Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
“Don’t you think we’re risking him finding out by training with him?”
“Yes, but without proof, he won’t act. I know him well enough for that.”
“What happens if he does? What if he finds out about Archie and has proof and comes for us?”
“Then we’ll deal with it.”
She bit her lip. She didn’t like this. Kingston was almost a calming presence. He was so easy to be around because he’d known Graves longer than almost anyone. The thought that he might come after them because of what she’d done scared her.
“We handled Archie. No one is going to find out what happened,” Graves said. “All right? We’re inventing worst-case scenarios here. Trust me.”
She released a breath and nodded. He was right. She had the weight of the world on her shoulders today. “I do trust you, Graves.”
Then he pulled her into him and captured her lips. The bond at her center dimmed even further. With the interference in their relationship the last couple months, she wanted to stay in London forever to escape it.
His lips dipped to her neck, and she groaned as her head fell backward.
“Do you have a place here anymore?”
“A few but none nearby,” he said against her throat.
She reached for the waistband of his trousers and tugged him hard against her. “If only I could portal.”
He chuckled as he brought his lips back to hers. “Could you be quiet?”
“I…”
Then his hand slipped under the hem of her red dress as he hiked up the layers of material. He dragged his fingers along the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.
“Graves,” she hissed.
“Shh,” he breathed against her lips as he moved the fabric aside and slipped a finger down the seam of her center.
She gasped. “Just use your magic.”
After a moment, the world turned a brilliant gold as his magic worked to keep anyone from hearing them. “There. Are you happy?”
“Yes,” she moaned as he slipped a finger inside of her.
He met her lips again, and his tongue dove into her mouth. He tasted like the scotch he’d had at the opera.
While they had still been intimate in the months since the binding, it had been so oppressive that she had to actively concentrate on keeping Lorcan out of her head. It was the first time in so long that she felt like she could give in without inhibition.
Graves’s thumb swirled around her clit, and she shivered all over. She wanted more than this. So much more. She wanted to portal directly to a bed so that she could forget the rest of the world existed outside of this moment.
He curved his fingers inward at the top, and she gasped, dropping her head onto his shoulder.
“Graves, please…”
“Are you close for me?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Her fingers dug into his tuxedo jacket. She wanted all of him. Not this distance that they both felt and tried to ignore but could never quite escape. As if they could continue to go on like nothing happened and nothing had changed when their world had been turned upside down and every moment was a step away from shattering.
Still, her body knew his intimately. It wanted him with a ferocity that hadn’t diminished.
She cried out into his jacket as she came hard and fast. Like a swell hitting her head to toe. Her knees immediately gave way, and Graves caught her with a soft laugh.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” he said, brushing her hair out of her face and sliding a finger down the point of her ear. “Post-orgasm bliss.”
She sighed and fell into his arms like they were dancing. “Can we stay like this forever?”
“Of course.”
“Here? In London?”
“I think we’ll have to go home, Wren.”
“Yeah,” she whispered, brushing her dress back down. “Okay.”
Graves’s face was pinched as if he knew precisely what she was thinking. Home meant Lorcan. Home meant the bond. Home meant this tension that lingered between them unsaid.
“But we have here tonight,” he promised.
She nodded with relief. They still had tonight. Because every day that she didn’t let Lorcan Flynn win reminded her that this was what she fought for.
Chapter Ten
A few days of unsuccessful attempts and Kingston was prepared to give up on the current methods.
Graves practically kicked his feet as he watched Kingston’s failures. “You know we learned our magic over years, Kingston. You shouldn’t expect her to get it in a day.”
“We’re going about this wrong,” Kingston said. He leaned heavier on his cane and stamped it onto the wood as he thought.
Kierse leaned on her knees with a pant. The constant portal attempts made her magic stutter and her energy lag. “How long did it take you to figure it out?”
Kingston waved his hand.
“Let me translate,” Graves said. “He doesn’t remember.”
“I have an impeccable memory.” Kingston pointed the cane at him. “I remember that time that you struggled with your secondary powers and got caught working with gunpowder to test your noise distortion.”