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C ora had no thoughts. None. Just shock and lust and…what had he just said? He’d spoken, but she’d been too distracted to hear.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t arrive a second later,” he said. “Unless…an eyeful is what you were going for.”

Her eyes dipped back down to the open top button of his trousers and she realized what he was referring to. Had she invaded his room any later…

Her cheeks blazed. What the hell had she been thinking? What had she nearly walked in on? Sure, he could have been undressing for bed, but he also could have been preparing to do…other things.

She clenched her teeth as if she could chew through her mortification. How had she not considered the myriad of situations she could have stumbled upon? She’d been expecting a tired, frail figure asleep on the bed, not a virile young man encased in muscle with a teasing smirk on his lips.

What an idiot she’d been. “I should go,” she muttered as she whirled abruptly on her heels?—

She stumbled as hands framed her shoulders and tugged her back a step. It took her a moment to realize what she’d almost collided with. Straight ahead was the closed bedroom door that she’d nearly slammed into in her haste to get away. Teryn had pulled her back just in time…and now held her against his chest, every inch of his bare torso pressed against her back. His skin was hot against the bare flesh at the nape of her neck—the only exposed skin that touched his.

His voice rumbled low in her ear, his breath warming its shell. “Is that any way to greet your fiancé?”

Her heart slammed against her ribs and she was certain he could feel its rhythm as he held her close from behind. She opened her mouth but she was too dumbfounded to conjure anything like a clever retort. Or any retort.

“Or…” He drew out the word as he took a step back, breaking their too-warm contact, and gently turned her to face him. With his hands still on her shoulders—his hold looser now—he asked, “Are you here to break things off with me? Did you have me travel all the way here just to tell me you’ve changed your mind about us?”

“No,” she managed to blurt out. His lips curled in that devious way again and she realized he was teasing. She let herself smile then, let herself focus on all that was familiar about him. His grin, his emerald eyes, his sharp cheekbones. And his voice. The voice she’d yearned to hear every day for the last several months. She blew out a breath, her nerves unraveling.

But her calm was short-lived, for in the next moment, he closed the distance he’d created and moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek. Her heart racketed once more, and her eyes dipped to his mouth. Was he going to kiss her? She’d been waiting for this moment for so long, yet none of her fantasies had gone like this. She averted her gaze to his neck, taking in the circular scars on both sides of his throat, twins to her own, caused by the magic-suppressing collar they’d both briefly worn. Her eyes flashed back to his, but she couldn’t meet his gaze. So instead, she dragged her attention further down. But that only brought her to…

Muscles.

Naked skin.

And…Mother Goddess, why did he look so good?

Her cheeks burned hot as she wrenched her eyes back to his face and found a furrow between his brows.

Slowly, he let his hand slide from her cheek and stepped back again. “What’s wrong? Am I making you uncomfortable?” There was no jest in his tone this time, only genuine concern.

That made her heart sink. Squeezing her eyes shut, she delivered an internal scolding. Get ahold of yourself, Cora!

As she opened her eyes, she forced herself to hold his gaze without blushing. Or…tried to. “No,” she said, voice level. “I just didn’t expect you to be so…so…”

Healthy.

Awake.

Handsome.

He arched a teasing brow. “So…?”

She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Shirtless.”

He smirked at that. “Well, I was about to take a nap. I rode hard to see you.” The words rode hard conjured the wrong images in her head. “When Master Arther told me you were preoccupied, I figured I’d get some rest.”

“Why were you taking off your pants?” As soon as the question left her lips, she regretted asking. Why the hell did she ask that?

“I don’t sleep clothed,” he said with a chuckle. “You would have learned that eventually. Sooner rather than later.” He winked and sent her stomach flipping.

How the seven devils could he flirt so easily with her, speak to her as if no time had passed, as if a great tragedy hadn’t nearly killed him, while she was so flustered? She supposed he’d been prepared to see her exactly as she was. Meanwhile, she’d been picturing a very different version of him.

