“And if I say he’s done with this? That you’re done coming here?”
“Then the command won’t come as some trivial power play as your Prince that I know you don’t respect. It will come in full demand of my strength versus yours.”
She angled her head to the side. “Did you send Alphard to the front lines so that you could step in this way without hindrance?”
Something between a laugh and a scoff hummed through him. “As if he could hinder me.”
“Could I?”
Mal’s expression shifted, suddenly interested. “I don’t know. Could you? Have you performed Magic in the last year beyond lighting all these pretty candles and the occasional Obscuring? Or maybe you can change the color of the drapes? It must be so hard playing the role of the oppressed housewife with all that Magic crawling under your skin unused. It’s unfathomable how you can stand it.”
“You’re awful,” she said, shaking her head. “And I’ve been so compliant, sosilent—”
“Then speak up,” he hissed, his eyes turning wild and the mask fading. “You think I push you so you remain soft?”
“What does it matter?” she said dully. “If he is yours, then who am I to deny you your son? I’ve accepted that truth. But why must you drag my dignity into this? What does my Magic matter?”
Mal’s eyes searched hers with a look of disbelief. Then his expression twisted, understanding washing over his features. “You don’t understand,” he said, his voice full of realization. “You think all this is only about Maxius.”
“Isn’t it?” she pressed.
Disappointment flashed in the way his eyes narrowed. Then a different resolve settled into his expression. He stepped towards her, and she didn’t dare step back. He peeled the glove from his right hand with such predatory grace that her tongue slid across her bottom lip without a thought. Another step closer, and his left glove was off.
He was going to touch her.
He held out his hand expectantly. She was hesitant to trust him again, to let their skin make contact after the last time he’d forcedher to see such forgotten things. But the pull was strong. A flicker of Magic at her core asked sweetly to feel his skin on hers again. It yearned for his attention.
She looked from his hand back up to his face.
“Aren’t you at all curious what once was between us?” his silky smooth voice hummed.
She shook her head, but her fingers brushed his, submitting to his beckoning call, and her eyes dipped down to his lips. His fingers curled beneath hers, and his elbow retracted slowly, forcing her to yield a step towards him. His free hand found her front, knuckles brushing up her waist. His fingers unfurled, snaking across her back until he had her wrapped fully.
Their chests pressed together in forced intimacy as he closed in on her, never releasing her back. He tugged her impossibly closer, pulling her to the tips of her toes as his nose brushed down over hers.
She tried, but failed to conceal the small gasp that slipped from her at the contact. At his cool breath on her lips. Close enough, she could claim them. Close enough for his to claim hers.
“Are you that starved?” he asked, his voice low.
She refused to answer. Refused to give him the satisfaction of a clever response. The truth gnawed at her. The desire to taste him, to know what his slender fingers would feel like tracing across her thighs, to hear both his praise and his degradation, bubbled up inside her.
Foolish thoughts.
“You don’t think about it?” he hummed, inhaling slowly as his head dipped and his nose brushed behind her ear. “Don’t you wonder what it was between us that created a life?”
“No,” she said, hearing the lie in her own voice.
His cool lips brushed across her ear, and a surrendering moan spilled from her throat.
“Is it just me you feel so compelled to lie to?” An amused hum vibrated up his throat. His grip tightened with bruising force, causing her to suck in sharply. Magic pulsed from his palms and fingers, each flicker growing hungrier. Deadlier. “I’m curious.” His hand moved lower on her back, his fingers ghosting across her skin. “Ithink about it.” Her eyes fluttered to a close. “I can admit I wish I remembered what drove me to find completion inside you.”
Maeve whimpered at the words, warmth rolling across her core, buried between her legs.
Why? Why didn’t she remember?
“One thing you can be certain of, Maeve, is that we are in this together.”
His words were both a threat and a promise as his power pressed down on her like a blanket from all angles. Heavy and oppressive.
