I couldn’t even try to stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks. I turned my neck to tuck my face into his hand, kissing his palm and tasting my own salty tears. It was too much. What he saw in me was too much—it made my heart swell to the point of bursting, made me want to cover the strong emotions I’d learned to chase away under pressure.
“Don’t you dare,” he whispered, leaning in so close that his lips skimmed the top of my cheek. “Don’t hide from me, Empress.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re quite the romantic?”
That same smile melted along my skin again. “Someone might have mentioned it before.”
I pulled back so I could see him. That rough, tan skin, that dark beard that felt so good against me, those eyes that swallowed me whole.
“I told you once I wished I was like that,” I said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever stop being bound by my duty. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had people I needed to look out for. People who relied on me. It always felt like one small mistake and so many people could get hurt. I think I stopped caring about whetherIgot hurt in the process. It’s like you said—I thought I was happy. If those I loved were happy and taken care of, I had no reasonnotto be.” I let out a small laugh. “You know, you’re not the first one to call me out on that.”
He chuckled, and the sound burrowed into my chest. “My stubborn girl.”
“But you’re the first one Iheard,” I said, my smile faltering as I swallowed thickly. “You’re the first one who made me realize what I was missing.” A breath left me in a rush, and the words spilled out. “Fates, I wanted you too. I think I wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. And knowing I couldn’t have you, theoneselfish thing I’d finally allowed myself, was justanother part of my duty to accept. Things have changed, but our lives…they’re just too different.Thathasn’t changed.” My eyes darted around him. “We live an ocean apart. I—I don’t know where to go from here. After everything that’s happened, I just?—”
Thorne dug his thumb into the back of my neck to cut me off, making me look up at him. I stared into those eyes that had become both my sanctuary and my downfall.
“I’ve never been in love, Thorne,” I whispered. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do.”
He leaned in to brush his lips over my cheek, then slowly captured my mouth with his. I instantly felt a weight lifting from my shoulders as I rose onto my knees to deepen the kiss. I’d kissed him before, but this time felt…freer. Like it was something beautiful given to us, instead of a moment we had to steal.
“Do you love me?” he breathed into me.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“Then we’ll figure it out. Together.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, angling my body to press further into him, molding my curves to his hard planes. His hands grasped my waist and pulled me closer. Warm fingers lifted the edges of my shirt and traveled over my skin, making my stomach tighten with every passing second.
In that moment, I saw my future laid out before me.
It was the future I’d always planned for, yes. Meetings with my council, drinks at the Drakin’s Lair with Chaz and Lark, arguments with Lord Stryker over taxes and land permits, signing decrees at my father’s old desk. But for the first time…it was more than that.
It was early mornings with Thorne’s skin pressed into mine. Late nights and a little girl tucked between our arms. Deep laughter that made my toes curl, grinning faces peering at me over stacks of paperwork. Smirks and bright eyes and warm, rough hands. Dancing in the kitchen with nobody around, like my parents used to do in our cottage. Those little stolen glances in a crowded room that say “you’re mine.”
I wanted that. I wanted all of it. My empireandmy happily ever after.
“Come with me,” I said.
His hands paused on my abdomen. “What?”
“You and Marigold. Come with me.” I kissed him again. “Back to the empire.”
He jerked backward onto his heels, then rose to his feet, his lips parting. “Are you serious?”
Heat flooded my cheeks as I stood and dusted off my leggings. “Well, I mean—only if you want to. You can say no.” I never made these rash decisions. Embarrassment made my words stammer, tumbling over one another. “I know that’s a lot to ask. We can talk about it first, how everything would work, but I?—”
Seizing my waist, he lifted me in the air and spun me in his arms. “Tell me to run, and I’ll run. Tell me to stand at your side, and I’ll stand. Wherever,wheneveryou want me. Haven’t you figured that out by now?” He stopped moving and tilted his head to the side, his nose grazing mine. “I’ve been yours since the day you stepped off that ship, Clarissa.”
A beam broke out across my face. We were both breathless, our chests heaving against one another as my hair flowed down his cheek and neck, cocooning us in our own little world.
“So, is that yes?” I asked.
His answering smile rivaled the setting sun. “That’s a yes for me, Empress. But there’s someone I need to talk to first.”
67
Thorne
