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A tiny twitch of his lips is his only reaction to my confession. “You’re here only because you have nowhere else to go.”

Desperation crackles through my nerves. “I wanted to see you.”

His eyes flare like torches in the breeze. “I want to hear it.”

My heart is beating faster. My blood pumps hard. “Hear what?”

“You.” He switches to English. “Speak to me in English. I want to hear how you sound.”

I stare at him, startled by the thickness of his accent. I’d only heard him speak English once before, briefly.

Swallowing, I search for the right words. “‘Where fairytales come to life,’” I say in my American accent. “That’s what I heard you say in your sleep.”

He goes as still as the stone walls around us, but his eyes gleam with an expression I can’t quite read.

“I’m sorry I lied,” I go on softly in English. “I thought you were a cold and ruthless monster. And honestly? You intentionally created that impression, so I don’t know what you expected.”

His jaw flexes, but he doesn’t interrupt. He just watches me, his gaze piercing.

“I’d heard your thoughts over the years, like you heard mine,” I say in English. “I had glimpses of a hedonist. Brutal flashes of you fighting battles. But it wasn’t enough to know the real you. Not until I stepped into your dreams. I found you there. Not the voluptuary, not the sadist, or the soldier with blood dripping from his sword. Just…you.” I step closer, pulse racing. “And once I saw Talan, the real Talan, I knew I couldn’t let go of you. That’s why I dragged you from your room the night of the assassination. And that’s why I can’t leave you, even if Camelot would take me back.”

Something flickers in his expression, a subtle softening, but his eyes—gods, his eyes still look like they want to consume me. Dark and wild and absolutely ravenous, like he’ll die without me.

I’ve never found him more perfect than I do now. This is the real Talan beneath the artifice, under the cool, controlled exterior. I think this is the moment I love him the most, because this Talan is something I get to see.ThisTalan is only for me.

He says my name, and it sounds like a sigh.

Our eyes meet for one intense moment, and then he leans in and brushes his lips against mine. That’s all it takes. That light touch races through me like fire, and I pull him closer to me, parting my lips. Slowly, his tongue sweeps in, finding mine. He tastes faintly of mead, sweet and lightly spiced. Achingly delicious. As I melt into him, his fingers slide into my hair.

Molten warmth rolls through my body, and the kiss deepens. He pins me against the wall, his kiss scorching. He’s branding me with the untamed power of the Fey forest, binding me to him like night brambles wrapped around the ancient stones.

Our minds twine together, and his thoughts race through mine—all the loneliness he felt without me, the longing for me. His yearning, his wild desperation to touch me again. I see myself the way he sees me—bathed in gold, like the dawn.

Slowly, he pulls back from the kiss. His eyes lock on mine for a charged moment, the copper burning. Then, his gaze drifts down my body, and he reaches for the clasp on my cloak. He unlatches it, and the cloak slips from my shoulders, dropping at my feet.

The corner of his mouth lifts in a faintly sensual smile. He slides his hand around the back of my throat and kisses me again—more slowly this time, savoring me. He pulls away with a heated nip at my lower lip.

“I will never stop thinking about you.” His voice is ragged. “Even when the stars burn out, you’ll still be in my head becauseyou were the only thing that ever made me feel like I wasn’t completely alone.”

His words unclench something tight my chest. “I know, because you belong in my head, too. That’s why we found each other, even from across the ocean.”

Talan tugs down the straps of my gown, and the castle air kisses my bare breasts, making my nipples go hard. I don’t care right now that we’re in a hallway, that anyone could walk out and see us. All I know is that I’m desperate with need for him.

With a racing pulse, I pull his soft, black shirt off and drop it at our feet with my cloak. Biting my lip, I run my hands over his chest, his abs. Gently, I tease at the waistband of his trousers, and his muscles go tense. He inhales sharply, and then his lips curve into a wicked smile.

He grabs my wrists and pins my hands over my head, flat against the cold stone. Now, I’m at his mercy. And when it comes to Talan, that’s exactly how I like it.

With my hands pinned, he lowers his mouth to the curve of my throat. His breath warms my skin—then slowly, his Fey canines brush over me. The sensation is teasing, agonizingly light, each graze sending a heated shiver dancing down my spine. White-hot desire coils in my body. His tongue traces the path of his kiss, leaving a trail of heat. As his lips linger, his magic thrums over me. He electrifies me like a storm.

I tilt my head back, exposing my neck to him.

Releasing my wrists, he lifts his face from my throat and captures my mouth with his. He kisses me hard, and I needmoreof him. Now.

As if he can hear my thoughts, Talan lifts the hem of my dress. Slow, languid, the soft material drags over my thighs, my hips. He strips away my underwear, the last barrier between us, exposing me completely. Desire pulses between my thighs, andmy breasts ache for his touch. Every nerve in my body feels alight for him.

I’m naked in this hall, but I don’t care. The world narrows to my heated desire, my desperation for him to touch me. All that remains is this overwhelming, aching need for him.

“Spread your legs for me,” he whispers, and I do as he commands. His hand slides between my thighs, lightly stroking my clit, watching me intently.