Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
LYRA
“You didn’t finish your supper,” said Kaden, snapping the door shut behind him.
My heart was pounding against my ribs. My body heated everywhere his gaze wandered, and my skin hummed in response to his magic.
But I just shrugged, feigning nonchalance despite the fact that Kaden was fully clothed while I lay naked and vulnerable in the tub. “I was tired,” I said.
Not a lie.
“Tired?” He quirked a brow. “I once watched you take on an ogre, a half-troll, and a fae single-handedly. You nearly died from your efforts, and you still had the energy to insult me and accuse me of stalking you.”
“You were stalking me,” I mumbled, thinking back to when Kaden had found me bleeding out in that alleyway after Gorm and his cronies had attacked. “And he was only half ogre.”
“Ah.”
I pressed my lips together, biting back the petty accusations I longed to hurl at him.
That he’d let that female touch him.
That he’d laughed at something she’d said.
That part of him might have taken pleasure in the warm press of her flesh against his.
“I’m fine,” I grumbled. “Female troubles.” I jerked my head toward the door. “You should leave so I can finish bathing before Sorsha comes up. She’ll probably want to wash as well.”
Because of the arrangements he’d insisted on, I figured I’d be sharing a room with her.
Kaden cocked his head and took a step forward, pausing to discard his weapons on the bed beside mine. His footsteps ate up the distance between us until he stood over me, staring unabashedly at my naked body. “Female troubles?” he murmured. “Or trouble with a specific female?”
I bit down on my tongue to keep from lashing out, but I couldn’t seem to stop the words that spilled from my lips. “Perhaps you should see if your new friend wants to warm your bed tonight,” I spat.
“Who?”
I rolled my eyes. “That fae you were speaking with at our table. You two seemed quite familiar.” I reached for a bar of soap, swirling the water around my breasts. “I’m sure Semphrys has no designs on killing her. She ought to be safe for you to fuck.”
A blush stained my cheeks as the poisonous words spewed from my mouth, and I instantly wished I could take them back.
Why was I saying these things? This wasn’t me. I had no reason to be angry with him — not really — and yet I was practically shaking with fury.
Kaden’s eyes flashed with understanding, and something like relief swept across his face as that feline smile grew. “You were jealous,” he said softly, his voice quivering with amusement.
“You truly are full of yourself.”
But his eyes gleamed with warmth as he regarded me.
“Ambra used to moonlight at the inn where we stayed the last time we were here. She’d often be working when I passed through to check on the status of the outlying Drathen villages.
I never solicited her, uh, services, if that’s what you were thinking. ”
“I wasn’t thinking anything,” I said cooly, though I felt that heavy weight lift from my gut.
Kaden knelt beside the tub, resting his forearms on the ledge so that he was eye level with me. His amusement had melted into something else — something intense and heady that made a knot of heat gather in my belly.
“It’s all right if you were. Irrational jealousy is a natural response to the mating bond shortly after it is solidified.”
I gritted my teeth, unwilling to let him see my relief. Relief would mean admitting that I had been jealous, and I hadn’t exactly been sympathetic when he’d tackled Adriel in the snow.
As if he’d read my thoughts, he said, “Now perhaps you can understand why I attacked Adriel.” His throat worked as he swallowed, and his gaze dipped briefly beneath the water to take in the pale skin of my exposed breasts, which grew heavy and achy from his exploration.
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking me by surprise.
“Even if it weren’t for the bond, I don’t think I could have handled another male acting toward you the way Ambra behaved with me tonight.
” His stormy eyes flicked up to meet mine, and the silver swirls seemed to flare brighter.
“I don’t like anyone touching what is mine. ”
I sucked in a breath, indignation and lust heating my blood even as they fought for dominance.
I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t his — that he’d been overreacting up on the mountain, mating bond or no. And yet, I couldn’t exactly chastise him for something I’d experienced viscerally. I might not have attacked the female who’d touched him, but I’d fantasized about it.
Kaden’s eyes danced with mischief as he studied my face, as if my thoughts were etched across my forehead. Then his gaze wandered lower, to where my thighs were pressed together beneath the water’s surface.
Steam billowed from the tub, making the air feel thick and heavy. Heat throbbed in my core, adding insult to injury. My traitorous body seemed determined to undermine me wherever Kaden was concerned.
I shifted slightly in the bath, hoping to banish the tension that was building inside me, but the friction caused by my movement only made things worse. My body ached for his touch, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing how much his perusal affected me.
