Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
The realization shocked him so hard that he froze.
She was telling him she would do it again, shield him again with her body, and die if necessary. And she did not do it because duty to the king demanded it.
She had done so because she loved him enough to give her own life without a single thought for herself.
He could easily love her. Or did he already?
The thought kept him frozen in place, though only for a moment. He did the only thing he could.
He turned and walked out the door.
He took barely two steps when he stopped abruptly. He felt the pain of losing her. It struck like a dagger to his heart. If he walked away now, it would be forever. He would have no choice but to send her away. He would never see her again. Never feel her hand in his, warm and welcoming. Never know the pleasure of her kisses. Never talk endlessly with her. Never wake to see her snuggled beneath the blankets in her bed. Never again see the love she felt for him in her eyes. But there was one thing he would feel again. The loneliness that had plagued him before Adira had entered his life.
“Bloody hell,” he mumbled, and turned and entered the cottage.
Chapter Twenty-One
A Night of Decisions
Right or wrong
Adira stared at the closed door.
What had she done?
It was not shielding the king that troubled her. She would do that again without hesitation. It was what had followed. She had gotten angry with the king. Worse, she had jabbed her finger at his chest.
Her stomach twisted at the thought.
She had no right to show such anger toward him. No right to challenge him as she had, her hands flying, her temper making her forget that the man standing before her was not simply a man.
He was the king, and she had poked him.
Adira closed her eyes, wishing she could take back that one foolish moment. But he had made her so angry. Furious that he would condemn her for protecting him when she could not have stood by and allowed harm to come to him.
She had not thought about who he was. She had only thought about him. Now she thought about little else.
He could punish her for what she had done. He could decide he had tolerated enough from her. He could send her away.
The thought brought a tightness to her chest. Surely, he would not do that.
She opened her eyes and looked again at the door.
There were times she sensed that he cared for her. His hand reaching for hers. The way he watched her. His kisses. The things he shared with her that he shared with no one else.
Or had she allowed herself to see something that was not there?
Was she being foolish? Perhaps she had mistaken his kindness for something more simple because she wanted—
The door opened.
Adira stiffened.
Dravic stepped inside and shut it behind him.
She turned fully toward him, an apology already forming in her mind though she had no idea how she would make him understand it.
She never got the chance.
He crossed the cottage without saying a word.
Adira barely had time to draw a breath before his arms closed around her and his mouth came down on hers.
His kiss was hard and demanding, stealing her breath and whatever apology she had intended to offer.
Adira froze only an instant before her arms went around him.
That was all the invitation Dravic needed.
He drew her tighter against him, one hand spreading across her back while the other slipped into her hair, holding her as his mouth moved over hers with a hunger he no longer tried to restrain.
Adira felt it in him. The force of his embrace. The urgency of his kiss. The way he held her as if letting go was no longer something he was willing to do.
She answered him just as eagerly.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, holding tight as she returned his kiss with none of the uncertainty of their first ones. She knew his mouth now. Knew the pleasure of it, wanted more of it, and when his lips met hers, she welcomed him.
Dravic groaned against her mouth.
The sound was lost to her, but she felt the vibration of it where their bodies pressed together, and something about that small discovery sent a shiver racing through her.
He broke the kiss only long enough to draw a breath, his forehead nearly touching hers. He had walked out that door believing he could leave her.
He had been a fool.
His mouth claimed hers again.
This time Adira met him without hesitation, her arms tightening around his neck as the kiss deepened. Whatever uncertainty had filled her moments ago disappeared beneath the certainty of his embrace.
Dravic’s hands moved over her back, drawing her closer until there was no space left between them. He wanted her. There was no denying it any longer, no command stern enough to silence it, no duty powerful enough to make him walk out that door again.