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Farah faced the vast sea, watching the waves crest and break before rolling against her feet. The birds squawked around her as the breeze lifted her hair and brushed against her cheek. After two trips to the coast, she was finally standing at the water. It was everything she had imagined it would be. The sun warmed her despite the chilly wind and cool water. Her feet sank into the wet sand that pushed between her toes. Only one thing was missing.

Two weeks of intense treatments from Sundar had rid her of the poison. She had ignored his wishes for her to remain another few days, but he had stated the poison was out of her system. She had hidden away for long enough. It was time to face the world—and her decisions.

She hadn’t intended to return to Siguk , but her feet had taken her straight to the coast. No amount of telling herself she didn’t want to love Rohan had worked. Her heart already belonged to him. It always would. He had opened her eyes to a world she hadn’t believed had anything left to give her. How very wrong she had been.

Even if she wanted to talk to him, it was too late. She glanced over her shoulder at the cliffside and the vacant dwellings. Everyone was gone. She wasn’t surprised after all they had suffered. A fresh start was just what they needed.

What hurt was that he hadn’t tried to find her. At least not that she was aware of. Dain would’ve told her. After all, the moment she woke, he was the one who revealed that everyone was healed and at Siguk . She had relived her two kisses with Rohan hundreds of times as she lay at Sundar’s . Especially the second one. That hadn’t been for show. Rohan had meant it. Had his feelings changed? Maybe he realized how difficult a relationship with an elf would be. Their time at Amberstar had shown them that. Or maybe his feelings didn’t run as deep as hers.

Things between them felt incomplete. There hadn’t been a farewell, no well wishes for a happy future, just a separation that she had instigated because she feared what loving someone meant.

Rohan could be anywhere. She could spend a lifetime searching and never find him. She’d made the mistake of entering the hut she had used when Rohan brought her to Siguk . Everything was just as they’d left it. Memories of Rohan were everywhere she looked. They were in the very air. Those recollections played out before her, allowing her to see his expressions again, hear his voice. The dam of tears cracked. She wept as she had never wept before.

For a future that might have been.

For what she’d had for a short while.

For Nitya .

She cried until there were no more tears. Then she came down to the shore. Finally , she knew what the sea felt like. This had been Rohan’s world, and she had been a part of it for a brief time.

She wrapped her arms around her middle and allowed herself to dream of a future. It was the first time she had dared such a thing since Nitya left. Farah conjured a make-believe life with Rohan . It was so beautiful she wanted to remain in her fantasy. But life didn’t work that way—no matter how much she wished it could.

All her tears had dried, and fate had decided Rohan wasn’t to be hers. It was time for her to move forward. That meant a trip home. It was time she saw her parents. She intended to tell them she had confirmed Nitya was dead, but she wouldn’t tell them the rest. She wanted them to hold on to the good memories of their daughter.

Farah dropped her arms and turned to walk to the ladder. She did a double take when she saw a man standing at the top of the cliff. Her heart skipped a beat, and she halted. She knew that stance. The man stared for a moment more before he began the climb down the rock face of the mesa. Farah started running across the vast expanse of thick sand that kept tangling her feet.

Rohan shouted her name as she reached the ladder. She looked up to find him already off the cliff and jumping from one platform to another without even using the ladders. She backed up a few steps to watch his muscular body as he drew closer. The climb down the final ladder to the sand was almost too much.

Then , he was standing before her.

He was breathing hard, his celadon eyes moving over her face as if she were the most precious thing he had ever seen. “ I saw you at the water like I had so many times in my dreams. I thought you were a figment of my imagination. Then you turned.”

Her mind buzzed with a thousand different questions as she drank in the sight of him. She wanted to touch him, hug him, and kiss him all at once. “ What are you doing here? I thought everyone had left.”

“ We did.” He swallowed, his throat bobbing. “ I was taking them to the mountains, but it didn’t feel right. We turned around to come back. What are you doing here?”

“ I came for you. I thought I was too late.”

“ Never ,” he said.

They reached for each other at the same time, their lips crashing together in a fevered frenzy, each frantic for a taste of the other. He stole her breath as his kisses aroused and enthralled her. Her body melted against his, her lips eagerly parting for him. His hard body trapped hers as he deepened the kiss.

She dug her fingers into his shoulder muscles to remain upright. Her world was spinning out of control, and at the center was Rohan —steady and solid. Never had a kiss been such sweet seduction, such tantalizing persuasion. He unleashed all his intoxicating virility upon her. She was no match for his commanding potency, his masterful touch.

Her chest heaved when he lifted his head, and his celadon gaze speared hers. His eyes burned with desire. Scorched her with the intensity of his need. Chills of anticipation raced over her skin. She had longed for his touch, craved his kisses. Ached for something she hadn’t dared to voice, something she thought could never be hers.

Farah couldn’t keep her hands off him. She traced the hard line of his jaw and his square chin. And , finally, she gave in to the need and slid her fingers into the cool strands of his long, dark hair.

“ Come with me,” he urged in a voice roughened by desire.

She would go anywhere he asked. He released her, went to the ladder, and began climbing. She watched him, mesmerized by his movements. Her legs shook as she followed him to the middle level. Once there, he took her hand and led her across several bridges to a hut near the one she had used. He shoved open the door and yanked her inside, moving her against the door before claiming her mouth again.

There were no words between them.

There was no need.

