Page 47 of The King’s Man (The Kingdom of the Krow #3)

He lay on his side under the furs, our bound hands raised to the jackets we’d rolled under our heads for pillows.

He looked pensive. I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing really, just… I was thinking about what tonight would require.”

“Entering the city?”

He nodded, his free hand rested on my hip and he squeezed it.

“Jann? What’s going on?”

“We’re going to need to cut the bindings,” he said quietly.

Oh. Shit.

I frowned and he hurried on. “It will draw too much attention to have you tied to me outside of a Neph camp—and I don’t want you hindered if we meet a fight. Not to mention that we’ll need the freedom of movement to split up if we find any leads. I’m not putting you at risk just to—”

“It’s okay,” I sighed and stroked his stubbled cheek, letting my fingernails scratch through those warm prickles. “It was always going to happen.”

He nodded, but his eyes searched mine like he was nervous.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I don’t want to,” he said quickly. “It’s a practical decision, but not what I would choose—”

“It’s okay, Jann. I agree.”

He looked mollified, and I was glad that he cared, but there was a deep ache in the pit of my chest about it. It was awkward being tied together, but a small part of me feared losing him when we weren’t. I knew that was silly—the bond was real whether we were bound at all. But the thought niggled.

“Dee?” Jann’s hand slid to my face and he tipped up my chin, leaning on the elbow of the hand that was bound to mine. “Do we cut it, or untie it?”

“Cut it,” I said. Untying it would be—”

“Forget I said it,” he said quietly, his frown deepening. He leaned away from me, reaching for something behind him.

A blade.

He placed it on the furs between us and we both stared at it.

My heart sank. But I was arguing with myself. So silly! This had to be done—he was right that it would draw too much attention to walk through the city tied together like that. And we both needed to be free to fight or flee or follow leads in different directions.

There was no reason to fight it… except that my heart still lurched from the thoughts of the destroyed city and…

‘Don’t overthink it,’ he sent and I smiled a little bit, because it was the first time he’d remembered and reached for me in the link before I reached for him.

‘I’m thinking about how I need to stop thinking about it,’ I admitted with a little shake of my head.

Jann growled and reached over my waist to pull my hips closer. He was hard, I realized. I blinked and looked up at him, half-smiling.

‘Really, General?’

‘I can think of worse ways to cut the tie, than in the throes of an orgasm.’

I snorted, smiling into his kiss when he leaned in and took my mouth, then rolled me over onto my back.

We were both still naked, so there was no further awkwardness or need to cut through clothing. But at first, I couldn’t relax. The knife lay benignly on the furs next to my arm.

Jann gathered me in and kissed me deeply, settling himself between my thighs and pinning me to the furs—a sensation I usually loved, but the moment he rolled against me I tensed.

He stopped immediately, pushing up on his elbows to look down at me, his warrior’s length falling over his shoulder, tangled and messy from my fingers gripping it earlier.

“Dee.”

“Just do it,” I whispered. “I’m not going to be able to think about anything else until you do.”

“We don’t have to—”

“I want you. I do. I just… I just need to get it done. I agree that it’s time. I’m not mad. I’m sad.”

He nodded, slowly, then reached for the blade, but after a thoughtful moment, still covering me, bracing on his elbows, he lifted our bound hands and placed the blade against it—but didn’t press the fabric.

“Put your hand on it too,” he said gruffly.

I frowned, but did as he said, gripping his fist that held the knife. His hand was so much bigger, I only clasped the broad expanse of his fingers, but I watched as it seemed like both our hands moved and the blade edge pressed through the linen.

My heart sank when the tie was cut, and I let go of his hand, reaching for the twisted lengths to untangle them, but Jann tossed the blade aside and caught my hand—and twined the fingers of our now half-bound hands with the length still wrapped around the wrists.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Showing you that it isn’t a piece of linen that keeps me at your side,” he muttered, then dove for my mouth and entered me in the same moment.

I gasped and almost bit his tongue as I arched instinctively, my body thrilled with the sensation of him filling me.

Jann grabbed both my hands and lifted them over my head, pressing them down into the furs and bracing against them, arching his back to hover over me, his jaw slack as he drew out of me all the way, only to drive back in with a low snarl that raised goosebumps on the back of my neck.

“Diadre, look at me,” he growled.

Tearing my gaze from his beautiful chest, I locked eyes with him and something in the bond swelled.

“I’m here,” he said roughly, keeping our half-bound hands over my head, but letting go of the other to stroke my face, then down my neck, to my breast, teasing my nipple before curling himself down to suck that peak into his mouth as he rolled his hips and took me again, and again, and again.

And soon I’d stopped thinking about the binding, or what it meant.

As he danced within me and growled assurances of his presence and protection, I forgot there was any other reason that we were in this clinch.

I didn’t notice when his hand let go of mine and dragged down my arm, because he was growling his approval as I arched my back and pushed my breast higher, further into his mouth.

I wasn’t aware of being untethered when I reached for his chest and stroked with both hands, because it was a startling turn on to see my pale fingers splayed over his broad pecs—and then to lace my fingers behind his neck and pull him down into a kiss.

And by the time I was lost in the ecstasy of that final wave, and he roared his own, I’d forgotten about any binding but the cord that tied us, soul to soul.

That golden thread that glowed and swelled with every kiss and stroke.

And the steel core of it that, no matter how I tugged, or tore, refused to break.

‘Mine,’ I breathed as Jann shuddered and collapsed over me. ‘You’re truly mine.’

He grunted, his body still twitching, but moments later, he raised his head to meet my eyes, panting.

“Did you question it?” he asked hoarsely, stroking the hair back from my face with his now-free hand.

“I suppose I did,” I whispered, turning my face into his palm to kiss the callouses there.

“Well, don’t,” he growled. “I have never been more emasculated than when my body urges me to tuck my tail and run at the thought of losing you.”

I snorted, smiling into the long, soft kiss he gave me then.

And I only barely grieved it when we were finally forced to roll away from each other and get out of the furs.