Page 9

My fingers dug into his hair, keeping his lips locked to mine, his teeth latching onto my bottom lip as his hands found the back of my thighs, lifting me onto the surface of his desk. My hands slipped from his head down to his chest, clawing frantically at his tunic, pulling it over his head as his hands stripped the boots and leathers from my body. I pulled away only for a second to pull the shirt over my head and watched as he pulled the belt from his waist and unfastened the buttons on his leathers.

I sucked in a sharp breath as he stepped out of the last of his clothing, dragging my eyes from his body to meet his gaze. The desire I saw swirling in them forced a low moan from my mouth as I reached out and locked my hand around his neck, pulling his lips back to mine.

My body ached for him,screamed for him.

I wrapped my legs around his waist as his first thrust sent pleasure tearing through my body. A guttural moan rolled frommy throat as my head fell back toward the ceiling, my nails digging into his shoulders. His forehead fell to my chest, nestling between my breasts as one hand clutched my thigh, the other buried into the curls cascading down my back.

My heart beat frantically against his skin, threatening to explode from the emotion building in my chest.

He wasmine. My entire universe held together inside his body.

“I love you,” I whispered as he slowly lifted his head from my breasts.

His lips crashed onto mine with bruising force at the sound of those words as he pushed into me again and again.

I collapsed to my back, my arms succumbing to the pleasure coursing through my veins as papers and inkwells slipped off the desk’s surface, clattering to the floor.

“Gods, Hyacinth,” Landers breathed, his voice a low growl as his hands gripped my hips and dragged me toward him, my back arching from the wood as I panted against the rising ecstasy filling every inch of my body. Words were flowing from my mouth between moans—how much I needed him. How good he felt inside of me.

I opened my eyes to see his gaze already on me and a fist clamped around my heart, emotion flooding my chest as I slowly drowned in his stare. His hands slid up my abdomen, circling my breasts before grasping onto my shoulders and pulling me toward him to meet each one of his thrusts.

A groan escaped his lips at the sound of my begging, my pleading for him not to stop. He slowed his pace only for a moment as I pushed my hand under his chin and pulled his eyes to mine.

“Show me,” I demanded between gasps. “Show me how much you missed me.”

He lifted my legs over his shoulders at my command, slowly pulling himself almost fully out of me.

“As you wish.” The words were a growl as he said them, then buried himself into me again.

A cry that was sure to wake the castle burst from my lungs as my fingers curled around the lip of the desk—the only thing grounding me to this room, the only thing stopping my body from slipping into oblivion.

A snarl tore from his throat at the sound, and as he slammed into me one last time, an orgasm ripped through my body as lightning crashed behind my eyelids. I felt him let go as I clenched around him, the muscles on his body tightening, his own release flowing from him as he wrapped his arms around me.

“I love you, Hyacinth,” he whispered into the curve of my neck, his lips pressing against my skin.

Our heavy breathing filled the silent space as we held each other and basked in the euphoria that surrounded us.

After a long moment, he took a step away from me, taking my hand in his as he pulled my back from his desk and slid my arm over his shoulder. He didn’t speak, only placed soft kisses from the base of my neck to the curve of my jaw. I leaned into the warmth of his lips on my skin before meeting his eyes.

We stared at each other for a few short breaths, and then he let his forehead fall to mine.

There had been something in the way he looked at me recently that I couldn’t place, an expression akin to sadness or pain.

“Hey,” I whispered, pulling his chin up to meet my gaze. “Is everything all right?” I asked, my voice soft as it echoed through the room.

He let out a deep sigh as he looked back at me then ran a hand through his hair.

“What is it, Landers?” I pressed gently.

“I am not ready to fight another war, I am not ready for the violence it will bring to my people. I do not know how to protect them from what is coming,” he finally responded.

I nodded as he took a step away from me, plucking my clothing from the floor and placing them softly in my lap. He slid back into his leathers and pulled his tunic over his head as I dressed, the room falling somber around us.

He fell into the chair across from me and I stepped toward him, placing my palm on his cheek as I lowered to my knees in front of him and met his gaze.

“I vow to you, I will protect the people of Locdragoon with every ounce of magic I have. You will not fight this war alone. To death, remember?” I asked as a sad smile lifted at the corners of his lips.

“To death.”