Everything could be felt, sensed… shared .

Chills raced down her arm when his hand skimmed her flesh. His caress was tender and possessive, gentle and sensual. He pulled a moan from her when his mouth found her neck. She turned her head to the side to give him better access. While his lips worked their magic, he took her hands and pinned them over her head. She arched her back, rubbing her breasts against him and wringing a groan from him.

He held her wrists as he lifted his head, giving them a slight squeeze—a silent command for her to keep them there. Then , he leisurely glided his palms down her arms and sides to the hem of her tunic. Her body was primed for him. She was about to rip the shirt off herself, but she kept her arms above her head, impatient and ravenous with desire.

He didn’t yank off her shirt. That wasn’t his style. Instead , he slid his hands beneath the hem and rested them on her waist. With her shirt gathered at his wrists, he stroked his hands up her sides. She sucked in a breath when he paused to rub his thumbs along the undersides of her breasts. A small smile played at his lips, but it was the darkening of his eyes that made her knees weak.

He continued his upward movement so his hands slid over her breasts in a frustratingly slow glide. She bit her lip and groaned when he passed over her nipples. They were instantly hard, her breasts swelling and aching for more. He persisted in his unhurried removal of her tunic until his hands reached her shoulders, moved up her raised arms, and finally over her head.

He casually cast her shirt aside as his gaze lowered to her chest, where he could see the outline of her turgid nipples through the thin, tight shirt made to hold her breasts. She lowered her arms and gripped the wall as he moved a finger around her nipples, never touching them, teasing her mercilessly.

She was quickly becoming a puddle of need, and she hadn’t even gotten to touch him yet. That had to change. She grabbed the hem of his shirt. His eyes crinkled at the corners as if daring her. She laid both hands flat on the warm skin of his waist. There was steel beneath her fingertips, and she wanted a good look at it. She wasn’t as slow in her removal of his shirt—a quick push up to his shoulders and then over his head before tossing it aside.

The hard sinew of his chest lay before her, begging to be explored. Her palms flattened on his pecs. His delicious heat met her skin. She caressed over hard muscle and a dusting of hair, feeling every tremor, every twitch that went through him. Just as she reached for the waist of his trousers, he kissed her again and again until she couldn’t remember her name.

Only then did he kneel before her and remove her boots. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. No male—mortal or elf—had ever shown her such care, such attention. She smoothed away a lock of hair that fell into his eyes. A smile pulled at her lips when he neatly set aside her boots before looking up at her. She felt beautiful and…wanted. Desired like never before. It wasn’t until that moment that she knew she had been searching for just such a look in someone’s eyes.

Her breath caught in her chest when his fingers slid between the waist of her pants and her skin. With their gazes locked and the flames of desire mounting with each heartbeat, he gradually tugged her pants over her hips and down her legs until they pooled at her feet. He grasped one leg at a time and freed them.

When he straightened, she rose onto her toes and kissed him. His arms were bands of steel as they came around her, locking her against him. His arousal pressed against her stomach, causing desire to pool between her legs. An urgency filled her, a hunger to have him inside her in that instant.

Her hands shook when she grasped the fastening of his pants. This time, he didn’t stop her when she loosened them. She pushed the opening wider and caught a glimpse of his cock. Her sex throbbed with need.

Within moments, he was nude. She stared in wonder at the beautiful man before her. His hand slid around her neck and dragged her against him for another scorching kiss. The longer they kissed, the wilder their passion became. He bent and tightened his arms around her, lifting her and walking them to the bed. He gently lowered her onto the mattress, never breaking their kiss.

Rohan had never been so consumed by anyone before Farah . He couldn’t get enough of her delightful lips, sweet taste, or passionate responses. She was fire and softness in his arms. Her feminine curves were pleasing, as was the toned muscle he felt beneath her silky skin.

He rocked his hips against her and moaned at the incredible feeling. Her nails dug into his back as she opened her legs wider, cushioning him against her core. Need , craving… hunger slammed into him. He fisted a hand in the blanket and fought to rein in the insistent yearning. Rohan ended the kiss and rose onto his hands, his arms straightening. When he loomed over her, she blinked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes and kiss-swollen lips.

She was a sight to behold. He had dreamed of this moment so many times. He gazed at firm breasts that were a perfect handful, and pink-tipped nipples. They were too much to resist. He bent his arms and flicked his tongue over one hard peak. Her moan made his balls tighten with need. He settled between her legs and suckled the nipple while teasing the other with his fingers.

Her hips rocked against him, and her moans grew louder, causing a sheen of sweat to break out over his skin. He moved from one breast to the other, teasing, fondling, and licking each tight bud until small cries fell from her lips.

He kissed the valley between her breasts and moved over her stomach to her hips. His gaze briefly lifted to her face as he kneeled on the floor. Her chest heaved, and her lips parted. He finally looked down at the triangle of red curls and her sex that glistened with desire. He stroked his palms up her shapely legs, pushing them wider, then gently tugged her to the edge of the bed.

When he leaned close and slowly licked her, her moan filled the room. He used his thumbs to lightly caress the junction of her thighs as he found her clit and leisurely rolled his tongue around it. Her hips bucked against him as her soft cries turned to shouts of pleasure the more he licked and laved her swollen clit. Only when she was writhing on the bed, her head thrashing from side to side, did he slide a finger inside her.

She came apart with a scream.