Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
EMMA
“How long do you think we’ll have to stay here?” I whispered, glancing around at the tight confines of our hiding spot.
Caden’s voice came through as a low, urgent murmur. “I’m gonna need you to be quiet.”
“Why?” I shot back, already wincing at how loud that word came out.
“Because we can’t portal out yet, and when you speak, you’re too loud. If you keep this up, you’ll give away our location to the Radicals.”
“I’m not loud,” I insisted, the sound betraying me by rising a notch.
“Could’ve fooled me,” he mumbled, sounding amused and exasperated at the same time.
I tilted my head back, just enough to catch his gaze. “I’m only loud in bed. Unless you see us having sex in here, we’ll be just fine,” I hissed.
His face lit up like a Christmas tree, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “That might actually be worth getting caught for.”
“Oh, fuck off.” I flipped him off, and he chuckled, clearly enjoying himself far too much.
“You are all about sex tonight. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re trying to get me to snap.
” His tone took on a colder edge, a sharp reminder of the man who’d once tortured me to the point of permanent mutilation.
The instant flash of fear made me swallow hard, and I had to force myself to calm down, to remember this was different. He was different.
“You know, I—” I started, but the words barely left my mouth before he moved.
In one quick, fluid motion, his arm wrapped around my waist, yanking me flush against him. His other hand clamped over my mouth—firm, warm, absolute.
The suddenness of it stole my breath. The burn of his palm. The strength in his grip. The command in every line of his body.
“Shhh,” he murmured at my ear, voice low, almost gentle—but laced with something darker.
His breath traced the curve of my neck, skating across skin already too aware of him. A sudden shiver rippled down my spine. My stomach fluttered. For a second, my mind simply—shorted out.
What the hell was that?
I tried to pull back, but he didn’t let me go. My back was pressed hard against his chest, his body solid and hot behind me. He was taller, broader—my head barely reached his shoulder—and every inch of him radiated heat and tension.
And gods, he smelled good. Like smoked single malt and dark intent, a scent that curled straight into my bloodstream and set every nerve humming.
My heart started to pound in my chest, but not out of fear—not of the Radicals, not of being caught.
No, this was different.
This was want—immediate, fast, and reckless.
Adrenaline surged through me, dizzying and electric, like my body had just remembered what it craved and didn’t care what followed.
Why the hell was I reacting like this—to him? My heart was supposed to belong to James.
Wasn’t it?
Or had the slow decay of trust finally shattered whatever I’d been holding on to?
But the moment Caden’s hand slid along my side—slow, deliberate—all thoughts of James vanished like smoke.
His touch was a question and a claim, his fingers trailing fire through the fabric of my clothes until it felt like I was burning from the inside out. I trembled, just once, my body betraying me with another shiver I couldn’t control.
It had been months since anyone touched me—really touched me. And now, the intimacy of his hand skimming my waist made my breath catch, sharp and uneven. A sound rose in my throat—a moan, a plea—but I swallowed it, locking it behind my teeth.
Goosebumps rippled across my skin.
He felt it.
His hand paused, lingering, savoring. Then his grip tightened—firm, demanding—fingers pressing into my side just enough to make my pulse stutter. The space between us buzzed like static, every inch of him radiating need and restraint.
His head dipped lower, his breath brushing against my temple—soft, warm, infuriating.
My heart hammered in my chest like it was trying to outrun me. Push him away. Pull him closer. I couldn’t tell which urge was louder.
“Are you cold?” he murmured, his voice low, smooth as sin, completely unaware of the raw desire curling beneath my skin.
I nodded, because I couldn’t speak.
Not with his hand still over my mouth.
Not with the truth igniting inside me.
Slowly, his other hand drifted between us, trailing down my spine in a touch so unhurried it sent another shiver skittering across my skin. What the hell was he doing?
Then, in one fluid motion, he pulled me even closer, his grip firm and possessive. My breath caught as his hand slipped away from my mouth, and the soft, measured sound of a zipper being pulled down filled the charged air between us.
Oh. He was adjusting his jacket. Trying to shield me from the cold. Which made sense. Since I’d been shivering. And told him I was cold.
Which I wasn’t. Not even a little.
Now, pressed together inside one jacket, his chest flush against mine, the heat from his body poured into me—slow, and impossible to ignore.
