This is too much. His words are too much for me to hear.
Why did I have to ask this of him?
It’s only building my anticipation for tomorrow, fueling my desire for him even though we aren’t touching until we reach the Shadow Oak. Everything about this is genuinely a bad idea.
Keane release me with from his summoning with a deep chuckle. I exhale and bring a hand to my lower abdomen, trying to still the fire there and regain my composure.
“Bastard.”
“Do you want me to continue?” he laughs without turning around.
“Yes,” I breathe out raggedly, giving him a small scowl from behind at his knowing ego. Keane smirks and continues to look at the road ahead, his smile too confident.
“The sixth time I wanted you fully was when you graced my tent in the Bulwark Plains. You moved so proud in front of me, daring me to look upon your body in only a night slip…”
“Alwaysproud, Alexis,” he adds quietly to himself, moving Ash down another path, “your eyes found mine again in challenge, willing me to look upon you as you did to me earlier that night. I remember thinking in that moment that you were all I would ever need to look at for the remainder of my life...”
Ancients.
“I had to have you then, had to touch you. I couldn’t let you slip past me and into your bedroll that night. It would have been a disservice to not let you know how fucking beautiful you were just then. And when you let me touch you…”
Keane shakes his head in wonder and finally brings his intense gaze back to mine, “Ancients,Alexis. All I could think of was that your body was made for me,onlyfor me. The way you moved, the way you reacted to every one of my touches, the way you cried my name.”
“I will let no other man touch you, Alexis,” Keane states quietly, “will let no other man claim your moans and cries. They belong to me. They will always belong to me.”
My full body begins to tremble under his intense gaze, his words calling me to him so easily.
“Keane,” I whisper, watching his brown eyes hold mine in pure desire.
He nods his head just slightly and lets his gaze flick down past my lips, to the pulse racing hard across my neck.
He knows.
He knows exactly what his words are doing to me. He’s always known.
“When we reached Red Falls and entered the throne room with McQuoid, all of us watched as Alba approached you…”
He gives me a small smile and then returns his gaze back to the road, “and it was the first moment in which I learned how far my feelings really went for you. I would kill for you, Alexis. I was ready to sour relations with an allying Kingdom if it meant protecting you from the beast. But you stood there, your eyes curious and watching the tiger, welcoming her as you would a friend. You reached your hand out in fascination, not fear, and my heart nearly dropped when McQuoid cautioned you against it. You should have seen the room around you, Alexis. Nearly everyone was caught in heavy anticipation and ready to defend you if needed. But you smiled innocently at the beast, the biggest smile I have ever seen on your lips and a smile that captivated the whole room… me the most. You stood without fear and without animosity in front of a magical being that could easily rip your throat out. You stood as its equal.”
“And you were, its equal. You greeted the Princess’ tiger as I’ve seen you greet everything else in our travels, headstrong and with an open mind. I wanted to follow you back to your room then, to chastise you for being so reckless, to obsess over you and possess everything that you are, both physically and emotionally. But instead I had to play Prince.”
“The sight of you standing with that tiger lingered in my thoughts for the rest of the night. It was so right to see you two next to each other.Youwere so right. The moment was too surreal to even believe it happened, but it did, and you belonged with that moment. I could not erase the vision.”
“Do you know that snow tigers approach people of royalty, Alexis?” Keane asks quietly, thoughtfully. He maneuvers out of the way of a large cart holding logs and timber before I can answer, guiding Ash skillfully as he makes a path for me to do the same.
“This next one will be the last for the day,” he looks back with a small grin, ignoring his previous thought, “I want to save the rest for tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I reply quietly, understanding yet hating the decision. I love the way his words are building me up, tugging at me from every direction, but of course he wants to save the rest for tomorrow, to give me the same heated response in anticipation for Gaumond.
Damn him.
“You felt this next one as surely as Desmond did. I think this was the first time my brother truly began to understand my feelings for you…”
I furrow my brows at the back of his head, wondering what he’s referencing.
“Your conversation with my father’s Golem, Alexis. Yourrelationshipwith my father’s Golem,” he says quietly.
“The way you spoke to him in the room at Red Falls the night we learned about the Kingdoms Council. The way you two looked at eachother with such a deep understanding and appreciation of friendship,” he shakes his head at me, his features slightly marveling, “you have no idea what that did to me. A woman who was already claiming me stood side by side with one of the oldest magical creatures known to the Old World, a creature that I have known since birth, not only as his equal, but more importantly, as his friend. I had to have you then. I needed to feel myself inside of you, needed to beyourequal. But you reminded me, again, of our promise under the Shadow Oak. You reminded me that you were worth more than our stolen touches on the balcony, that you were worth more than my pure and selfish need. And when I remained caught by my own desire, wanting to take you back with me to my guest room, you declined, catching me fully by surprise and outright confusion. Your comment about being seen with me muddled my thoughts, but thankfully I came to the realization that you were referencing something much deeper…”
