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Tes held her husband’s gaze. “I don’t think that’s true. At the risk of annoying you with another comparison, your energy is very similar to your brother’s. Speran has always had a fascination with Toren, yet there are times he reaches for your brother but isn’t satisfied with his hold. I believe you’re what he’s missing.”

“Perhaps I’ll be lucky enough to find out someday,” Ber whispered.

But she could hear the doubt in his tone.

“I hope so,” Tes replied, stroking her husband’s tousled hair from his face.

There was far too much sorrow there—too much to bear. She scooted up a little farther until she could brush kisses over theunhappy creases at the corners of his mouth. Then the deeper furrows of his brow, where his turmoil had gathered. As his hand slipped up from her waist to her back, she kissed her way back to his mouth and claimed it for her own.

The low groan that rumbled through his chest shot straight through her. Just like that, her body ached for his once more. But he was vulnerable, and she’d intended to give only comfort. What kind of person would she be to take advantage?

Ber tore his lips from hers. “No advantage, love.”

Then he grabbed her hand and directed it to his hard cock.

She peered into his eyes, so dark and fathomless. “Are you sure?”

“Always,” he murmured. He rubbed his nose against hers in an affectionate little gesture. “I need you, my heart.”

And so he would have her.

Tes rose over him. As he stroked his hands up her outer thighs, she positioned him at her entrance and sank down with agonizing slowness. They both moaned.So perfect.She tossed her head back and slid her fingers to where they were joined. She wanted to burn with him—now. So she teased her sensitive nub until her body was a mass of reckless sensation.

With a hiss, Ber gripped her hips, lifting her and then slamming her down again. For a few devastating moments, she let him take control, the fire of it nearly consuming her. Each time he rose to meet her, he brushed that perfect spot within her. And yet… No, it wasn’t what they needed.

She forced his hands away, shoving them down beside his head the way he’d held hers. Then she slowed her pace. Languorous and sweet. The passion built as slowly as the teasing kisses she brushed against his lips, her love for him imbued in every movement.

When it finally caught them up, it pulled them into the blaze together.

Her body twitched and trembled when she finally collapsed across his chest, and her breaths came in shallow gasps. She must have released him, for the arms he wrapped around her shook a little, too. But he seemed as content as she was to savor the moment. Though his lips brushed the top of her head, he remained quiet.

Then he tensed beneath her. “Up. Get up, Tes.”

She lifted her head enough to glare at him. “Can I not do my own bit of claiming?”

“No. Yes.” Abruptly, he rolled, reversing their positions. “You can reclaim me later. There’s a little enchantment on the outer door, and someone activated it. The door must have been opened.”

This time, she was the one who froze. If they were caught… She dimmed the mage lights to nearly nothing and shoved at his shoulders. “Get dressed, then.”

Above all, no one could guess what he’d been doing—and especially not with whom.

Chapter 22

Lurking

As Tes’s magic winked out above, Ber snatched up the light marble from the floor. Once again, the slight glow was their only illumination, and he had to blink a few times to adjust to the change in light. He held the marble a little higher to compensate—and then groaned at the sight of his still-naked wife. Despite the situation, her posture was loose and languid from their lovemaking, an unconscious invitation he couldn’t accept.

Gods, how he wished he could rejoin her in that bed. Or failing that, annihilate whoever had interrupted their sweet moment.

“Once it’s clear, I’ll help you sneak to the secret tunnels undetected,” Ber said softly, though he could have shouted with the spells that had been placed on the closet.

Tes nodded. “As soon as you move, I’ll get dressed.”

No matter how much he hated it, Ber couldn’t linger. Marble in hand, he hurried into the main part of the closet. But he didn’t rush through the door. Instead, he grabbed one of the scarves hanging beside Tes’s dressing table. Then he rubbed at his eyes until they hopefully looked red and swollen and returned the marble to his pocket.

Clutching the scarf to his mouth, he ambled through the door, unsure what he would find. He didn’t have long to wonder. A woman cried out, jerking his attention immediately to the source—a maid standing in the doorway to his sleeping chamber. She must have been slipping out, but without his invitation, she shouldn’t have been in his bedroom at all. No servant was allowed such a privilege outside of cleaning hours.

“Your Highness!” she squealed, lowering into a deep curtsy. “Forgive my impertinence, but His Majesty told me to…attend to your needs. After your injury, of course. I was afraid you’d grown ill in your room when you didn’t answer my call.”