Page 64 of Night’s Fall (The Four Realms #1)

“Your pain that I can’t assuage, giving it to the entire world?” he asked.

My gods, this beautiful male.

“You have things I can’t fix either,” I reminded him.

“Does it burn in you, threaten to consume every thought, control every action?”

Holy Hecate .

“It bothers me, a whole lot,” I told him, beginning to feel a gnawing sense of worry. “ But it doesn’t do that. Is that how you feel?”

“At the audience, it took everything I had not to shake them until their necks snapped. Even so, I had to find more, so my creature wouldn’t release, clench them in his jaw, fly over the sea and drop them in the middle of it.”

Whoa.

He was talking about my parents.

“It’s primal,” he grunted.

I froze.

“It troubles me,” he admitted.

I stared at him.

So I saw him wince and felt his hands move soothingly on me as he said, “ I shouldn’t have shared that. It’s not something I should burden you with.”

“You love me,” I stated impassively, and it was impassive because, if I let just a hint of what I was feeling loose, I would explode with it.

His hands stopped moving, but he didn’t say anything.

“You love me, and your creature loves her,” I said.

“Laura, we’re mates,” he pointed out. “ But I don’t wish to alarm you. It’s too soon.”

It wasn’t too soon.

It just was.

“I love you, and she loves him,” I declared.

“ Effortlessly . Limitlessly . I don’t love the True Heir .

I love Aleksei . I love the male who lets my cat lay on his stomach while he strokes her and brings me coffee and breakfast in bed so I can work.

I love the cute Aleksei who hovered through a flyby to bring me Captain Jacques’s and I love the fierce Aleksei who wants to shake my parents until their necks snap. ”

“That last isn’t my finest urge, love,” he said quietly.

I shook my head vehemently. “ I don’t care.

It’s a part of you. They all are what makes you.

You’ve given me a family. Sure , they’re a king and queen, a princess and a couple of emotionally stunted princes, but it isn’t about that either.

It’s about them, who they really are. You’ve given me a sense of belonging.

You’ve given me a home.” I pressed into his chest. “ You gave me all of that, Aleksei .”

“You had all of that, Laura , with the Truelocks , the Vinestrongs .”

“I love them to my soul, but it’s not the same.

You have a family, and you all have issues, that’s true, but you still have a family and there’s love and care there.

You can’t know how it feels to live your life not having that.

It’s about belonging to someone. It’s about how I know I belong to you .

Who we are, the strength of what we feel, it isn’t about the True Heir and his True Bride , it isn’t about being mates.

It’s because I’m Laura . And you’re Aleksei . ”

He rolled so he was on top of me.

“You love me,” he said, like he was just processing my words.

“I knew I was falling. I just realized I landed. And when I did, I did it hard.” I rested my hand on the side of his face. “ You’ve given me the sky and stars, baby, in so many ways. And I treasure it.”

A sound rumbled from his chest that was so predacious, I wasn’t sure if it came from Aleksei or his creature, before he took my mouth and kissed me, then we made love again.

Right, well, it was too energetic and desperate and communicative to be considered making love, but you get the gist.

When we were done, and I was recovering (okay, sweating and panting), he rolled from me to reach his suit jacket on the floor and pull out his Palm .

He made an audio-only comm, commanding, “ I need you to contact Muriel and clear my schedule for today. And Laura and I need almond croissants and fruit bowls from Lesendre’s .”

At the mention of Lesendre’s , the best patisserie in the city, I suddenly found the strength to roll toward him. “ Oo , and four religieuse and a dozen madeleines for later. And pain au chocolat for tomorrow morning. Oh , and some of those swirly, vanilla frosted things, just because.”

“Did you get that?” Aleksei asked. He paused and then, “ And two large café au laits. We’ll want Benninden’s for lunch.”

Yes!

The sandwiches at Benninden’s were to kill for .

Aleksei looked at me.

“The turkey and salami melt. And their toffee cookie,” I ordered.

“Add beef and Emmental to that, and a cashew chocolate cookie,” he said into his Palm . “ I’ll comm later about dinner.” Pause then, “ Great . My appreciation.”

He tossed his Palm casually to the irreplaceable silver-gilded black nightstand and turned back to me.

“Okay, Lesendre’s and Benninden’s , maybe I love you just a little bit because you’re super farging rich and titled so you can order your aide to bring us the city’s finest food we’ll be eating in a castle while we have a sex-fest,” I admitted.

Aleksei snatched me to him as he burst out laughing.

The sound rang out in the cavernous room.

Honestly?

As much as I loved it here, I hadn’t been sure about Spikeback .

The penthouse was totally our place.

But hearing his laughter echo in that room, I realized I was wrong.

Every place was our place.

But this was where I learned he loved me, and I told him I loved him.

So this would be our new place.

And whatever life brought us, we’d find the same thing there.

Always, with my Aleksei .