Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
A Night of Discovery
Questions Still Stir
Dravic barely had time to return her kiss before Adira deepened it.
Surprise held him still for no more than a moment.
She had never approached him this way. She had welcomed his touch eagerly, responded to him without hesitation, but this was different. Her hand slipped along his chest as she pressed closer, leaving no doubt that she had woken him with purpose.
Dravic caught her hand and lifted his head. “Adira.”
Her name reached her clearly.
A thrill rushed through her, stronger than before. She heard the roughness sleep had left in his voice, the deep tone that belonged only to him, and for one reckless moment she nearly smiled from the sheer joy of it.
She stopped herself.
Dravic was watching her. His eyes searched hers before dropping briefly to her hand captured in his.
“You know what you are asking?”
Not every word reached her.
You know… asking?
It was enough. Besides, she understood him from his expression.
Adira nodded and leaned forward to kiss him again.
Dravic stopped her. His gaze held hers. He had been careful with her because he knew she was sore. He had forced himself to ignore his own desire when they came to bed, determined to give her body time to recover.
Apparently, Adira had other ideas.
“You are certain?” he asked with a raised brow.
This time she heard the words clearly.
Adira nodded again, more firmly, then freed her hand from his and touched his face. She was certain of only one thing… she loved him.
Whatever tomorrow brought, whatever awaited them deeper in Driochmor, whatever duty eventually demanded of the king, tonight he was hers. And she wanted him to know it in the only way she could give voice to what filled her heart.
Her fingers slipped into his hair, and she drew his mouth to hers.
Dravic’s restraint disappeared. His arm closed around her as he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Adira settled against him and smiled when his hands moved slowly over her, his touch careful despite the hunger she felt building in him.
He was still worried about her, and the realization filled her with tenderness.
She kissed his cheek, his jaw, then returned to his mouth, enjoying the freedom of being the one to explore him.
Dravic let her, for a while. Then his patience deserted him. He caught her face between his hands and kissed her deeply, holding nothing back. Adira lost herself in him, in his touch and warmth and now in something she had never possessed before.
Sound.
His breathing had changed. She could hear it.
Faintly at first, then more distinctly as his kiss grew more demanding.
She heard the rustle of the blankets when he shifted beneath her.
A low sound escaped him when her lips wandered along his throat, and the unfamiliar sound sent a delicious shiver through her.
She had caused that.
How many sounds had passed between them the first time they made love that she had never known existed? The thought fascinated her.
Dravic drew her back to him. “Come here.”
She heard him. Every word and her heart leapt.
Adira obeyed before remembering she should not have understood, and she froze.
Dravic noticed nothing unusual. Her mouth had already been moving toward his, and he simply met her halfway.
Relief mixed with excitement. She would have to be careful. Very careful. But not so careful that she allowed this precious night to slip past unnoticed.
She kissed him again, slowly this time, savoring everything she had been given—the man beneath her, his arms around her, the sounds that continued to find their way into a world that had always been silent.
Dravic turned them, settling her beneath him, but before he went farther, he stopped.
His hand caressed her cheek. “Tell me nay and I stop.”
Adira heard every word.
Her throat tightened. She could not tell him nay. She could not tell him anything, not yet.
But she could answer him the way she always had.
She smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down to her.
Dravic needed nothing more.
His kiss carried them beyond words, and Adira willingly followed, determined to cherish every touch, every sensation, and every newly discovered sound.
For tonight she would not worry about being a woman without title or family, or what future there could possibly be for a king and a woman who had nothing to offer him but herself.
Tonight she had Dravic.
And tonight that was enough.
Dravic held her close after pulling the blanket over them.
Something had changed in Adira.
He had sensed it recently, though he could not put a name to it. She seemed more aware of everything around her, as if this strange land stirred something in her that had lain dormant until now.
He had seen it in the forest. In the way she touched the trees and plants without the caution the rest of them showed. And now the silvren had come willingly into her hand.
Then there was the Wolfin.
Dravic frowned.
He had assumed the magnificent white creature had been looking at him when she approached and bowed. Why wouldn’t he? He was king, but Adira had been seated in front of him on the horse.
Had the Wolfin actually been looking at him? Or had the large wolf’s golden eyes been fixed on Adira?
His frown deepened. First the Wolfin and now the silvren. Both had shown an unusual interest in her.
And tonight?
His gaze narrowed slightly as he looked at her resting against him.
There had been something different about her tonight as well. An excitement he had felt in her every touch, a fascination that seemed to go beyond their lovemaking.
“What is happening to you, Adira?” he murmured.
Her heart jumped. She heard every word, and she kept her eyes closed and her breathing even, pretending sleep had already claimed her.
Dravic continued to watch her. He knew her too well to believe nothing had changed.
He simply did not know what it was.