He squinted, studying her with puzzled amusement. “Why do you seem disappointed?”

“I’m not disappointed. I’m just…I didn’t expect…” She waved a hand at his torso. When the gesture failed to deliver her point, she propped her hands on her hips and asked, “Why the hell are you in such good shape?”

“Were you hoping your husband was an invalid?” His tone was teasing again, and it helped ease her nerves.

“No. Just…” Her cheeks blazed like a wildfire. She pursed her lips to hide her embarrassed smile.

“I like seeing you flustered over me for once. It makes me feel like less of an idiot.”

She shifted to the side and covered her face in her hands. “I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?”

“What’s ridiculous,” Teryn said, voice dipped low, “is you haven’t let me kiss you yet.”

Lifting her face, she glanced at him sidelong, saw the want in his eyes, the serious edge of his jaw. Maybe this wasn’t the reunion she’d spent months planning for, but it was the one she’d yearned for. He was the one she’d yearned for, no matter what he looked like, no matter his health, his condition, his status. She wanted him. Loved him. And he was finally here. Home.

Steeling her resolve, she fully faced him again. This time she closed the distance between them of her own accord. He was so much taller than her, she had to angle her head back to hold his hungry gaze. When only a few sparse inches separated them, she lifted a hand and rested it over his chest. Her palm thrummed, with magic, with his heartbeat, with the heat of their contact. She rested her other hand at the nape of his neck, beneath his silver-white hair.

“All right,” she said, her words trembling. “I’m ready.”

Teryn’s expression softened, opened, reflecting Cora’s vulnerability as he slowly wound his arms around her waist. Then, inch by inch, as if afraid any sudden move might make her flee, he lowered his lips to hers. Their mouths met in a kiss so soft, so tender and sweet, it made Cora want to weep. He kissed her again, the pressure firmer, and all her embarrassment melted away. There was no room for it here, not where their lips met. When he kissed her once more, she pulled him closer, angled her head, and parted her lips. His grip on her waist tightened, and he slid one hand up her spine until it cradled the back of her head. She parted her lips further and his tongue swept against hers, caressing it with needy, probing want.

“Gods, I missed you,” he said against her open mouth. The words made her shudder with pleasure. He’d said as much in his letters but hearing those words, as coated as they were in desire, was better than anything she could have imagined.

“Teryn,” she whispered.

He stiffened against her, his fingertips digging into the hair at the base of her coronet. His words came out deep, throaty. “Say my name again.”

She startled at the demand in his tone, but it was a pleasant kind of shock. Memories blossomed, bringing her back to that dark night last summer, when she’d said his name again and again while he fought to retake his body from Morkai. She expected those memories to dampen her desire, but they didn’t. Instead, they reminded her that he’d come back. Time and again, whenever she’d uttered his name, touched his face, he’d come back to her. He’d fought Morkai’s possession because of the connection she and Teryn shared.

Her heart opened even more, flooding with warmth. Finally, she gave in to his order and repeated his name. “Teryn.”

He devoured the word with another kiss, one hard and unyielding. “Seven devils, I missed the sound of your voice.”

She was about to return the sentiment, but before she could, his hands encircled her waist and lifted her with ease. Her bottom hit a hard surface, and she released a grunt of surprise. It took a moment to realize she was now sitting on his dresser. Shock turned to thrill as his lips found hers again, then his hands found her ankles, her calves, her knees. Inch by inch, he lifted her voluminous skirts higher, allowing him to step between her legs. She aided his efforts, dragging her unwanted layers out of the way until she could hook her calves around his waist.

His lips left hers to trail down her neck, then across her collarbone. Slowly, he brushed his mouth over the upper curve of her breast, the flesh raised above the tight bodice of her gown. His hand cupped the other side and she was suddenly desperate to do away with her gown altogether. She arched into him, a fire burning hot in her core. She’d never felt desire so strong, not even when they’d kissed against the tree after Teryn proposed to her. The power of her yearning was terrifying. Addicting. Begging to be quenched.

