. Damien smirked, knowing how much it always pissed me off. His hand drew lazy circles on my back, the barest contact of our skin sending calming vibes rippling through my body. “I’ll gladly take your compliment on my physical stamina,” Damian drawled.
I already knew Damien was using his contact with my skin to keep me calm, but I was in no mood to entertain tonight, nor would I allow Luka to yank Damien away from me. I needed this. I needed a distraction from all the fucked up shit that haunted me.
With the flick of my fingers, a gust of wind whirled past us and pushed Luka out of the room against his protests. Before the door slammed in his face, I called after him. “I swear to all the gods of this land that if you barge into my bedroom and interrupt aconferenceagain,” my voice putting the same edge on the word that he had used, “that gust of wind will push you off the balcony rather than out the door.”
Damien chuckled softly before adding, “Sorry, Luka! I’ll come to find you soon.”
With that, the door slammed and locked tight. I turned around to face Damien, drawing him in close for a lingering kiss. “Now, where were we?”
