I swallowed. “You promise you’ll hold on?”
“Of course,” he declared. “I’d never let you go.” His voice lowered to a velvet baritone that spread heat through my body as it repeated in my head.
I’d never let you go.
I closed my eyes and gave myself a quick pep talk to shove down my anxiety. When I reopened them, I fixed on his patient, searching gaze once more. “Okay, Hadrien.” I tightened my grip around his neck. “I’m ready.”
He nodded and gazed at me with approval. “My brave Little Sage.”
I blinked at him. “Not Little Thistle?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Now I associate you with sage. With all your work in the garden and the wards, clearing out the negativity to make room for the good.”
Before I could respond, he beat his wings, swishing them through the air, and then the ground left us. My stomach lurched hard and I squealed, burying my face against his muscular chest and pressing harder against his body as if trying to burrow my way in. The wind rushed over my arms and my exposed cheek.
“I’ve got you, Lilia,” he swore. “You’re safe with me.”
My pulse thundered and my heart pounded against his massive torso. I counted to ten, slowly, before I braved a glance. “Oh…”
La Forêt de Veillepierre spread beneath us below as we ascended, vast, as the trees appeared smaller. And around us, the sky unveiled, scattered with dozens, if not hundreds, of stars.
Exhilaration soared through my veins.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice a gentle whisper in the wind.
I swallowed. “Yes,” I said, in breathless wonder. “It’s so beautiful and…and…terrifying.”
He let out a low chuckle. “You’ll always be safe with me, Lilia.” He kissed my forehead.
Hadrien landed on a balcony with surprising gentleness and put me down on my feet, holding my upper arms and watching me to ensure I was steady. He folded his wings in and opened the glass doors.
“My room.” He gestured for me to enter.
The room enveloped me with warmth from the fireplace. I stepped over and relished the heat after the cool night air—or more so, after unwrapping myself from his body, which warmed me like a furnace. My heart slowly recovered from the flight.
His room wasn’t like I’d expected it to be, all stone and severe, like the exterior perch where he watched from during the day. Aside from the comforting hearth, colorful tapestries and paintings in deep reds and forest greens added a softness to the stone walls. A large burgundy throw was thrown over an oversized settee before the fireplace. Books and candles were stacked on a table beside it. But what stood out most was the massive bed with a rich maroon coverlet that took up the center of the room, large enough to fit a gargoyle, with dark carved posts that reached toward the ceiling.
I avoided staring at it, imagining what would happen next, but my gaze kept returning despite my best efforts to stifle it.
“Still okay?” Hadrien brushed a strand of wind-tousled hair away from my face.
“Splendid,” I said with a smile, to force away the last fluttering sensations from the flight. I knew why I agreed to come here, and I didn’t want my nerves to ruin it.
He caressed my cheek and trailed his fingers over my jawline. Then he bent low and kissed me again, slower this time. He moved his hands over my throat, the rough calluses of his fingers stoking a low-brush fire beneath my skin. When they reached the side of my breast, a low sigh escaped me and he moaned.
His touch alternated from gentle to more possessive as his hands roamed over my body. He undressed me slowly as we stood before the fire, the burnt orange reflecting in his silvery eyes. They flashed with dark, possessive heat while the glow from the flames danced over the planes of his face, leaving him in light and shadow.
Dark. Hungry. Powerful.
I should be terrified. Hadrien was massive, a cursed being who was an entirely different species. But instead of running from him, I craved more.
I swallowed and lowered my gaze as the final piece of clothing fell from my body. The instinct to cover myself rose, but as I lifted my arms to cover my breasts, he rumbled, “You’re beautiful, Lilia.”
When I met his eyes once more, his gaze was full of want, almost predatory. I opened my mouth to say something, but only a shuddering moan fell out.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, his voice now lower with concern.
“No!” Desperation edged my voice.
