Page 15 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King (Of Fae and Wolf Trilogy #1)

Chapter Fifteen

Vad

B lood boiling uncomfortably, I shoved the door open, not caring that it slammed against the wall. My temples ached, or maybe it was the alcohol. Who knew at this point?

All I could focus on was Thalen with her. The edges of my vision turned red.

What was wrong with this fecking world? Silus had told me to stay away from Briar, and this airhead secreted her away to my favorite place?

Were they both in on it? Silus to push me, and Thalen to steal her heart away from me?

My heart twisted at the betrayal. I might wind up sending both of my supposed friends back to their original kingdoms, Sylvan and Terran.

If I couldn’t have her, they couldn’t either.

No one could, and definitely no one could touch her other than me.

I jabbed a finger in Thalen’s direction to demand an explanation of his intentions. I needed to understand why, out of all of them, he would target Briar and dare to woo her here in the observatory.

My sanctum.

“Tha… leeen…” I closed my mouth, trying to make it work. Feck it all! It sounded as if I couldn’t speak. I was the damn prince, soon to be the king.

The bottle slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor, the rich dark liquid splashing everywhere. Some of it soaked the cuffs of my black trousers. But the only thing that mattered was how close the windbag was to Briar.

Feet unsteady, I tried to move gracefully across the shaking floor, and my wings flared, bristling outward.

Thalen smirked. The scaffing bastard beamed, like he was so proud of himself.

All control snapped as something in my chest yanked me toward him. He had to pay.

With a roar, I charged at him.

Thalen spread his arms wide and lifted the squat glass of dark liquor. He took a sip and darted away at the last second. His silver feathered wings unfurled, and he caught the air, leaving me to smash into the couch face first.

Yelping, Briar placed her drink on the table and squatted next to me. When her hands touched my arm, jolts I’d never experienced before shot through me, stronger than they had the last time we’d touched.

“I wondered when you were going to get here, you big brooding bellend. I would offer you a drink, but it seems you’ve had five or six. Maybe even seven.” Thalen chuckled behind me.

Briar snorted but then tried to cover it up by clearing her throat. “Are you okay?”

Grunting, I struggled upright, my wings flapping.

“Can you put those away?” Her voice shook with laughter, though she tried to hide it. “It’s not helping you stand.”

“Chaos, let him be. It’s funnier this way,” Thalen quipped.

My face heated, and I wanted to bury it in the couch. Clearly I looked pathetic, but the fact that Thalen had a nickname for Briar made me force myself upright.

“Do you have your balance now?” she asked, turning me toward her.

I didn’t even consider fighting her. I needed to see her face more than I needed to breathe. When my eyes met her gorgeous jade ones, my heart seemed to stop.

Feck. I looked downward. Her cornflower blue dress was all soft and loose around her curves. It would be so easy to slide my hand between her thighs and—feck! I had to stop my mind from where it was going.

All the blood in my body surged somewhere other than my brain and the bulge grew in my pants once more.

It was so hard to think. All I wanted to do was bury myself between her—

Thalen’s snicker jolted me back to reality.

He landed beside me and took a flamboyant bow. “I knew you’d show up eventually. My job here is done. Have fun, you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

The world spun even more with the abruptness of the movement, and by the time I turned to track him, Thalen was standing in the doorway. His eyes twinkled, and his hand gripped the handle. He waggled his eyebrows, then jerked the door shut with a heavy click.

Wait. Was this a setup? I wasn’t sure if I should be pissed or ecstatic.

Briar sat down on the other side of the couch again and curled up with a glass that was still half full of night brandy.

I took a ragged breath. He’d poured her that drink. She should not have anything given by another man! It was intolerable.

With an undignified grunt, I swiped the glass from her.

“Hey,” she exclaimed, trying to get it back from me.

I moved quickly toward the cabinet in the bookshelf of the left wall, sloshing some of the dark liquid over the edge. “I’ll get you something better to drink.”

Her shrill voice cut through the haze in my mind, the indignation palpable. "That was mine."

I waved her off. “Yes. Was . I’ll get you another.” My gaze fell on the glass as I debated pouring the night brandy out. No—that’d be a terrible waste of excellent liquor, and being alone with her was already affecting me and it’d been mere minutes.

There was only one solution. I drained the glass in a single gulp, barely tasting it. Shaking my head, I drew in a deep breath, trying to steady my emotions, and opened the cabinet to remove the blackberry whiskey. This particular whisky was as smooth as that hourglass figure of hers, and every bit as rich.

The damn cabinet kept moving as I tried to pour her a glass. What was going on with the ground? If Terran Fae were here, the guards would’ve alerted me. Good thing I was here with her if something was in the process of happening. I should get back to her and be by her side… for her protection of course.

Her perfect, full breasts looked even more delectable framed by her folded arms. They’d be so much better without being covered by all that fabric. The image of her standing nude in the arena popped into my head, furthering the problem in my trousers.

With what should have been an elegant tip of my head, I placed the glass in her hand. Her fingers wrapped around it, brushing against mine.

A strange heat and jolt spread through me. I needed to jerk back, but instead my fingers lingered. Feck it all. She was exquisite, staring right at me.

She arched a brow. “Are you going to let go?”

I dropped my hand immediately and already missed her touch, though I was a mere wing length away from her.

