4. Chapter Four - Wilder
My feet drag as I enter Leigh’s bedroom after my shift, bone-weary from the day’s events.
Three Epsilon Solar Witch teens held up a bank teller at gunpoint today—desperate kids claiming they needed money to secure their formerly bright futures.
The arrest was a complete mess, serving as another glimpse of the fear taking root in our country.
The terror in their eyes haunts me, and all I want is to lose myself in Leigh’s embrace.
But the room is empty.
Water gurgles from the adjacent bathroom, and my attention drifts to her pristinely made bed—specifically to the pile of unopened letters on it.
One return address makes my blood run cold: Kratos Prison.
The urge to tear open whatever her wretched Uncle Don wrote burns like acid, but I resist.
Trust between us remains fragile, and I can’t afford to burn that bridge.
With a gentle knock, I enter the bathroom.
The fragrance of violets swirls with the ethereal glow of candlelight.
Leigh stands before her marble vanity, a vision of royal beauty as she removes her gold jewelry.
The soft clink of metal against stone rings in the steam-filled room.
Leigh catches my gaze in the mirror, her smile—rare and precious these days—illuminating her face.
“Took you long enough,” she says.
“How did you know it was me and not an intruder?” I ask, leaning against the doorframe.
“The ghosts.”
“Do you hear them now?” I ask, and she nods.
We’ve had many discussions about her magic, and while I try to be understanding, a sense of unease sometimes grips me, like it does now, as a chill runs down my spine.
“I thought they were quiet around me.”
“Only sometimes.”
I tilt my head.
“Sometimes?”
“They aren’t scared of you anymore.”
I laugh.
Leigh mentioned they were quiet around me because I’d somehow been touched by death when Desiree died.
Since we were twins, we shared a bond, proving a piece of me perished with her, yet I was still alive.
To the ghosts, I am an anomaly.
“Pity.”
I drink in the sight of the witch before me.
Even Aurora’s expansive desert night skies pale in comparison to her.
“Unzip me?” Leigh requests, gathering her long hair over one shoulder.
As I comply, her breath catches.
The sound draws me closer.
My finger traces the exposed skin of her back, feeling goose bumps rise under my touch.
She clutches the fabric to her chest, spinning to face me with those mesmerizing gray eyes.
“I’ve been waiting for someone to unzip me for hours,” she mutters, her tone a mix of teasing and accusation.
“I almost asked one of the guards.”
Frowning, I pull her closer.
The tension in my body melts as she wraps her arms around my waist.
“In case you forgot, Your Majesty, you have a country to run, and I have a city to keep safe,” I tease back, trying to lighten the mood, but it’s hard when everything—apart from us—seems to be falling apart.
“Ugh, don’t remind me.”
My body begs for rest, but something in her tone stops me cold.
I’d shoulder any burden for her, no matter how weary I am.
“Did something happen? Want to talk about it?”
Leigh sighs, pulling away from me to rest against the counter.
“I think Janus hates me.”
I laugh, but her scowl tells me she’s serious.
“Why do you think that?”
Leigh’s eyes dart sideways, but I grip her chin gently.
“Tell me,” I press.
I fight the urge to kiss her as she licks her lips.
Her mouth has captivated me from the moment we met—beautiful in its duality, capable of both cutting words and tender whispers.
And other, more sinful things I try not to dwell on.
“I told her my proposals, starting with the Lunar Witches, and she didn’t even let me finish before she shut me down.” Anger seeps into Leigh’s tone.
“Why would she do that? It felt like an attack.”
Janus knows Leigh is the reason she was poisoned last October.
If she harbors resentment, the two of them need to resolve it.
It will be messy initially, but it will ultimately benefit the country’s stability.
“What exactly did Janus say?”
“She said it was personal for me, and then my grandmother told me that we need to worry about external threats.”
My Blade instincts perk up.
“Such as?”
“Stellan’s articles, the Labor Laws, Lua.” She lists each on her fingers.
“My grandmother is afraid the wolves will plan something now that there’s new leadership. Paw prints were spotted in our territory.”
I tense, racing through potential scenarios and security protocols.
“How many?”
Leigh shakes her head.
“Unsure. My grandmother is going to Glaucus tomorrow. Official business, she says—checking for threats.” A pause.
“But really, she just wants to escape.”
The vulnerability in her voice cuts deep.
