“Change,” he told me. “Get comfortable. I will set everything up to protect you.”
He released me, leaving an icy burn where he’d touched. “You’ll need to unlace me,” I reminded him, hoping for more of that ice across my bare skin.
Comfortable clothes were going to include an underwear change. I’d been aroused so much tonight; at this point my panties were nothing more than a damp fucking rag.
Before I could act on my current need, Len finished loosening the back of my corset and I focused on catching the dress before it fell. “Return quickly,” he said in a low rumble. “We don’t want to waste time.”
Actually, I wanted to waste time. All the fucking time. My addled, horny, semi-drunk brain could think of nothing better than wastingtimewith the fae prince. I mean, what if we learned shit in the past that ruined everything for us? That destroyed this fragile but beautiful relationship we were building? What if the dream turned into a nightmare?
I might never have the chance again to be half naked with this sexy man, and I wasn’t wasting it. Nope.
The wine had spoken. We were taking a chance tonight.
Turning in a somewhat graceful motion, I took Len by surprise when I stepped right into him. Tilting my head back, I let my hair fall down my back as I moistened my lips. His gaze followed the motion, and before he could say anything I pushed myself up and wrapped my arms around his neck for enough leverage to finally,fucking finally,slam my mouth against his.
I was kissing the fae prince and I had zero regrets.
27
SAMANTHA
The moment my lips touched his, mint with a hint of caramel sweetness filled my senses, and I was lost. Completely and totally lost.
My sudden decision to throw caution to the wind clearly surprised Len. It took him a second to recover, but when he did he returned the kiss with enough force that I wondered if he’d been wanting to do this as badly as I had. From almost from the first moment he stormed into the Shadow Beast’s lair.
His lips parted, and mine followed as he demanded entry to my mouth. His tongue was dominant, and I had this sneaking suspicion that he liked to control in the bedroom.Sign me up, Prince. I’m here to obey all commands.Especially if there was an orgasm at the end of it.
“Sam,” he rumbled against my lips, “I know you didn’t drink enough to lose reason, so what…?”
With reluctance, I pulled away, already regretting the distance between us. “We have no idea what our memories hold,” I admitted, breathing deeply to try and fill my aching lungs. “What if the past changes everything? What if we lose the relationship we’ve been building here. Our daughter has the sort of family and love I prayed for, and I don’t want to fuck it up.”
His long fingers wrapped around my chin, capturing my face. Gently, he forced my head back so our gazes locked. Winter sprang up in his eyes, which were swirling faster than ever. “There’s no fucking this up,” he said bluntly, with his usual confidence. “I won’t let that happen. The past is gone, and it will not destroy the future, but we do need to understand it to move forward. For our sakes, and for Tabitha.”
I knew he was right. I knew it with every iota of my confused brain. Releasing a long sigh, I nodded once. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
Len’s lips twitched, before his smile broke through, and I fought the urge to fan my face. This guy was devastating up close, and now that I’d tasted him I was settling into a new addiction: kissing a fae prince.
His smile grew, and I found a similar one crossing my face, almost as if I’d caught his happiness. There was something enticing in knowing you weren’t facing the darkness alone. Normally, whatever came from the past would have to be dealt with by me. Just me. But Len was in my corner, and he’d promised that he would fight to keep the darkness from taking us.
No being: human, shifter, fae, beast or other, was designed to walk the worlds alone. In one way or another, we were all pack creatures, and it was a nice feeling to have Len in mine.
His smile faded, the storm settling in his eyes, even if they remained a darker grey. “Your kiss gave me an idea,” he said softly. “Of why Shadow struggled to lift the glamour. Brute strength might not be the way to break the bonds it has on us. What if it needs to be unraveled in the same way it began?”
“The same way?” I repeated.
He nodded, gaze drifting away from my face as he appeared to run the idea further through his mind. “What if it’s sex that will facilitate the breaking of the glamour. Sex is clearly how our relationship started—it might even be part of the glamour—so there’s a circularity in using it to restore what was lost.”
My heart pounded hard in my chest, because even though that statement wasn’t the passion-filled moments I’d expected, the energy flowing between us did feel passionate. “It makes sense,” I said, body thrumming with anticipation. “And you already know I’m willing.” I’d all but thrown myself at him moments earlier.
Len’s head dipped low and pressed a kiss to my cheek, brushing his lips closer and capturing mine. “There’s no part of me not willing, Storm. I’ve been wanting to taste you… every part of you, since the moment I was called into the beast’s lair. Fair warning though, I am a touch controlling in the bedroom.” I’d already called that. “Nothing crazy, but I have moments where I need compliance. Are you up for that?”
My breath was audible in the quiet of the room. “I’m not sure how much dominance my wolf will accept, but I’m willing to try.”
His thumb was on my lip, swiping across the spot he’d just kissed, and as he brushed the moisture, my legs weakened as damp heat throbbed in my center. “Try is all I ask, and this is your last chance to walk away.” The intensity in his gaze held me captive. “There are other options to try to break the glamour.”
“Can’t walk,” I managed to choke out. “And even if I could, I wouldn’t.”
It was no fucking lie. My legs were jelly, the heels barely keeping me stable. In fact, I was fairly sure the only reason I was standing was the grip I had on Len’s jacket, my fingers wrapped in the silky material.
