Page 21

21

ADELLUM

I 'm starting to fucking break.

Harmony has taken all my patience, what little of my sanity I had left, and twisted it until this moment, where I am desperate for her, to claim her, to make her mine again.

I pin Harmony to the wall at the foot of the narrow staircase, my hands pressing against ancient wood on either side of her face. The kitchen is empty now, quiet except for the thundering of my heart and the shallow catch of her breath. My wings fold tight against my back, trembling with restraint.

"Five fucking years," I whisper, the words scraping my throat raw. "Five years I've been looking for you."

Harmony's eyes flash—defiance wrapped in fear wrapped in something else. Something she doesn't want me to see. Her chin lifts. "I didn't ask you to."

"You didn't have to ask." I lean closer, close enough to count the gold flecks in her hazel eyes. "I would do anything for you. I thought you fucking knew that."

Her pulse jumps in the hollow of her throat. I want to press my mouth there, feel the flutter of her life against my lips. Want to bite down until she remembers who she belongs to.

"Let me go, Adellum," she whispers, but there's no conviction behind it.

"I did that once." My voice drops lower, dangerous even to my own ears. "Look how that turned out."

The air between us feels charged like before a storm, crackling with everything unsaid. Five years of searching, of losing myself piece by piece, all while she built this quiet life without me. Her scent fills my lungs—earth and kitchen herbs and something uniquely Harmony that makes my blood surge hot.

My hand finally moves from the wall to trace the line of her jaw. She flinches but doesn't pull away. "I nearly burned this whole fucking continent down looking for you. Just to get you back."

Harmony's breathing quickens. I can see the war inside her—hatred and desire battling for control. "I don't belong to you."

"You've always belonged to me." I press my forehead against hers. "Just like I've always belonged to you. Just like Brooke?—"

"Don't." Her hands fly up, pushing against my chest. "Don't you dare use her in this."

The tension between us pulls tighter, a string about to break. I can feel her resistance fracturing, see the moment when something inside her shatters.

And then she's launching herself at me, fingers twisting in my hair, mouth crashing against mine with a violence that matches the storm inside me. I growl against her lips, one hand gripping her waist, the other tangling in her curls, pulling just enough to make her gasp.

The kiss is brutal—teeth and tongue and five years of fury. She tastes exactly as I remember, like coming home and discovering something new all at once. My wings unfurl involuntarily, curling forward to envelop us both.

"I hate you," she gasps between kisses, her nails scoring my scalp. "I hate what you did to me."

I lift her, pinning her more firmly against the wall, her legs wrapping around my waist by instinct. "What exactly did I do, little bird?" I bite her lower lip, hard enough to punish. "Tell me what crime I'm guilty of."

"You made me believe you." Her voice breaks, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "You made me trust you when I knew better."

The accusation lands like a physical blow. I pull back just enough to look at her face, confusion cutting through my rage. "When did I ever lie to you?"

But she's kissing me again, fiercer now, like she's trying to devour the question before it can take root. Her hands are everywhere—my shoulders, my chest, tugging at my shirt like she can tear away the years between us.

I want to claim her and punish her all at once. Want to make her understand what these years have cost me. Want to mark her so thoroughly that running again would be impossible.

"I should punish you for what you did to me," I growl against her throat, tasting salt and sweetness.

"Me?" She nips at me, and I groan. "What did I do?"

I grip her throat, fingers digging into her jaw. "You've driven me fucking crazy for years, Harmony." I tip my face forward until our lips are nearly touching. "I am nothing but an obsessed man desperate for you."

Harmony lunges forward, her mouth crashing against mine with a ferocity that matches my own. Five years of separation burns away in an instant. I grip her thighs and lift her like she weighs nothing, her legs wrapping instinctively around my waist. The perfect fit of her body against mine sends a bolt of pure possession through my veins.

"Mine," I growl against her mouth, already walking us backward into the darkened restaurant.

Every step is torture, her body rocking against the hard length of me through our clothes. My wings spread wide behind me, the tips almost brushing the doorframe. Magic bleeds from my skin without conscious thought—silver-blue light dancing around us, casting shadows across her face as I crush her against the nearest wall.

"I feel your magic," she gasps, her head falling back as I attack her throat with teeth and tongue. "It's... wilder than before."

I laugh darkly against her skin. "You have no idea what I've become without you."

My power swirls around us, thick and heavy, sealing off sound and light from the outside world. Creating a pocket where nothing exists but us.

"Brooke—" Harmony's eyes dart upward, toward the ceiling.

"Won't hear a fucking thing." I catch her jaw in my hand, forcing her to look at me. "But I'll hear everything. Every sound, every breath." My thumb drags across her lower lip, pressing down until her mouth parts. "Every scream."

She shudders against me, and I feel her surrender in the melting of her body against mine. Her hands tear at my shirt, nails scratching against my skin in her haste.

"I've imagined this every night for five years," I confess, my voice raw as I shove the neck of her dress down, exposing her breasts to my hungry gaze. "Breaking you apart. Making you forget anyone but me."

Harmony's fingers fumble with the lacings of my pants. "Shut up and fuck me," she demands, and the sharp bite in her voice drives me to the edge of madness.

I rip her dress up to her waist, finding her already wet for me. My control fractures completely.

"No gentle reunion for us, little bird." I tear at my lacings, freeing myself with desperate hands. "Not after what you did."

She opens her mouth to argue, but I silence her with a brutal kiss, swallowing her words as I position myself against her entrance. The crystal geode I've carried for years digs into my thigh through my pocket—a constant reminder of everything I've lost.

"Tell me you want this," I command, barely recognizing my own voice.

Her eyes blaze up at me, defiance warring with desire. "Make me forget why I ran."

It's all the permission I need. I slam into her, burying myself to the hilt in one powerful thrust. She cries out, the sound vibrating through my mouth where it's sealed over hers. Her nails rake down my back, catching on the sensitive joints where my wings meet my spine.

"Fuck," I groan, the pleasure-pain nearly undoing me. "You're still perfect. Still made for me."

I pin her harder against the wall, one hand braced beside her head, the other gripping her hip hard enough to bruise. The position holds her exactly where I want her as I withdraw slightly and drive back into her, establishing a punishing rhythm that has her gasping for air.

"You feel that?" I rasp against her ear, punctuating each word with a thrust. "This is what you took from both of us when you ran."

Harmony's head falls back against the wall, her eyes half-closed, mouth parted in ecstasy. "Adellum—gods?—"

I clasp my hand over her mouth, feeling her moan against my palm. "You don't get to say my name like that. Not yet."

Her inner walls clench around me in response, and I have to grit my teeth against the wave of pleasure threatening to end this too quickly. My magic intensifies with my emotions, wrapping around us in tendrils of light that caress her skin, leaving trails of sensation wherever they touch.

She writhes against me, her body accepting me even as her mind still fights. I can feel her approaching the edge, her breathing growing ragged, her rhythm faltering. The knowledge that she's still so responsive to me, that no one else has touched what's mine in all these years, drives me to a frenzy.

"Come for me," I demand, removing my hand from her mouth to slip between our bodies, finding the spot that makes her tremble. "Let me feel you break apart."

Her body arches, her lips forming my name in a silent cry as she shudders around me. The sight of her—flushed, disheveled, utterly mine—pushes me past the point of no return. I bury my face against her neck as my climax tears through me, my wings curling forward to enfold us both completely.

For the first time in five years, the constant storm inside me calms. Harmony's heartbeat thunders against my chest, her breath warm against my skin. We remain locked together, neither willing to break the fragile peace of this moment.