She pulled him closer, tightening her legs around his waist. His lips left her breast to return to her eager mouth, while his hand slid from her bodice down to her thigh, resting over the hem of her silk stockings. His thumb slowly swept back and forth, and she was desperate to feel his fingers slide beneath her garter, unhook it, and climb higher. Yet his hand did no such thing, remaining on her silk-clad skin. The most delicious frustration surged through her, so she let her hands wander where his did not, sweeping them over his chest, his arms, his back. She slid her palm down the front of his abdomen. His muscles flexed against her palm, and a tremor ran through him.

Mother Goddess, she was drunk on the feel of him and she wanted more. She wanted every inch of his skin, everywhere. She wanted to paint their love with their bodies, their tongues…

The word love cooled some of the fire that had taken over her senses.

Right. None of her plans regarding their reunion including lovemaking within the first few minutes of seeing each other. Not that she truly minded, but she’d promised herself she’d express her feelings before they took a single step further in their relationship. Her surprise at seeing him looking so well may have thrown a hitch into some of her preparations, but she was determined to keep the others intact.

With a strangled moan, she pulled her lips from his and leaned slightly back. “Wait,” she uttered.

Teryn froze at the word, though his chest heaved with rapid panting.

Silence enveloped them, save for the cadence of their breaths, as Cora cooled her ardor enough to get the next words out. “I need to talk to you about something before we…”

“Before we what?”

“Before we…” She stared down at the nonexistent space between them. “Before we do this.”

A corner of his mouth flicked up. “This? What exactly is this you speak of?”

She gave him a withering look. “You know what I’m talking about.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did you think I was going to take you here and now? That our first time would be on a dresser?”

The way he said that paired with the visuals in her head made her wish she hadn’t said a word. She had no qualms about being taken here and now on a dresser.

“You did, didn’t you? What a dirty mind you have.”

She scoffed. “Me?”

He arched a brow, and she suddenly noticed the placement of her hands. One was still pressed to his chest, but the other…

Her gaze dipped to the thumb and forefinger that were frozen over the button of his trousers. She’d been in the process of loosening it when she’d broken their kiss.

He wasn’t the one who’d tried to take things further, she was.

She yanked her hand away, but he caught it in his and brought it to his lips. “I’m teasing,” he said, then released her, taking a full step back, breaking the circle of her thighs around his waist. “You’re right. We should talk first.”

She opened her mouth, but how the hell could she speak from the heart and say all the things she wanted to say if her heart wasn’t currently in charge?

The flash of heat burning between her thighs reminded her exactly which part of her was in charge, and it wasn’t interested in conversation. She bit her lip, eyes skating over the sheen of sweat that had just begun to glisten on his chest. Would it really be so bad to just pull him back to her and…save talk for later? She wasn’t chaste by any means. She’d enjoyed a few short trysts when she’d lived with the Forest People, experiments devoid of love.

And yet, it was different with Teryn. There was love between them, and she needed him to know that. Needed him to know exactly what she wanted from their union. It was more than desire. More than attraction. More than a political alliance for the sake of their kingdoms.

Cora had practiced putting all of this into words, but her lust was chasing it away. She needed to gather her bearings. Reassess. Come back with a clear head.

She swallowed hard and leveled her voice. “Let’s talk later.”

He grinned. “After dinner then? Come to my room.” When she said nothing, he added, “I promise I’ll be fully clothed.”

A shy smile lifted her lips. “All right. For now, I should go.”

With a nod, he held out his hand and helped her down from the dresser. She could barely meet his eyes as she smoothed down her wrinkled skirts. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Tonight,” he whispered back, his knuckles briefly brushing her forearm.

Everything inside her wanted to fold into his arms with a parting kiss, but she knew better. A parting kiss would turn into so much more. So instead, she turned her back on him. Then, letting her desire fuel her magic, she closed her eyes, pictured her bedroom, and disappeared.