Her grandmother running to Glaucus, her mother gone silent, and those haunting letters from her uncle in prison.
She’s being abandoned, piece by piece.
I came here craving her comfort, but seeing her like this—so close to shattering—I know she needs mine more.
“I’ll contact the Glaucus Blade Commander at the precinct tomorrow. We’ve had a few conversations. If Lua is threatening our borders, she’ll tell me.”
Her soft eyes meet mine.
“Thank you,” Leigh whispers, leaning into my touch.
I smile.
“Always.” Then, to lighten the mood, I add, “Now, tell me more about this proposal of yours. What exactly did you say to ruffle Janus’s feathers so much?”
As Leigh recounts her meeting, frustration and hurt radiate from her in waves.
The strain between her and Janus, the pressure from her grandmother, the looming threat from Lua—it’s all piling up, threatening to crush her.
“But the Lunar Witches,” she insists, shoving at my chest when I suggest she listen to Jorina and Janus and focus on stabilizing her Council first.
Janus isn’t dismissing her proposal to help the Lunar Witches, just tabling it.
If Leigh could see what I see as a Blade—the raw hatred that’s surfaced since those letters leaked, the daily violence—she’d understand why Janus believes the asylums, for now, are safer than the streets.
But that’s not what she wants to hear.
“Sometimes we have to work with people we don’t like, and meeting Janus halfway on this doesn’t mean your fight to liberate the Lunar Witches has to end,” I tell her.
Leigh laughs.
The sound is tinged with frustration.
“So, you are on her side?”
“Leigh, you taught me that sometimes peace requires chaos. If anything, I am following your example.”
“If that’s true, then you’d come with me right now and free all the Lunar Witches.”
I fold my arms.
“I’d follow you anywhere, but are you sure that’s a good idea? It’s snowing and you look more ready for bed than a massive prison break.”
Leigh pouts.
I smile, and she rolls her eyes.
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
“Don’t look so smug,” Leigh says.
“How should I look?” I ask.
“Like you want to kiss me.”
The energy in the room shifts as our eyes lock.
I lean in, capturing her lips in a kiss that steals my breath and stirs my element to life.
The outside world disappears.
“Like this?” I whisper against her lips.
Leigh pulls away, and I watch as she slides the loosened straps of her dress down her arms to reveal her round breasts and toned midriff.
The dress falls to the floor, leaving Leigh clad only in her lacy panties.
She’s a vision of beauty I’ll never tire of witnessing.
The words “I love you” hover on my tongue, but Leigh presses her finger to my lips before I can utter them.
“Shh . . . no more talking.”
I nod, even as the organ in my chest aches to express the depth of my feelings.
I respond to her next kiss with equal hunger, the raw intensity of our connection burning between us.
With each brush of our lips, I savor her taste and the soft feel of her skin.
Leigh winds her arms around my neck, and I lift her to the counter, hands curved beneath her.
She tangles her fingers in my hair, pressing her hips against mine until I’m aching, my whole body burning with need.
Every brush of her fingers sends sparks racing beneath my skin.
Our kisses grow heated, messy with need as she strips away my defenses—jacket and shirt falling to the warm tiles below.
Her mouth maps the tattoos across my chest.
I shudder, and my muscles tense as her tongue traces each line.
When she blazes a path up my throat, my pulse hammers beneath her lips, and I forget how to breathe.
Fuck.
Leigh drives me crazy in ways I never thought possible.
Before her, I used to calculate every move.
My every action served as a careful step toward my next goal.
But since meeting her, I’ve learned to surrender to the moment.
It goes against everything I am and yet pleasing her comes as naturally as breathing.
A soft whimper escapes her lips as I end our kiss, lowering myself to kneel at her altar.
I take her panties with me, reverent in my worship.
Her head tips back as I spread her thighs, and the sight of her steals my breath.
Her arousal overwhelms my senses until I have to close my eyes, groaning with barely contained need.
Fucking perfect, and so fucking mine.
As I ease my fingers inside Leigh, she rewards me with a breathless curse.
I capture her clit between my lips, and her moan of ecstasy sends a jolt straight to my groin.
No longer able to hold back, I let myself devour her.
“You taste so good,” I murmur against her sensitive flesh.
“Such a good girl. So soft.”
“Oh, fuck!” she gasps as she rides my tongue.
“I want to memorize every sound you make,” I say, flicking her swollen nub repeatedly.
