Chapter 80-2
Claim
“Like he’s prepping for war,” I murmured. “Irene might be able to recognize the different magic. You
just need to keep your head down until we can get to her.”
I watched Kiana yawn, her lashes fluttering as exhaustion weighed down her small frame. A quick glance at my watch told me it was still early in the evening, but she needed sleep. We all did. My voice was steady as I assigned watch shifts, sending everyone off until the room emptied.
The second the silence settled, she started peeling off her clothes, crawling into bed with slow, tired movements. I turned away quickly, giving her privacy. She’d told me Morven hadn’t touched her like that, and just an hour ago she’d been curled in my lap… but I wasn’t going to push.
“I need you.”
The words were so soft I almost thought I imagined them. My head snapped around anyway, and
before I knew it I was moving.
I crossed the room in a few strides and scooped her into my arms. Settling onto the bed, I pulled her into my lap, pressing my face into her neck. Her skin was warm, her pulse quick under my mouth, but all I could see were the bruises scattered across her body. Purple. Yellow. Fading in some places, raw in others.
“Are those all from Willa?”
“Most. I tried injuring myself a few times to get to the infirmary. Some of them I came by honesty
at the bar. Some…”
Some were from Morven.
“They’ll fade,” she murmured.
“I’ll always know that he put his hands on you after I swore that he would never touch you again.”
With a sigh, she touched my face, her fingers trembling but sure. “I went with him. Remember? None of this is on you, Troy. You told me to trust you, and I couldn’t do that.”
“Can you now?”
For once, she didn’t shy away from the intimacy in my question. Instead, she gave me a small, breaking smile. “I think so.”
I kissed her softly, meaning to keep it gentle-just a brush of lips, something she could lean into or pull away from. I told myself I’d let her set the pace, that I’d give her all the space in the world if she
needed it.
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Chapter 80-2
But the moment our mouths met, something surged alive between us. A spark. A fragile and golden thread, frayed and thin but there. My chest squeezed at the familiar pulse, and before I could draw another breath, she gasped and shifted into my lap, straddling me with desperate
urgency.
“Did you feel that?” she whispered, eyes wide.
Clarm
“I did.” My voice came out rough, reverent. “I told you it would return. Irene just thought… it might
take more time.”
Her tears spilled before she could stop them, and when she tried to turn her head away, I caught her face in both hands, brushing them away with my thumbs. “I know you were scared, Kiana. I know you felt alone. But if there had been any other way-any way at all-I would’ve taken it. Being cut off from you… not feeling you… it was the emptiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
Her arms wound tight around my neck, pulling me down into her kiss. This one wasn’t soft. It was raw, deep and desperate. Her body rocked against mine, rubbing over the thick, aching bulge straining my pants until I thought I’d split apart from sheer need,
“I need you naked. Please.” Her voice broke on the word please as she fumbled with my shirt, tugging at it with clumsy, frantic hands.
I raised my arms instantly, letting her strip it off me, and the look in her eyes when she saw me bare nearly undid me.
“Don’t let go, baby,” I rasped as I rose up to my knees, clutching her to me. Her legs locked around my waist, her face burying into my neck as I fumbled with my fly. The zipper hissed down, my pants loosening just enough before I shoved them over my hips. In one hungry motion, I flipped her beneath me, pressing her into the mattress, needing the weight of my body covering hers.
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