Page 128 of Fall Before Her Throne

I was almost at the top when an arm looped around my waist. I squealed as it yanked me back and my body flattened against the stairs.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His body pressed against my back. His hands looped around my waist and his palms spread wide. The heat from his touch bloomed through my entire body.

“Making you chase me,” I breathed, arching my ass against him. “I’m owed that much.”

“Yeah.” Kisses dragged up my neck. “You are.”

“At the very least.” Goosebumps peppered my skin with every touch of his lips. “Probably even more.”

He flipped me over and pinned my arms above my head.

“Way more,” he whispered. “And don’t forget about the clean house.” His head ducked to sear his lips against mine, his tongue darting inside my mouth. I whimpered at the press of his body. When the kiss broke, my core was pulsing with need.

“I deserve more than a clean house,” I teased as he pulled me up. He caught me easily as I hopped up into his arms.

“Everything,” he answered, nipping at my lips as he walked down the hallway toward our bedrooms. His grip on my thighs was strong when he opened the door to my room, and then he kicked the door shut behind us. My back bounced against the bed when he dropped me, and his face went slightly concerned.

I giggled, reaching for him. “Come here.”

He folded his body over mine, and our lips met in a tangle. “Leona.”

I arched underneath him while he pulled at my waist, trying to get us both closer and closer, even with the layer of clothes still between us.

The last forty-eight hours had been…a lot.

First, arrested. Then, almost killed. Max’s confession. Incredible sex. The gauntlet. Chiara. Planning a strategy. Just one fucking thing after another. I could feel my body spinning higher and higher, my brain struggling to latch onto anything besides the narrow points of contact between his body and mine.

The happiness at his love bubbled up inside my stomach. There was so much relief and joy that he seemed to have shed so much of his pain and heartbreak. The man before me was different.

A Shadow.

Ours.

And I still felt…overwhelmed.

I twisted my hands into his shirt. “Max, wait⁠—”

He froze and pulled back. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said with a quick, nervous nod. “I just…wanted to say something.”

The two of us stared at each other, with only the sounds of our heavy breaths spinning between us. His nose brushed mine. “Leona. Whatever it is, it’s okay.”

I swallowed before cupping both of his cheeks. “You…you just…I…”

“Shh,” he said. He lowered himself to one arm and brushed his free hand across my cheek. I half expected his face to shutter, to mask, like I’d gotten used to, but he looked earnest. A little vulnerable. The same way I felt. “Take your time. Unless you’re breaking up with me, in which case, get it over with.”

I laughed. “I’m not breaking up with you. Also, are we even together?”

“Of course we are.” He tweaked my nose. “I fought five of the most dangerous men in the world for the privilege of being with you. I’m bruised and beaten all over. Here, look.” He pulled up the edge of his shirt to show me a peppering of purple bruises. “See? Proof.” Whatever he saw in my eyes made him drop his shirt. His voice turned serious. “But you can always change your mind. I need you to know that, Leona. If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave. You don’t owe me any kind of explanation or reason.”

My lips pressed together. The weight of his words pressed against my throat.

“After all that has happened, it’s the least I can do,” he said quietly. “Leona. Do you want me to go?”

I shook my head, fingers pulling his shirt. As if I’d let him go now. As if he could escape this. “I don’t want that, Max.”

“Okay. Good,” he said, ducking his head to kiss me with a gentleness that filled me again with warmth. He didn’t push further than that. “What did you want to say?”