Page 169 of Serpent In White

I just want to know if he would do the same for me…

His eyes reopen, and he gazes at me, irises a tumultuous blue ocean of varying emotions.

I wouldn’t be able to stop myself if I wanted to.

Stalking up to him, I grab his face, holding his chiseled jaw in my hands while I kiss him, gently greedy, until he hums satisfaction into my mouth like a scrumptious delicacy. When we pull apart, we’re both breathless, even though it was only a couple of seconds.

But that’s what he does to me… He renders me without air.

“I’m so sorry I did this, Darian.” I kiss him once more, quickly. “I’m sorry I brought this drama back with me.” Another peck to his soft lips. “I never anticipated that she would… I don’t know,” I sigh, dropping my forehead to his. “Maybe I am naïve. I wanted to believe the best in her… In people. But you guys were right about Outsiders. They can’t be trusted.”

A small grin tugs at Darian’s mouth. I feel it on mine as his large hands slide up my chest. “Shh. Hush now, my sweet prince. No apologies from you. You’ve done nothing wrong. Your trust is one of the things I love most about you. And in all honesty, the girl wasn’twrong.”

I pull back enough to gawk at him like he’s lost his mind.

He chuckles. “I’m not saying I endorse her wayward actions. And she will suffer repercussions for that little scene. But the thing about being a leader is knowing when to speak up, and when to listen.”

Watching him, in this moment, I’m not sure I could ever respect anyone more than this man. Heisa King, regardless of how strange that might sound to an Outsider. I don’t give a single fuck what anyone thinks.

Darian is a Royal. Born for it.

This time when my lips grace his, they’re as cherishing as they are desperate; hungry. I’m giving him all my love through my mouth and gradual flicks of my tongue while we taste each other, sucking with punishing force. And to my delight, I think he’s giving me the same thing back.

“Abdiel,” he murmurs on my mouth, pushing against me until I’m backing up. “I’m the one who’s sorry, baby. I wish I had told you about me and your father sooner. I was just…God, I was so worried it would mean the end of us, and we just started, baby. We just fucking started.”

“Maybe this makes me naïve too, but I don’t give a damn.” I pull him on top of me on his bed. “I don’t think anything could end us.”

“Nothing?” He grins in between our ferocious kisses, hands running all over.

“Not one single thing.”

He whimpers and sucks harder on my lips, giving me his tongue, brushing it over mine as he lifts my shirt. I help him get it off, and then I remove his, pulling him down so we can press our heated flesh together.

Next stop, we’re ripping at each other’s pants, fumbling to get closer to where we both want to be. Naked in his bed, loving with our bodies until there’s nothing left but luxe sensation.

Darian yanks away from my merciless kisses when we’re in our boxers, my hands inside his, exploring. “There is something I’ll need from you, my love.”

“Mmm… and I’ll give it to you,” I growl through a wicked grin, trailing my lips down his throat. “Deep andhard.”

He shudders. “No, not that.” He chuckles out a breathy rumble that’s so sexy I want to flip him over and penetrate him right this second. “After everything that’s happened in the last few days… Your leaving, whatever…feelingsyou have for the girl…”

He pauses after that part, his Adam’s apple dipping in this throat before my eyes. Glancing up, I witness the shining vulnerability in his gaze, hearing it in his mind all the same. It makes me feel like a giant piece of shit.

“Baby, I don’t know how I feel exactly, but I know it’s not even remotely the same as what I feel for you…” I start, but he stops me with a kiss.

“I know,” he breathes when he pulls away. “I know. I’m just saying, after all of it, I need to know that I have you, Abdiel. I need to know you’re not going anywhere. Because I don’t think I could handle it… Losing you.”

He gulps again, and I feel him pleading with me; a trembling need, yearning in his heart for me in a way that sends mine leaping with joy, yet still bogs it down.

“I would love to give that to you, my King,” I confess. “There’s nothing I want more, but you need to understand things from my point of view…”

“Prince Abdiel.” He settles over me, fingers rushing to hold my waist. “You know I want you. Do you want me?”

“Ilove you, Darian,” I tell him with absolute certainty. He smiles, biting to contain it. “But—”

“No,” he whispers, brushing his lips over mine. “Nobut.”

I chuckle. “Yes but. You’re still married.” He flinches, opening his mouth to argue. “And you’re in love with him, too.”