They swirled through the air as they dispersed, like cloudsmoving to reveal the sky. The room came into focus, and I saw the damage I’d caused. Portraits had fallen from the walls, and glass was scattered across the floor. Both bedside tables and the armoire in the far-right corner had been blown to pieces. The wooden mantel above the fireplace was broken on one side and dangling by a few splinters.
Nox started to move away, but I grabbed his arm. I couldn’t stand to watch him walk away. Not after that.
Never again.
“Pomegranates,” I whispered.
The thread between us tightened. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, the look on his face nothing short of pained. His arm shook as I brought his hand back to my cheek, those strong fingers and rough calluses scraping against me.
He still barely touched me. I could feel how much he wanted to, though. I could sense his magic begging to be released, could see how much force it took to control himself. He wasalwayscontrolling himself.
I wondered what it must be like to have all that power beneath his skin. Coiled and eager to strike, but held back by a man who spent his entire life learning to keep it in check.
Scarven had touched me plenty of times. He didn’t care about holding back. He didn’t care about making others feel safe. Every grasp was a reminder of what he could take.
But Nox?
His touch was one of restraint. Of quiet, unending power. And I ached to be cherished by hands that could bring down mountains.
“Please,” I said, voice raspy as I dragged my gaze from his lips to his eyes. “Don’t go, Nox.”
His gaze flared silver. “After all you’ve been through, after what he did to you, I just—” He swallowed again, then watched his own thumb graze the top of my cheek. His body leaned closer, heat washing over my neck, even as he said, “You need time, Devora. I should let you heal. You need?—”
“Don’t tell me what Ineed.” The words left me in a rush. Thedesire to be near him made my chest tighten. “You act like I’m breakable, like one touch is going to shatter me. And maybe it will. Maybe that’s what Iwant.” I put my palm on his chest, and his heart pounded erratically beneath my fingertips.
His eyes burned into mine, navy and silver and wild and wrecked. A growl crawled up his throat and vibrated through my arm. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, darling.”
He was so close now, his nose grazed mine. When I spoke again, my lips barely brushed his with each word.
“Shatter me, Nox. Break me to pieces. You’re the only one who can put me back together again.”
With a final breath, his control snapped. His lips crashed into mine like lightning piercing the sky.
Finally.
There was no hesitation. No slowly stepping a toe into the water. This kiss was a storm breaking open. His hand found the nape of my neck, and he threaded his fingers through my hair with a tug. My back hit the broken headboard as his other hand gripped my waist, pulling me toward him. His lips were warm and demanding and fit perfectly to mine.
Fates, he felt like everything we’d been holding back for months. Every angry word, every searing glare, every passing touch. My shadows writhed until they broke free and wound around our bodies, rushing along our skin in waves.
Fingers dug into skin, fabric, hair. Fire and desperation crawled at both of us, the chaos of the last few weeks fleeing our minds and leaving us weightless. My heart raced with a different kind of urgency—not one born of fear or panic, but oflife.
That was him.Hemade me feel alive. He made me feel reckless and open and free. But mostly, he made me feelsafe.Even as his power trembled beneath his skin and his grip tightened at the back of my neck, all I could think was that I wanted to behis. I wanted to be consumed by him.
When he lowered his lips to the uninjured side of my neck and tenderly kissed every inch of skin, I let the world fall away.Let the ache in my chest from all my pain, my sorrow, my fears, burst into something new.
It didn’t feel like breaking. It didn’t feel like falling.
It felt like surrender.
And maybe, finally…I was home.
56
Nox
For the second time in as many days, the nightmares didn’t find me that night. I did wake up several times, though. Not out of distress or despair. Just because…I wanted to see her.
That red hair like fire spilling across my arm, her curves tucked into my side, the way her nose scrunched in sleep and her toes twitched beneath the covers. I wanted to hear her soft, steady breaths and watch the rise and fall of her chest. To know she was safe and not back in those chains.