I needed another drink. A way to numb the effect she had on me. Staggering back to the cabinet, I started to pour one for myself.

“Do you really need another? I don’t think that’s a wise choice.”

I scowled and turned toward her. “And I don’t think I want anyone else commenting on my choices.” Silus and the councilors had already gotten on my last nerve questioning me. I didn’t need her to start as well.

She lifted her chin, and those eyes flashed bright. She placed her drink on the table and stood, coming to me.

My head spun, but this time it wasn’t from the floor—it was her. The determined set of her brows had more blood leaving my head. I couldn’t wait to see what she’d do to me. I hoped it was—

She took my drink and the bottle, and poured the dark liquid back in. Then she poured hers in as well and corked it. “And I’ve had enough people trying to control mine, to the point that I can't even go home to my family."

I stared at my empty hand, not sure if I was annoyed or amused. She pushed past me and thrust the bottle back into the cabinet.

“This could be your home, and I could be your family,” I said, my voice thick. I dragged a hand through my thick hair. How eloquent I was! Disgust at myself twisted within me. Why couldn’t I talk well tonight?

She uttered a sharp laugh, but she didn’t sound amused. “Only if I win , and you pick me. And let’s be honest—we know that the latter will definitely not happen, so let’s not play games.”

Silus’s words rang in my ears, and a low growl built in my chest. She started to walk away, full hips and bright copper hair swaying in tandem, taking my heart with her.

I surged forward, spun her around, and pushed her up against the wall. I held her wrist with one hand and caged her in with my other arm braced against the shelf above her head. Books, crystals, and trinkets jostled, and she stared up at me.

My breath rasped in my throat, mingling with hers. I smelled sandalwood, then her—a swirling scent of ginger, cinnamon, hazelnut, and night brandy. She was all fierce heat and defiance, glaring like she was contemplating her next sharp retort.

But I needed to talk first. "What if I don't want to let you go? I could always make my choice now. Just pick you. Say it’s you. No matter what happens, you are the one I choose.”

Her brow furrowed and her breath caught, her pulse thundering in her throat just above her collarbone. The urge to press my lips to that spot rose along with my own need. Images flashed into my mind of her in my bed, arching beneath me and pulling me closer as I held her even tighter and drove into her again and again.

“People are dying in these games,” she said tightly. “Are you actually saying that if you pick someone, then it’s all done? We don’t have to compete in any additional senseless trials?”

I blinked heavily, a sourness spreading over my tongue. “No.” The thickness in my throat intensified, along with the urge to hold her. “No…I can’t stop them.” I moistened my lips as my gaze held hers. Her lips were full and perfect. Had she ever been kissed? Surely she had. The thought of someone else's lips on her made my stomach queasy.

If someone had kissed her, I needed to correct that wrong and be her last. But if no one had, I wanted to be her first and only.

I leaned in closer so our lips were just inches apart and pressed my body to hers. “No. The Council—the councils won’t let them stop, and there must be three trials. They're planning the second now."

Her chest heaved, her breasts pressing into my chest. Her gaze darted from my lips to my eyes so fast she likely hoped I wouldn’t notice...but I did.

"Do they plan everything? How many live? How many die?" That hard note in her voice trembled at the end.

“Everything that can be decided, they decide. The rest is left to Fate. All I can do is…be there.” Wishing that I could do more. Wishing I could protect her. My eyes shuttered, and my chest tightened to the point of pain.

I dropped my head to her neck and breathed her in. Feck. She smelled divine, and I never wanted to part from her again. I traced a line from her throat to her cheek with the tip of my nose and breathed her in again, luxuriating in her scent. My head spun as the blood throbbed in my veins, the bulge in my trousers now painful. I wanted this woman. I wanted her more than air and wine. No one in my past compared to how she made me feel.

Leaning closer, I pressed my forehead against hers. Her lips trembled as she stared up at me. “Fate is a pain in my butt,” she said.

I laughed softly, releasing her wrist and adjusting my position so I was as close as possible without leaning my whole weight on her. “Your butt is too perfect for Fate to hurt it.”

The most beautiful shade of pink flared across her cheeks, and her focus landed on my mouth. Everything inside me burned, but in a way that was comforting, and I wanted more.

I couldn’t believe I’d said it, but I didn’t regret it. All I’d regret was not tasting those sweet rosebud lips. If she’d had blackberry cloud truffle on her cheek, I’d have licked it off this time.

Unable to resist any longer, I grazed my lips over hers. A jolt of blazing warmth hit my soul. The tantalizing depths of her sweet mouth were only a breath away. It sent a pulse straight to my groin. I resisted the urge to stroke her cheek, but I brought my mouth to hers. Just one kiss. Maybe then all these strong feelings would go away.

Her hand flew to my chest, her touch firm. "Stop," she whispered hoarsely.

Stop? Every muscle in my body tightened, screaming at me to just kiss her and cover her body with mine. The blood thundered in my veins, throbbing and pleading for me to take her.

But no—she'd said stop. She'd—she'd asked me to stop.

The wheels of my mind turned slowly, and my fingers dug into the shelf near her head. I didn’t want to stop. I needed her like air. “Just one kiss. That’s all. I’m not asking for more.”

“I’m not strong enough for that,” she whispered, and her words broke me.