Chapter 13 #3
But the possessiveness in his tone makes my stomach flip. I should be annoyed. I should be embarrassed. Instead, heat pools low in my belly, and I hate how my body responds to him.
We reach his chambers, and the moment we’re inside, everything changes.
He slams me back against the door, and I gasp as his hand wraps around my neck—not choking, just holding, claiming. His mouth crashes against mine, and the kiss is brutal, desperate, consuming.
I can’t breathe. Can’t think. All I can do is feel.
His other hand grips my hip, pinning me to the door as his body presses against mine. The solid weight of him is irresistible, and I arch into him instinctively.
“Mine,” he growls against my lips.
The word sends a shiver through me. I should protest. Should push him away. Instead, my hands grasp his shirt, pulling him closer.
He kisses me like he’s starving, like I’m the only thing keeping him alive. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming every inch, and I meet him with equal fervor.
The hand on my neck tightens slightly, and the possessive pressure makes me moan into his mouth.
He pulls back just enough to look at me, his eyes wild and dark. “Do you have any idea what it does to me?” His voice is rough, barely controlled. “Watching you sit there, so calm, so strong, while they threaten to take you from me?”
“Kieran—”
“You’re mine, Daciana.” His thumb strokes along my throat. “Mine to protect. Mine to keep safe. Mine.”
The intensity in his gaze steals my breath. “I know.”
“Do you?” He kisses me again, more softly this time but no less possessively. “Because sometimes I think you forget how completely you own me.”
My heart stutters. “I don’t own you.”
“You do.” His forehead presses against mine. “You have since the moment I first saw you. In every lifetime, every version of you, you’ve owned me completely.”
Tears prick at my eyes. I don’t know what to say to that, how to respond to the raw honesty in his voice.
I kiss him instead.
This time, I’m the one taking control. I pour everything into the kiss—my fear, my anger, my desperate need for him to be real, to be here. For him not to leave me.
He responds instantly, his hands roaming over my body like he needs to know every curve. When he grips my thighs and lifts me, I wrap my legs around his waist without hesitation.
He carries me away from the door, his mouth never leaving mine. We move toward the bed, a tangle of limbs and desperation.
“We’re going to figure this out,” he murmurs against my lips. “We’re going to find the bastard who cursed us, and we’re going to end this.”
“Together,” I breathe.
“Together.” He lays me down on the bed, hovering over me. His hand cups my face, thumb brushing across my cheekbone. “I love you.”
The words still make my heart skip, even though we’ve said them before. Even though I’ve already given him those words back.
“I love you, too,” I whisper, meeting his eyes.
His expression softens, a vulnerable look crossing his face. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that.”
“Good.” I pull him down to me. “Because I’m not planning to stop saying it.”
He kisses me deeply, and I can feel his relief, his devotion, his fierce protectiveness. When his hands slide under my shirt, I arch into his touch. Every nerve ending is on fire, every point of contact between us electric.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmurs against my skin as he trails kisses down my neck. “So perfect.”
I really should tell him to stop. Remind him that we have problems to deal with. The hearing. The necromancer. My mysterious heritage.
But I can’t bring myself to care. Not when his hands are on me. Not when he’s looking at me like I’m the only thing in the world that matters.
His teeth graze the mating mark, and I gasp. The sensation shoots straight through me, pleasure and possession intertwined.
“This mark,” he growls, “means you’re mine. No council, no hearing, no curse can change that.”
“Kieran…” His name is a plea.
He pulls back slightly, his eyes searching mine. “Tell me what you want.”
“You,” I reply breathlessly. “I want you.”
The smile that crosses his face is pure, predatory satisfaction. “You have me. Always.”
He kisses me again, more gently this time, savoring me. His hands continue their exploration, learning every inch of me, and mine do the same to him.
When he finally pulls my shirt over my head, I don’t feel exposed. I feel claimed. Cherished.
His eyes darken as he takes me in. “Perfect,” he breathes.
I tug at his shirt, and he helps me remove it. The sight of him—all muscle and scars and raw power—makes my mouth go dry.
“Like what you see?” There’s a teasing edge to his voice.
“Shut up and kiss me.”
He laughs, the sound rumbling through his chest. He complies, and we lose ourselves in each other, the world outside this room fading away.
His hand slides down my stomach, and when his fingers dip below my waistband, I arch into him with a gasp.
“So responsive,” he murmurs against my ear. “I love the sounds you make for me.”
I’m trembling, every nerve ending on fire. “Please…”
“Please what?” His fingers taunt me, barely touching where I need him most.
“Don’t tease.”
“But I love watching you fall apart.” He kisses my neck, teeth grazing my mark again. “Love knowing I’m the one making you feel this way.”
“Kieran—” His name comes out as a moan this time.
He captures my mouth again, swallowing my sounds as his hand finally gives me what I need. The pleasure builds rapidly; it’s all consuming, and I cling to my mate like he’s the only thing keeping me grounded.
When I come apart, he holds me through it, murmuring praise against my skin. I’m still catching my breath when he kisses me again, reverently now.
“I meant what I said,” he whispers.
I look up at him, this man who has loved me through lifetimes, who has suffered and died and been reborn just to find me again.
“I know. I love you, too,” I breathe, and the words feel truer every time I say them.
His eyes shine with emotion as he holds me, and then, we lose ourselves in each other once more.
The weight of everything else fades away—Lady Celeste, the curse, my questionable paternity, the necromancer. None of it matters right now.
Right now, there is only us.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s enough.