Lips tugging into a cruel smirk, Adara winked and ducked out from under his arm, walking toward the beach, hips swaying in a way that told him she knew exactly what she was doing to him. He hated it. Loathed those words that left her tongue with no action to support them. Cruel, wicked thing she was. He couldn’t resist. She didn’t just get to walk away. Not after looking at him with lust in her eyes one moment and nothing the next.
Dominic ran after her, pushing aside thoughts of taking her against the tree right there. Steps light and soundless, despite the mud underfoot, Adara never saw him coming. Didn’t have a chance to object before he scooped her into his arms and leaped into the air. He was grateful his magic thrummed with full force today.
Adara shrieked.
Higher and higher they rose, soaring through the trees until they broke out into the open air. Rain pelted their skin like sharp pebbles. Thunder rolled around them, flashes of lightning illuminating the dull sky.
“Dominic, put me down this instant!” she yelled. Her distressed voice was almost drowned out by the thunder. She slapped his chest, the scar on his skin barking in protest.
He shrugged. “You asked for it.” He let go of her, her rain-slick skin easily slipping through his fingers.
Her scream rang through the air, even over the pounding of thunder and rain. Her arms flailed as if they’d slow her fall. Terror-stricken eyes shone up at him.
He waited a moment, watching with a savage smile . . . then dove after her.
Eyes squinting against the wind and rain, Dominic plummeted toward her. A moment before she went crashing through the treetops, he swooped under her, catching her in his arms with a grunt from the impact.
They shot upward once more, Dominic clutching her in his arms. She clawed at his shirt, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, clinging to him like he was some savior. To his surprise, she did not close her eyes or hide her face against him. She only stared down at the island. Her head swiveled every which way as she took in the open air, panting breaths slowing as they ascended, and she took in the view from above.
Lifting a hand to wipe the tangles of wet hair from her face, she finally turned her head to him. “I hate you,” she said, lightly punching him in the chest. But no anger shone in her eyes as she glanced between him and the wondrous view below.
On the other hand, he was shocked to see her fighting to suppress a smile.
His plan was working. He just had to act as if he wanted her more than anything in the world. People loved to be wanted, to be chased after. People loved to believe they were the ones who could bring out the good in the most evil things. So he would convince Adara that he wanted her, that he’d change for her. Then he’d rip her heart to pieces.
Dominic couldn’t help but tip his head back and laugh. “Come on, Adara. Live a little.”
“Ironic, considering I was falling to my death moments ago.” Arms still securely wrapped around his neck, she tugged at a strand of his hair, sending a small sting through his scalp.
He shook his head away from her grasp, rain spraying from his wet hair. He expected her to be angry, and she did try so hard to glare at him—but failed miserably. That radiant grin finally broke free, filled with exhilaration.
Her smile was like the sun, and damn, it would be the death of him if it weren’t for his missing heart. Perhaps this was how he’d die. With her looking at him like he was something more. Someone worth fighting for. Someone worthlivingfor.
She was playing him at his own game.
But for now, he didn’t care. Unable to do anything else, Dominic smiled back, and it felt so familiar, so natural for him to be at ease in her presence.
He hadn’t noticed how close they were. How tightly she pressed herself against his body with her hands locked around his neck, fingers lacing through his hair absentmindedly. The scent of lavender on her skin overwhelmed him with suchsweetness. The white of her teeth and the blue of her eyes glowed in the flashing lightning. Drops of rain rolled down her smooth, fair skin, landing on those sensuous lips, so temptingly close.
The sound of pouring rain and thunder was drowned out as if she were the only thing that mattered. The feel of her against him. The need to know how her lips tasted against his. But he wanted her to be the first to give in.
Adara turned her head, oblivious to his thoughts as she surveyed the island below them. So small with their height in the sky.
“We should get to the ship,” he said smoothly, lips now brushing her ear.
As if drawn from a trance, Adara whipped her head back to him, her body trembling in the cold. “Yeah,” she breathed.
Chapter 23
Oncethestormcloudsfaded into clear blue skies, it was smooth sailing onThe Lykren. Adara had taken to sleeping in the crew’s quarters this time, no longer concerned with the Andreilians trying to kill her in her sleep, and their idle chatter deep into the night made the journey pass much quicker. It also helped that Malryn was not nearly as far as Enfider.
With Malryn already on the horizon, the Andreilians busied themselves preparing to dock while Adara headed toward the captain’s quarters. Her gloved knuckles rapped on the doortwice. Dominic’s grumbled reply was hardly audible through the wood, and Adara entered.
He sat at a desk, emerald eyes scanning a map of Malryn lit by the sunlight streaming through the porthole, as if he’d find something hidden within the ink. His chestnut hair was disheveled, and he ran a hand through it, smoothing the strands back. Something was bothering him. She could see it in the way his eyes warily flickered across the map. Dread curdled in her stomach.
They had hardly escaped the Whisperer intact, and seeing Dominic’s trepidation for the next relic to collect did nothing to assuage her nerves. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Adara asked nervously, tapping a finger on the empty portion of the map called the Ruins.
“It has to be,” he said quietly.