Every inhale dragged him deeper into my lungs—his scent, his warmth, the quiet gravity of him wrapping around every inch of me.
His hands lingered, not quite still, and it was all I could do not to lean in, not to give in to the way he was already everywhere.
Hot. It was too hot.
I tried to shift my weight a little, so he wouldn’t notice my back becoming damp.
“Calm down, you’re going to be fine,” he ordered in a strained voice.
Great. Now he was getting annoyed with me.
I was still too hot.
I tried to hollow out my back to create more space, but in doing so, I wiggled my ass and shoved it accidentally into his crotch.
Whoops.
He groaned, a deep, rumbling sound that vibrated through my entire body. “Emma,” he growled in my ear, his voice thick with warning, “you’re going to have to stop that, or this situation is going to get a lot more awkward real quick.”
I stiffened, every muscle in my body locking up as I realized what I’d done.
"Sorry!" I tried to sound nonchalant, but it came out more like a squeak.
My mind raced, trying to focus on anything but the lust pooling in my core and the intrusive ache of wondering what it would be like to give into my body’s wishes.
“Just…stay still.”
I nodded, biting my lip to keep from saying something stupid. Or worse, from doing something stupid.
Minutes passed, though they felt like hours. Neither of us moved. I didn’t dare to speak, didn’t dare to do anything that might shatter the fragile control we both clung to.
Finally, Caden exhaled a long breath and slowly, cautiously, released his hold on me. The loss of his warmth was immediate, and I found myself missing it, despite the chaotic swirl of emotions in my head.
“I think we’re clear,” he said, his voice rougher than before, as if he’d been holding back more than just words. He took a step back, giving me a little space, and I turned to face him, my eyes searching his.
What I saw there made my heart skip a beat—desire, raw and barely restrained, shadowed by a darker craving, threatening to swallow us both.
“Thanks,” I managed to say. “For, you know, keeping me quiet.”
His lips twitched into a wry smile. “Anytime,” he replied, though there was an edge to it that hadn’t been there before. He was trying to play it off, but the electricity between us was undeniable.
“Can we get out of here?” I asked, desperate to create some distance from whatever the fuck this was.
“Fuck yeah,” he breathed, then stepped back just enough to let me go first.
As Caden and I slipped out of the cramped space and back into the corridor, the harsh blaze of sunlight hit us like a sledgehammer, nearly blinding us. We had to remain invisible, but the glaring brightness made it almost impossible.
“We have to move out to Batura Sar, even without knowing where the Layer starts exactly. We’re sitting ducks in here,” Caden said, his voice edged with urgency. “Gods only know what the fuck that explosion was all about.”
I scanned the area, locking onto a high-up window. Without hesitation, I jumped, hoisting myself up to get a clear view of the ridge—our destination.
“Not really the time for sightseeing,” Caden hissed from below, staring up at me. I rolled my eyes in response. That man had no sense of comic timing.
Squinting into the distance, I strained to take in as much as I could, and relief flooded me as I spotted it—a narrow, winding path carved into the side of the peak. The route Emile had mentioned.
I watched the guards patrolling below, their movements deliberate and methodical. One of them stood out, a faint purple shimmer surrounding him. “There’s a Radical translating,” I murmured. “The Amplifier is still turned off.”
Caden nodded, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he processed the information. “Good. Recon’s done. We’re not getting anything new hiding in here. Get us to the mountain—just make sure we’re cloaked.”
I jumped back down, landing lightly beside him as I activated my Nexus. A swirling green portal sprang to life before us, its glow casting an eerie light over the dim surroundings.
Without hesitation, I grasped Caden’s hand, and together we plunged through the vortex, emerging at the base of Batura Sar. Looking up, the entry point towered above us, its toothed edges cutting into the sky like a grim warning.
The sheer scale of it stretched endlessly, radiating an ominous presence that seemed to thrum in the air around us. Caden’s demeanor shifted visibly, his usual confidence hardening into razor-edged focus.
“Do you feel that?” he asked, his voice low and taut, each word laced with concentration. “This is where their Layer of Protection begins. One step further without proper clearance, and we’re as good as dead.”
The moment had arrived.
I’d been avoiding this ever since everything went down, but now the stakes were too high, and this was bigger than me or my feelings.
Which is why I’d brought the box with me.