Maeve looked up at him, dumbfounded. “I can’t use magic in the land where I am promised a future?”
“For now,” said Mal. “But I will make it so that you are all that you are on Earth and more in the Dread Lands.”
“You can use your magic there? And you can breathe?”
Mal nodded.
“How many times have you been there?”
Mal hesitated. “Many times. Each time I come back stronger.”
She looked over at the portal.
Mal’s hand tucked under her chin, drawing her focus back towards him.
“There’s a reason the Dread Lands were never occupied by other forces. Magic alone can set foot in those mountains.”
“But we can’t breathe there-“
“We once could,” interjected Mal. “And we will again. I will make it so.”
Maeve stared up at him. “I have no doubt.”
Mal brushed the back of his hand across her cheek. “It is I who doubted you.”
Maeve leaned into his touch like a cat as her eyes fluttered closed.
“I’m sorry I misjudged you at the party.”
She opened her eyes. “It was a misunderstanding. I was thinking foolishly. And I lost my temper.”
Mal continued the smooth motion back and forth across her cheekbone. “I don’t want you to ever be sorry for that. Your rage is valuable. It’s the only time you are truly honest.”
He smiled softly. It was a smile that doused his eyes in swirls of glowing night. Darkness illuminated behind tiny flecks of galaxies.
She batted his hand away and stepped closer. “It is not.”
Mal bent over until they were face to face, sharing one breath. His head cocked to one side.
“Don’t you ever dare to push my hand away again,” he said quietly.
“What will you do?” She asked with feigned innocence.
Mal shook his head. “You are so very wicked.”
In the next breath, he pounced on her. His hands were wrapped around her waist and his lips slammed into hers.
She inhaled all of him happily.
In the breath after that she was against the stone wall, her hair balled in his fist, forcing her mouth open for him.
She gripped his arms, letting out a small moan as he pulled tightly on her hair. He pressed his body against hers. The cold stone behind her seeped through her clothes, sending chills down her body.
His foot pressed between hers, pushing one aside and spreading her legs. He pushed into her harder. His teeth scraped across her bottom lip. She rose on the tips of her toes in response, a silent plea for him to do it again.
And he did. His hands moved down her arms, finding her wrists. Fire erupted between her legs as he pinned them against the stone. Her leg bent, begging him to be closer.
She inhaled sharply, breathing in his scent. It was dark and dangerous and invigorating-
