"Someone's coming," I growl under my breath.
Raven's eyes widen slightly as he peers around the plant. "Guard. Solo. He's checking rooms."
My mind rapidly sifts through our options. We could try to slip past, but the corridor is too exposed. Could kill him or at least knock him out, but that would raise alarms when he doesn't report back. Could try to bluff our way through and claim we gotlost in the evacuation, but something tells me this guard isn't going to buy that from two alphas skulking in the shadows.
The footsteps grow closer.
"Follow my lead," I mutter, grabbing Raven's wrist.
"What are you?—"
I yank him against me, spinning us so his back hits the wall with enough force to knock a soft "oof" from his lips. Before he can protest further, before I can think better of it, I crush my mouth to his.
For a heartbeat, Raven goes completely rigid against me. Then, fuck, he melts into it, his lips parting on a gasp against mine. He tastes exactly like I remember. Like honey. The familiar taste is far too welcome on my tongue.
This is just a distraction. Just a cover. Nothing more.
Might as well make it a convincing one. My hands move of their own accord, one tangling in his golden hair while the other grips his hip, pulling him closer. He makes a soft, needy sound that shoots straight to my cock, and suddenly we're back at the old compound, tangled up in his nest, desperate and hungry and?—
"What the hell are you two doing?"
The guard's sharp bark breaks through the haze. I tear my mouth from Raven's, trying to look appropriately embarrassed rather than murderously frustrated at the interruption.
"Sorry," I manage, injecting what I hope sounds like shame into my voice. Not really one of the three emotions in my toolbox. "We, uh, got distracted."
The guard's face twists with dismay as he takes in our disheveled appearance. Raven's swollen lips, my hand still tangled in his hair, the way we're pressed together from chest to thigh.
"The palace is being evacuated," he snaps. "This is not the time for... whatever this is."
"Right. Sure. Evacuating." I step back from Raven, who sways slightly like his knees might give out. It figures the one time I could use his silver tongue, it's tied up. "We were just?—"
"I don't care what you were doing," the guard cuts me off. "Get out.Now. Before I decide to arrest you both for trespassing."
"Of course. Our apologies." I grab Raven's elbow, steering him down the corridor away from the guard. "Come on, love."
The endearment slips out without thought. Raven stiffens but doesn't pull away, letting me guide him around the corner and out of the guard's sight.
The moment we're clear, he wrenches his arm from my grip.
"What the hell was that?" His voice is rough, breathless in a way that makes me want to press him against another wall and finish what we started.
Maybe the smoke is getting to my head. Killing off the few braincells standing between me and the alpha instincts Raven shouldn't even be capable of triggering.
I force a casual shrug. "We needed a distraction."
"Andthatwas your go-to?" His blue eyes flash with anger that's far too appealing on the heels of what we just did. WhatIjust did.
He has a point.
"It worked, didn't it?"
"That's not—" He cuts himself off, jaw clenching.
"What?" I snap defensively. Now that the adrenaline of getting caught is wearing off, along with more arousal than I want to admit, the awkwardness is setting in fast. "It didn't mean anything."
The words don't slip out quite as easily as that little term of endearment earlier, but I regret them all the same when I see the hurt in his gaze. I'd do anything to put the anger back.
"Obviously," he hisses, brushing past me.
