Page 14 of Kingdom of Darkness and Dragons (Empire of Vengeance #4)

Her answer wasn't in words, but in the way she arched her hips against mine, a silent, desperate plea.

Her fingers dug into my shoulders, pulling me down until our mouths crashed together again.

I fumbled with the fastenings of my own trousers, my hands shaking with a need so profound it bordered on pain.

I needed to be inside her, to fill the hollow space that had been carved into my chest these past weeks, to join our broken pieces into something whole.

When I was finally free, I positioned myself between her legs. She opened for me without hesitation, her eyes locked on mine, dark and wide and trusting. The sight of her, so utterly surrendered to me, almost broke me.

She guided me with her hand, her touch both hesitant and sure.

There was no artifice, no games, just a raw, mutual need.

I pushed into her slowly, watching her face, my own breath catching as her body yielded, stretching to take me.

She was so tight, so hot. I could feel the faint tremor in her muscles as she accepted all of me, welcoming me home.

A choked gasp escaped her lips, and my own breath hitched.

Every lie, every secret, every moment of pain fell away, leaving only this truth.

For a long moment, I didn’t move, just stayed buried deep inside her, feeling the frantic beat of her heart against my chest. Her eyes were locked with mine, and in their depths, I saw everything—the gladiator, the slave, the survivor, the woman who had fought for every breath she’d ever taken.

And I saw the love she held for me, fierce and terrifying and utterly real.

It was a revelation, a stripping away of all the artifice until only the raw, undeniable truth of us remained.

She was giving me everything, all the broken, beautiful pieces of her soul that she had guarded for so long.

I began to move, a slow, deep rhythm that was less about pleasure and more about possession.

Every thrust was a vow, a promise to protect this impossible, broken woman who had stolen my heart.

Her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me deeper, her body arching to meet mine.

She was with me in every movement, a perfect, desperate echo of my own need.

The friction of our bodies, the slide of skin on skin, was an agony of bliss.

I watched her face, the way her lips parted on a silent gasp, the way her eyes fluttered closed as the pleasure began to build.

This was more than forgiveness. It was absolution.

A baptism in the heat of her body, washing away the weeks of doubt and anger.

I drove into her harder, faster, chasing a release that was as much spiritual as it was physical.

Her legs wrapped around me, pulling me deeper and I obliged.

She cried out my name, a broken, beautiful sound that was both plea and praise.

Her nails dug into my back, scoring lines of fire across my skin, and I welcomed the pain.

I lowered myself down, needing to feel her whole body against mine, her breasts crushed against my chest, our skin slick with sweat, sliding against each other.

I kissed her again, my hands tangling in her hair.

Her hips rose to meet my thrusts, a frantic, desperate rhythm that matched the hammering of my own heart. The world outside this room, with its politics and its lies, ceased to exist. There was only the woman beneath me.

“Jalend,” she gasped, her voice raw, as she writhed against me. “Jalend… oh gods!”

She screamed my name as she came apart, her body convulsing around me, her back arching as her climax ripped through her, a violent, beautiful surrender.

I swallowed her cries with my kiss as I continued to move against her, holding her tight against me, using only my hips to thrust deep inside.

Gods I wanted to come, to claim her, fill her, but I fought against it, wanting to prolong this moment.

Her body, slick and hot against mine, her mouth kissing me with abandon even as she whimpered my name, and her soaking wet pussy tight around my cock like she was made for me.

I wanted this moment to last forever, even as the pressure built inside me, a blinding, white-hot need that threatened to shatter my control.

I felt her body begin to tense around me, her inner muscles clenching in the first tremors of her release.

"Livia," I choked out. “Come with me, love.”

Her eyes flew open, fixing on mine and in them, I saw my own desperation reflected, a raw, unguarded need that went beyond the physical.

Her answer was a choked sob, a final, complete surrender as she shattered.

The sight of her, the feel of her body breaking apart around me, was the only permission I needed. My own control snapped.

A guttural cry ripped from my own throat, as I called her name, my release a violent, shuddering wave, emptying me of all the anger, the loneliness, the desperate, aching love I had carried for her. I poured myself into her, not just my body, but every broken piece of my soul.

When the storm passed, I collapsed against her, my forehead resting on her damp shoulder, my lungs burning.

We lay tangled in the sheets, our bodies slick with sweat, the only sound in the room the ragged counterpoint of our breathing.

My hand came up to trace the line of a scar on her ribs, the raised skin a testament to a life I could barely comprehend. It didn't matter. None of it mattered.

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat that echoed the rhythm of hers.

I was still buried deep inside her, unwilling to break the connection, to let the cold reality of the world seep back in.

This was real. This was the only thing that had ever felt truly real.

I wanted to stay here forever, in this quiet, breathless space where none of the lies mattered, but I knew we couldn’t.

I pressed a final, exhausted kiss to her lips, as I shifted my weight, pulling the coverlet over us, cocooning us in the aftermath.

She curled into my side, her head resting on my chest, her breathing finally evening out into the soft sighs of exhaustion.

I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair.

She was a fugitive. A killer. A rebel. Loving her might cost me my title, my future, my life. But as I held her sleeping form against me, I knew with a certainty that shook me to my core that the only thing I couldn't survive was losing her again.