CHAPTER XV #13
We walk side by side back into his room, with Keane gently pushing my hand away when I attempt to grab my travel packs laying on the floor.
He lifts them up and leads me to the large dresser before placing them on top, his hand reaching out to squeeze mine before I rummage inside and find my night slip.
Keane pulls out one of the wooden dressers and reveals a shelf of different black sets of pants, some of them new while some look well-worn.
He grabs a pair and moves to discard his shirt over his head, his eyes catching mine in the mirror as I look at his reflection.
The muscles of his chest flex at the simple movement, his arms and biceps straining in a way that has me thinking I could watch him change for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.
A small chuckle falls from Keane’s lips.
I shake my head with a smirk and pull out my green silk, watching as Keane walks away and heads towards the bathing chamber.
I bend down and begin working on my boots, my two blades clattering to the ground below me in a reminder that makes me frown.
I still them with my hand and fold the boots up neatly, then remove the skirt of the dress and let it fall down my hips.
I gently fold that piece up as well, wanting Gail’s creation to be treated with care, then pull the top piece off slowly before placing it neatly on top of the skirt as well.
I hear a shift in the room next to me, spotting Keane leaning against the arch with his muscled arms folded over his chest. I slowly angle my naked body to him and flush when his heated gaze travels from my shoulders to my breasts.
His eyes sink lower, down to my thighs and between them, dropping all the way to the slight arch of my foot as I stand barefoot in his room.
He takes a hard step forward and exhales when he’s in front of me, his hands reaching for the slip in my hold before he raises it above my head.
I reach my arms up to the sky and let him pull the fabric down, feeling him tug the silk as low as it will go as if he’s shielding my body from his gaze.
Keane takes a step back, and in this moment his brown eyes are watching me in pure, heated conflict.
He wants me. The full being of his body wants every piece of me. But he’s battling with himself just as I am, too.
I take his hands and lay them just under my shoulders, pressing his palms open to my collarbone.
I intwine my fingers with his and drift our hands slowly down my chest, only stopping when both rest just above my heart.
I hold them there, willing him to feel the wild beat pressing against my chest and wanting him to understand exactly how I feel for him right now even as we both keep a respectful distance.
Keane takes a heavy breath and leans into me, his brown eyes filled with affection as he kisses the top of my head.
“Let’s talk in bed,” he says quietly.
My eyes dart over to the large mass of black sheets waiting patiently at his back. I quickly avert my gaze and drop down to the floor to pick up my two blades, lifting them towards the Prince with raised brows before I turn and place them on his dresser.
“I listened to your words very carefully tonight, Keane…”
The Prince crosses his arms over his chest as a hint of amusement dances across his face.
“Forfeit all green agate when in Gaumond. I expect to have these back the moment I step foot outside this city.”
“You will,” Keane nods, eyes still dancing.
“Okay then,” I accept my punishment, turning back around to walk towards the settee in front of the fireplace.
I grab the blanket on the cushions and fold it slowly, finally placing it back on the chair.
I take my time walking to the large table in his room, bending down slow to blow out each of the candles one by one until I hear Keane’s chuckle from the bed.
“Alexis…”
He knows I’m stalling.
I take a deep breath and blow out the final candle, trying to steady my beating heart before I turn towards him.
Ancients, he’s one of you.
His lightly tanned chest glows under the moonslight and stars above, the silk of the black sheets looking like dark moving waters as he lays casually on top of them.
His brown hair is a bit ruffled over his head, the casualness of it all matching the rest of his relaxed figure as he stretches his legs out in the middle.
He leans back against the headboard as my eyes instantly drop to the black chain around his neck.
I sigh to myself and the color against his skin. Black has always looked good on him.
Keane draws up one of his knees with a grin and lays his arm across the top.
“Come,” he commands, fingers reaching out to me.
I walk towards him slowly, stopping in front of one of the large corners at the end of the bed to wrap my arm around it. I let my head lean against the dark mahogany and press my hip softly against it for support, taking another deep breath as I look at him with the same resolve I had this morning.
“I’ve made a travel plan. Cal, Holis and Mana are all in agreement. As is Alanna.”
Keane sits up straighter, watching me quietly as I continue, “I don’t mean to take her away from your Court, but I want her to be with me when I travel to Woodlands.”
“I know of your plan, Alexis,” he nods quietly.
I had suspected this morning but am still curious.
“How?”
“Desmond’s scouting.”
“His summoning?”
“Yes,” he nods again, “when Golem is not around to block his summoning, he can insert himself as a silent participant in a conversation that he is near.”
“That’s…” I breathe in awe.
“Intrusive,” he says, reminding me of my words when I learned about his location summoning under the Shadow Oak.
“I was going to say that’s probably what makes him a good Master Informer,” I reply with a soft shrug.
Keane watches me with silent curiosity and nods.
“Does his scouting work like your location summoning?”
“No,” he shakes his head, “Desmond’s is more intricate, more layered and detailed.