Leigh shatters for me, my name falling from her lips between desperate pants.
Her fingers clutch my hair as steam dances around us, clouding the mirror.
As her breathing steadies, I slide my fingers free and raise them to her mouth.
When she takes them between her lips, sucking them clean with wicked intent, a primal groan rips through me.
I’ve had plenty of sex before, but with Leigh, it’s different.
She matches my need for need, and the knowledge that I’m the only one who gets to see her like this—wild and wanting—sets my blood singing.
I want her so badly that sometimes it’s all I can think about.
She’s my curse and my salvation.
My everything.
“Please,” she begs.
The corner of my mouth lifts.
“I can’t wait any longer.”
I loosen my belt.
The sound of leather sliding through fabric loops seems unnaturally loud.
Leigh’s hands replace mine, making quick work of my remaining clothes.
When she wraps her fingers around my length, I curse under my breath.
The sight of my dick, hard and heavy in her delicate palm, sends heat rushing through my veins.
Leigh’s eyes darken, and her tongue darts out to wet her full lips.
Her hand strokes me deliberately, each pump making my breath catch.
She scoots to the edge of the sink, spreading her thighs wide, and the sight of her glistening center makes my mouth water.
“I’m still throbbing from your mouth,” she pants, “but I need more. Need all of you.”
A low growl escapes my throat as I dive to capture her lips with mine, claiming her with a bruising kiss.
“Hold on to me,” I command, my voice rough.
I align myself with her slick entrance, the heat of her already threatening my control.
Leigh’s fingers dig into my shoulders, and when our eyes lock, I see that familiar wild gleam in hers.
But as I press forward, stretching her slowly, that gleam transforms into something more desperate, her eyes widening with pleasure.
“Don’t. Let. Go.” Each word punctuates a gentle thrust, watching as she takes me inch by inch.
“Never,” she says in a throaty whisper.
A cry tears from Leigh’s throat as I sink all the way inside her.
Her long legs squeeze my hips, intensifying the pressure.
My eyes roll back as I curse.
“Gods, Leigh.” I pull out, just to thrust back in harder and faster than before.
Her moans bleed through the walls, a sound that often replays in my dreams.
“You are amazing,” she pants, sounding desperate as she watches me enter her repeatedly.
“Like you were made for me.”
“You fit me like a glove, so tight and perfect.”
My heart races as I dive into her with a measured force.
Her nails leave crescents on my shoulders as I go in for another charged kiss, all passion and untamed need.
We aren’t being quiet, but I can’t care.
Lately, our time together has been stolen moments wherever and whenever we can find them.
But right now, I want to savor every second, every sensation.
“Holy fuck!” she gasps, body arching.
“Don’t stop. Please . . . don’t stop.”
She looks intoxicating like this, but I can’t stop imagining turning her to face that mirror.
Having her watch as I take her from behind, her breasts bouncing with each thrust, her lipstick smeared from our kisses.
“Turn around,” I command, my voice barely recognizable to my ears.
Leigh’s laugh is pure sin.
It’s dark and promising as she slides off the counter.
My breath catches as she turns, presenting herself with a deliberate slowness that makes my mouth go dry.
Those perfect curves, the elegant arch of her spine as she leans forward .
.
.
The sight of her offering herself like this shorts out my brain.
My hand connects with her flesh before I can stop myself, the sharp crack of the slap echoing off the bathroom walls.
Her surprised gasp is music to my ears, but it’s nothing compared to the desperate moan that follows as I drop to my knees.
I press my lips to the reddened skin, soothing the sting with my tongue, tasting her skin.
“Stop torturing me,” she groans, undulating her hips.
“How can I? Your body is a feast.”
“ Please. ”
The sound of her begging is my undoing.
I grip her hips hard enough to brand her with my fingerprints, claiming her as I sheathe myself inside her.
Leigh’s hands fly up to brace against the steam-clouded mirror.
“Yes,” Leigh pants.
Her palms slide across the slick surface, leaving streaky handprints in their wake.
She struggles to find purchase, her fingers scrabbling against the slick glass with each thrust.
Each exhale fogs the glass further, but I can still see the way her mouth falls open, the way her eyes flutter shut as I fuck her.
“There! Oh, shit. Right there!”
“You’re everything to me,” I growl.
“Say you are mine.”
“I’m yours,” Leigh gasps, her inner walls fluttering around me.
“Oh, gods, I’m yours .”
