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The next kiss was on my forehead. “It will be in the comfort of my bedroom.” His finger came underneath my chin, tilting my head up so he could kiss the tip of my nose. “Or yours.”
Then he brushed his thumb over my lips. “And it will be worth every second I’ve spent fantasizing. Every minute I’ve spent wishing this war would end and I could have all the time I desire with you. Every breath I’ve taken wanting you. Every moment of waiting will be worth it.”
With that, his lips pressed gently to mine, his tongue tracing my lower lip lovingly, tantalizingly slow before sweeping into my mouth.
He owned me. I hoped he knew it. He owned all of me, and whenever our time came, I would be more than ready for him.
Kissing the insides of my palms, he took my hands in his and pulled me out of the alcove, continuing our walk back to my room. The tension and heat between us settled into the normal buzz that seemed to always be around when Noah was near. The pull, the desire never truly gone.
“I know we don’t talk about what happened at the border. Those feelings when Prince Landon was with you. Knowing now that you were taken to the man who will one day either kill me, or I’ll destroy him—”
“Noah,” I interrupted. The severity with which he spoke of Landon when I had first filled him in on everything had been immediate. Landon and Noah knew of each other but never faced each other in person. Given that both were to rule their people, and the hatred between the Unseelie and Seelie, I supposed it was only natural to have those feelings. But it was hard listening to Noah speak too coldly.
“What I feel is there, Cora. The nightmares of what could have happened are there. And at some point we probably need to sit down and discuss what could happen to both of us in this war.” He squeezed my hand.
The time with Prince Landon gave me chills. I should have been more terrified. Even looking back on it, Noah struggled with nightmares, but I didn’t. Landon didn’t want to hurt me. He wanted to capture me, take me with him. Maybe that was the Seelie way. Torture back home.
But even then something was wriggling around in my mind. Something off about the encounter.
No doubt Prince Landon was ferocious, used to getting his own way, and not afraid to kill. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was, why had I not been terrified?
Maybe it was all my trauma. I was sure that’s what a therapist would say, if I had kept going to the ones my social worker had tried to shove me toward.
“Next time, I’ll be even stronger with all this extra training.” I nudged his arm gently, keeping hold of his hand as we moved through the castle.
While my own imprisonment and capture barely bothered me, there were other dark thoughts that did. I had to keep things light, because if I didn’t…if I didn’t I might spiral down too far to get back up. When I tried hard enough, it was easy to ignore the fact that we could be called to the front line of a war at any moment. I only functioned fully when I could stuff down those fears and what it would mean to lose someone, now that I actually had people in my life who mattered.
I was so caught up in my own thoughts, I almost missed Noah’s grimace and the murmur that followed. “There won’t be a next time.”
His face was grim as he said the words, almost as a promise to himself instead of to me.
Walking with him the remainder of the way to my room was somber. Thankfully, we didn’t pass anyone in the halls that had us jumping apart, so the comfort of his hand in mine helped with the quiet that had crept over us thinking back to how dangerous the situation was just a month ago at the border.
Well, we almost didn’t pass anyone.
My senses were getting better, and when Noah stepped sideways, letting go of my hand, I could tell why.
One of the king’s guards stood outside my bedroom door.
My stomach dropped at the sight, thinking about how many times guards at my door had meant bad news.
The guard bowed his head. “I’ll be escorting you when you’re ready, Ms. Fray.”
My eyes widened and I slapped at Noah’s arm, my memory catching up to me.
“I have a meeting with your dad that I’m—” I looked toward the guard, whose stoic features didn’t tell me much.
“You’re late for,” he finished for me.
Great.
I was late for a meeting with the king.
