Whatever happens in this room, he needs to walk out of it alive.
He tucks a white curl behind my pointed ears, his forehead touching mine, thumb caressing my neck. My heart liquefies in my chest, seeping between my ribs as his tone turns tender.
“We don’t have to be anything but what we are here, Rune. I don’t want to take anything you aren’t willing to give.”
“There’s nothing to give. I’m already yours.” My words have him checking his vow-inked tattoo. But it was the truth.
Draven’s mouth edges into a hungry smile, and his power causes the door to snick shut. I step out of my boots and kick them against the wall, hopefully right into Morgan’s tiny crotch,but I can’t see them hit anything. If they did, the Devil Arcana must cover it and the sound. But it draws Draven’s attention to the other open door. Good. He’ll have to splice through the illusion to shut it.
Come on.To my disappointment, his shadows curl around the handle, closing it softly without resistance. The Devil Arcana must be good, better than I thought, though there’s still a hint of wrong lighting and oddly shaped shadows.
I sit on the bed, leaving a space for Draven to join me.
He does, leaning back, his wings lazily spread, nothing rushed about the way he moves. Not like the sick impersonation Morgan portrayed, shoving and pushing and—
“Rune, you seem nervous.” Draven’s wing curls around me, so feather-soft, the gentlest nudge. “You know … we don’t have to—”
“Quiet,” I demand, and press my lips to his. No one can know our plans. No one can know this thing between us isn’t fully real. At least that it isn’t yet.
His eyes close but I keep mine open, checking all the corners before focusing back on his face. His brows stop tensing together, relax, and look nearly blissful. And for just a moment, I let myself enjoy him.
I press my tongue into him more deeply, and he lets me set the pace, responding with relish. He tastesgood. I move to his neck, climbing into his lap.
“Rune,” he moans. His hands travel my thighs; he groans in the back of his throat as he continues caressing bare skin.
It peaks me, and I ball his shirt into my fists. I grasp Draven’s hands and he lets me, our fingers interlocking as I press them down against the bed.
I’ve wanted him since the moment I laid eyes on him, and I’ve fought it every second since. All I can think to do is buy us moretime, until I can figure out what to try next. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying him, but I hate that there’s an audience for this.
Draven growls, “I’ve been thinking about this every moment since the claim.”
“Only since then?” My heart stills.
“Honestly? Since you were on your knees before me at the Selection.” One of his hands escapes my grasp, gripping between thigh and backside. I know his thumb will be tracing in wet if it moves any closer.
The temptation to give in overwhelms me as he pleads, “Let me taste you.”
“You are,” I tell him, sucking those lips against mine, his kiss better than any sex that came before him.
His thumb does move against me at that, firmly splitting me until he reaches my apex, and I gasp against him. Why does this have to be happening now?
“You know what I mean.” The violet in his eyes turns magenta, linked with primal desire.
I regretfully pull his hand away, shoving it into the pillow again.
I want to beg him to run, despite the hypnotic movements of his hands, the rhythmic lift of his hips, but that High Priestess Arcana can send the order to strike at any moment.
I have no choice. And knowing that doesn’t make it any easier. I release the kiss, filling my mind’s eye with all the faces of my friends who will be slaughtered should I mess this up.
I push against his chest, and he gets the message, crawling back toward the headboard.
I need to get his hands tied, but my cards are linked to Morgan now, which means he controls them until they’re reset. Morgan’s grubby hands leaving stains on everything.
“Me first.” I lock my hands against his hard enough he doesn’t fight it.
“By all means … ruin me, Rune,” Draven begs, bedroom eyes watching me.
I mouth his neck and then whisper in his ear, “Do you trust me?”