Her thighs shake and her muscles quiver.
I’m determined to send her over the edge.
I reach one hand between her trembling thighs to rub tight circles on her clit, already sensitive from earlier.
Her climax hits like a thunderstorm.
The way she cries out my name, raw and desperate, triggers my own release.
I press my face into the curve of her neck, breathing in her intoxicating scent as pleasure crashes through us both.
Her pulse races against my lips as we shudder together.
Carefully, I withdraw from her.
We both wince slightly at the loss of connection.
Leigh breathes heavily, bent over the vanity as I mutter, “Fuck. I could spend forever with you like that. You are perfect. You know that?”
“I can’t feel my legs.” Leigh laughs, the sound all tired and cute.
After checking the temperature, I help Leigh settle into the bath.
Leigh sighs as I locate my pants.
The last thing I want is to leave after what we just did, but my stomach rumbles.
I haven’t had dinner, and though I could feast on Leigh, I need sustenance to keep up with her.
“I like having you here,” she tells me before I walk out the door.
I shoot her a cocky grin.
“Yeah, I know.”
She shakes her head, smiling.
“I mean, I like how we no longer have to sneak around.”
Same here.
Now that I am no longer her guard, I come and go as I please.
We’ve spent these last few weeks after her coronation learning what makes each other tick.
Like how I love black licorice, but Leigh finds it disgusting despite having no problem eating spicy pickles with cheese, which isn’t as nasty as it sounds.
“Hurry back.”
With a sigh, I exit her room, and navigate the never-ending twists and turns of Rowan Palace.
Just as I reach the kitchen on the first floor, I collide with Gianna, who’s holding a box of mint chocolate cookies—my favorite.
She doesn’t offer me one.
I take one anyway.
“It’s hard to get any sleep around here,” Gianna remarks, and I choke on my cookie.
“Even with the storm sounds I conjure, I can still hear you going at it.”
I smile at the disgust in her voice.
“Maybe invest in some earplugs.” Or maybe her mother shouldn’t have moved back in with her parents before Gianna checked out of rehab.
I was in her childhood home earlier.
The place was a fucking tomb.
All that was missing was Elio’s disgruntled ghost haunting the halls.
It’s understandable why she’d rather be here.
Gianna had been drugged and treated like a doll her entire life.
She’d been born a Nebula, but instead of admitting Maria had an affair, Elio and his wife chose to hide it.
Maria di Siena gained a conscience that night at the capitol, when Elio had used his magic to cut Gianna’s air supply to keep her from spilling his secrets.
He had squandered the family fortune, regained most of what they lost by selling VT on the black market, and forced Gianna to marry a wealthy Epsilon husband.
She was proposed to twice but has yet to walk down the aisle.
“I’m not going to stop sleeping with my girlfriend,” I assert.
Gianna raises an eyebrow.
“And I’m not leaving until I find my birth father, so I guess we’re at an impasse.”
“Your birth father?” I inquire, and she nods.
“I’m not a di Siena, and I refuse to take my mother’s name after she abandoned me,” Gianna explains.
I munch on another cookie.
“So, I’m on the hunt for my father, though he probably doesn’t even know I exist.”
I grab another cookie.
“Have you asked Maria?”
“Yes, Mama said I ask too many questions and am ungrateful.”
“You’re not one to give up easily, Gianna.” I pluck the sleeve of the cookies from her.
“Goodnight.”
“Keep it down!” Gianna calls after me.
“Not a chance,” I mutter, a smile playing on my lips.
When I slip back into the bathroom, I find Leigh lounging in the tub with her eyes open and wearing a troubled expression.
Seeing her unease, my brows dip.
Not again.
I quietly undress and slide into the warm water behind her.
I wrap my arms around her waist to help ease her burdens.
“Hey,” she murmurs.
I kiss her temple.
“I brought cookies.”
Leigh chuckles softly.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Fine, more for me.”
As we sit in the warm water, surrounded by bubbles, I’m struck by how perfect this moment is.
Despite the challenges we face and the threats looming on the horizon, right here, right now, we have this.
And I’ll do whatever it takes to protect it.
“Leigh,” I whisper, my lips close to her ear.
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
For a moment, she’s silent.
Did I overstep?
I couldn’t keep it bottled up.
I love her.
I am in love with her.
It’s scary as hell, but what’s more frightening is when she turns around and kisses me, she doesn’t say it back.