Mine is surface level. Where I can place a person within a general area and oftentimes, but not always, see their location through their eyes for brief moments, Desmond can enter the room or area with that person.
He can experience every detail of the surroundings and listen to every word of conversation without being seen.
His summoning deals heavily with stealth and scouting and a few other things.
It is what makes him a good Master Informer. ”
My eyes widen with every bit of explanation, marveling at the magic of it all.
“What you don’t know, then, and what I didn’t tell the rest of the group because the desire is my own…”
I look down at my hand wrapped around the tall wooden post, “your brother will be waiting for me the moment I get back to Bardot, Keane. He will find a way to pull me aside. He always does.”
Keane shifts on his bed, his features going hard.
“When I heard the blonde Discerni last night… when I came to the realization and understanding of what his words meant…”
I glance up to his furrowed brown eyes watching me.
“Keane,” I cry his name softly, willing him to understand my next words, “I have never in my life wanted to hurt someone as bad as I do your brother.”
I let out a small laugh in confusion, pushing my body harder into the post as I shake my head.
“I’ve wanted to see more people hurt in the past fortnight then I have in all of my life.
Troy, for his blatant use of me. His man, for the words that came out of his mouth about humans.
Tadeo. The Leviathan who attacked Daniel.
Hirovale. Ancients, Hirovale. I wanted to hurt him on the spot for openly admitting to wanting to use me as his Human Reborn, whatever that means. ”
I glance up to Keane, his eyes lit with a deep fire and still watching me quietly.
“So when I tell you right now that I planned on greeting Troy in Bardot when I arrived…”
I shake my head again, holding his gaze hard. “I could not promise to myself where that meeting would take us, nor what I would do and what would come from it. I know only that I still have a very strong urge to see him hurt, and I am prepared to face the consequences if I act upon that urge.”
Keane swiftly lifts himself off the bed and moves his body to my front. His hands pull me away from the bedpost and into his hold, his brown eyes fiercely staring down into mine.
“I will not allow that, Alexis.”
I give him a sad smile, “I understand. He is your brother. But I may very well still try.”
“No,” he shakes his head, “you don’t understand. I will not allow you to throw away your life over him. He’s not worth it.”
Keane lifts a hand to my face, willing me to understand the weight of his words. He’s not letting me attempt anything with Troy out of protection for his brother, but for myself.
“Desmond and I have had many talks about our brother in the past, as well as many just recently,” he continues, “we’ve hoped that he’s made changes in Woodlands, and some reports tell us he has.
And while we still haven’t confirmed fully why he took an interest in you, we can only suspect that it has to do with his knowledge of the Kingdoms Council that was called by our father. ”
I sigh in agreement. It’s the only reason.
“He is another person at the top of our list to hold a conversation with, Alexis. He will be dealt with by Desmond and I. Do not engage with him.”
“And Hirovale?” I ask quietly.
Keane frowns, though his eyes turn kind at the thought.
“I believe Hirovale has pure intentions, though they are his intentions nonetheless, not yours. Not ours. I will never advocate for you to participate in something that was forced on you, but I do think we should wait him out. I have a feeling that there is more to his story than we know.”
“As do I,” I sigh heavily, “but I don’t care for his insistency that I automatically play along, as if I don’t have a life to live of my own without him meddling in it.”
“And what is that life?” Keane asks softly, “where do you see that life taking you now that you have found what my father has sent you out for?”
“Back to Bardot,” I reply, “then to Woodlands. And sometime shortly after that, Fumagalli again…”
Keane nods, not pressing my answer any further.
He drops his hand from my cheek and skims his fingers down my arm, his eyes beckoning as he takes a few steps to the side of the bed.
I follow him quietly and watch as he leans down and pulls the sheets back, his gaze finding mine again and waiting for me to enter.
My heart pounds in my chest- Apparently it just never stops.
I move to stand next to him and look at the black satin below me, dropping a knee to the softest sheet I’ve ever felt.
I crawl under the fabric and then turn back to Keane, smiling at the way he watches me get comfortable under his sheets.
Always watching me.
Keane’s lips pull up in small grin before he leans down in my direction.
I hold my breath and shift against the pillows, biting my lip as his eyes dart from my face to my chest, as if hearing how wild my heart is beating right now.
He smirks and falls down at my side, wrapping his arms around my waist to surround every inch of me under the sheets.
I sigh when he drops his head into the crook of my neck and plants a small kiss on my shoulder, then nips it for good measure. I flush and wrap my arms around him tight, cozying my body into his before looking up to the dark sky above us with a genuine smile plastered on my lips.
Everything about him, about us, here and now, just feels so right.
He’s always felt right. From the very beginning.
All of his words and his gestures towards me… the pure intimacy of him. All of it tells me that he finds me worthy and that he always has, never once losing faith despite the fact that I did. He is here with me, wanting to be with me, happy to be with me.
And I am happy to be with him as I fall asleep in his arms, relishing in it all.