“You are the only female I think about, Lyra. Your voice. Your scent. The look in your eyes when you straddle me and put a dagger to my throat.”
I sucked in a shaky breath, my core turning molten under his gaze.
Kaden’s lips twitched. His eyes drifted over my exposed collarbones to the droplets of water sliding down my chest. “No matter what I do, I can’t stop myself from remembering how sweet you taste .
. . or the sounds you make when you come. ”
My breath caught as his hand shot toward me — the backs of his knuckles tracing my jaw.
Our eyes locked as he dragged his fingers down my neck, hovering over my racing pulse before skimming across my clavicle.
“I don’t want anyone else,” he said quietly, dipping beneath the water to caress the swell of my breast. My nipples hardened in anticipation, yet I held perfectly still.
“Neither do I,” I managed, my voice coming out as a rasp.
Kaden’s gaze heated at my words, and he didn’t look away as his thumb brushed my peaked nipple. A delicious shiver kissed down my spine, and I arched into his touch.
There was a splash of water as Kaden leaned forward, trailing his hand over my ribs before bringing it between my legs. A soft whimper escaped me as he parted my thighs, finding that tender part of me that ached for him the most.
“Gods, Lyra,” he groaned, those inky lashes brushing the tops of his cheeks as his eyelids fluttered closed. “You have no idea how badly I want you.”
My insides burned as his fingers made torturously slow circles over that sensitive bundle of nerves. My head fell back against the tub, and I squeezed my eyes shut as he wound the coiling tension within me tighter and tighter.
His lips brushed against my neck, and then his mouth was on mine — his tongue nudging for entry. I opened for him with a gasp, and his tongue plunged inside me, stroking my own with purposeful, claiming thrusts.
Fisting my hands in his hair, I tugged him closer and deepened the kiss. Kaden gently parted me beneath the water, slipping a finger into my channel.
“Fuck,” he growled against my lips, his soft declaration sending tingles dancing over my skin.
He added another finger, and I cried out, bucking my hips to take him deeper.
Water sloshed over the side of the tub as I shifted to my knees, riding his hand as I sought the friction I needed. My hands clawed at his shirt, pulling him closer, but it still wasn’t enough.
As if sensing my need, Kaden withdrew his fingers, wrapped his arms around me, and hoisted me out of the bath.
Water spilled everywhere, soaking through his linen shirt so that the material clung to his skin. Kaden’s hands slid to the backs of my thighs, hoisting me against him. I shuddered at the roughness of the fabric against my sensitive flesh, the heat of his body through the wet shirt.
Then we were moving — his hand shooting out to absorb the impact as he slammed me against the wall. His teeth captured my bottom lip, nipping hard enough that I tasted blood.
He worked his hand between our bodies, circling those skillful fingers until I was a quivering mess of need.
“Kaden,” I rasped.
“Open for me,” he snarled. “Tell me who you come for, little huntress.”
“You,” I choked. “Only you.”
“Show me,” he commanded, thrusting his fingers inside me as his thumb continued to stroke my clit.
I cried out at the sudden fullness, and stars winked in the corners of my vision. With his free hand gripping my thigh and his body pinning me to the wall, he found a place deep in my core that brought my release crashing through me.
My shout of pleasure echoed in the small room as I clenched around his fingers. Kaden’s breath was hot on my neck, his whole body quivering with restraint as he continued to milk my orgasm.
Pulling back, I saw that his eyes were blazing with an almost feral expression. His erection was an iron bar between us, and the realization chased away the last of my envy and sent a fresh bolt of desire straight to my core.
I didn’t just want a release. I wanted him inside me.
Sire bond or not, Kaden was mine. And I’d be damned if I let Semphrys have him.
But before I could speak, a scream pierced the chill of the night, and the rumble of chatter and music below ceased.
Still breathing hard, Kaden released his grip and set me on my feet.
Palming the prominent bulge in his leathers, he crossed to the window and peered outside. He hissed a low curse between his teeth, and my heart gave a jolt as he reached for his weapons.
“What is it?”
“Alfrigg’s soldiers,” Kaden growled, his rage palpable as he strapped on his blades.
“W-why are they here?” I stammered, the charred remains of Korkis flashing in my mind.
Darkness flickered in Kaden’s eyes, and he ground his back molars together. “I don’t know.”