Page 34 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

“I knew you would,” he said.

“We’d be doing this right under the king’s nose. I think Suria is wrong, and his mind can be changed, but I’m also not inclined to wait.”

Rabin nodded. “It would mean a breach of his orders, but you don’t owe him anything.”

Zarya gave him a quizzical look. “But he forbade it. You’d be defying him again.”

“I understand. But he’s wrong about this, too.”

Then he quickly looked away and picked up one of the large mugs from the tray on the table.

“Try this. It’s Dav’s specialty. Badam milk. Made with almonds, cardamon, and saffron.”

Zarya accepted the mug and inhaled the fragrant scent before taking a sip. The creamy liquid slipped through her limbs, warming her insides. “It’s delicious.”

Rabin then selected a bottle of dark amber liquor on the tray and tipped some into her mug before filling his own. After toasting with a clink, he took her hand and led her back onto the balcony.

They stood at the railing, facing the soaring mountain landscape, staring at the sky now twinkling with a net of stars. Without any cloud cover, they sparkled in rivers against midnight blue. It reminded Zarya of the dream forest and the moment fate brought Rabin into her life.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“I’m thinking about the first time I saw you in the mind plane. Your face wasn’t even visible but somehow, I knew you’d be important.”

That earned her the barest smile. “That night changed my entire life.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, their mouths meeting and tongues sliding, heat rising between them as they luxuriated in each other. He tugged her towards a nest of plush chairs near the fire, settling her onto his lap as they placed their mugs on the table.

Then they kissed and kissed, hands grasping and breaths tangling in puffs of white.

“It’s been too long since we’ve done this,” he murmured, sucking on the curve of her throat.

“Far too long,” she agreed as her head tipped back to offer him access.

Their wedding night. It felt like a million years ago when they’d sealed their love in that opulent hotel room in the heart of Ishaan.

Then everything had gone to hell, and now they were here in this new place, pretending they didn’t mean anything to one another. And then their tainted bonding had cut them completely off from the last thread of their connection. Soon, it might take Rabin away forever.

She did her best to push away those thoughts as she kissed him harder, warmth swirling in the pit of her stomach. They’d fix their bond as soon as Abishek’s mystic returned, and nothing would ever come between them.

Maybe one day, they could live together in relative peace. Enjoy their lives and each other without a crisis creeping up their backs. She couldn’t wait.

His hand slid up her knee and under her long skirt, finding the cuff of her high wool socks. He teased the edge, his fingers ghosting over her skin and pulling up a shiver. His hand gripped her waist as he shifted her around until her back was against his chest and her legs were spread over his knees.

She melted against him as her arm wrapped around the back of his head, and he continued tracing tiny circles over the skin of her inner thigh. “Rabin,” she breathed as his hand drifted higher, finding the dampening seam between her legs.

He cupped her pussy as he kissed her neck. Then he found the band of her underwear before he shoved his hand inside. She moaned as a thick finger found her wet heat, her hips writhing against his hardening cock.

“Remember the alley in Ishaan?” he said as he circled her clit with a gentle touch that was driving her mad. “That rush of maybe getting caught?”

She huffed out a breathless laugh. “Of course.”

“We need to do that again,” he said, thrusting his finger inside before adding a second, stretching her as he pumped in and out. Her eyelids fluttered, and she whimpered at the coil of fire spiraling in her stomach.

“Gods,” she moaned as he teased her, applying varying pressure, featherlight and then rough, as her breath came in tight, gasping pants.

“Maybe in the castle,” he mused. “Find a quiet corner where we might get caught.”

“I thought we were being discreet,” she gasped with a breath that was part moan and part laugh.