“There are things I physically cannot tell you,” he explained in a pained voice. “I am sorry.”
His apology sat heavily on my chest, a weight I didn’t know how to lift off my heavy heart.
I lay there in the quiet, staring at nothing, listening to the slow rhythm of his breathing and the distant hush of the sea beyond the windows.
I told myself that turning my back was strength. But the silence stretched, thick and aching, filled with all the words I wasn’t ready to say and all the ones he hadn’t dared to offer.
Eventually, exhaustion won. My grip on the blankets loosened, my thoughts blurring at the edges, and sleep crept in like a tide, gentle but relentless.
I woketo the quiet light of dawn seeping through the billowing sheer curtains, basking everything in a soft orange glow.
The Commander sat in the same chair he had been inlast night, slumped awkwardly. His long legs stretched out, one arm draped over the armrest. His head had fallen forward, dark hair shadowing his face as he slept.
He looked wrong like this. Unguarded, exhausted and almost human in a way I wasn’t used to seeing. He chose to sleep there instead of his own bed, because I had claimed it.
I watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, the faint pull of shadows curled loosely around his boots, dormant in sleep. He had kept his distance. Given me space.
I sighed, climbing out of his bed and walking across the soft carpet.
Ihadto unite the Kingdoms. Ihadto marry him. And it was my lack of control in my fate that made me hate it.
He blinked wearily at me as I grew closer, waking from sleep as if sensing me.
“You are right,” I told him softly as he stretched. “If you had told me about our bond when it appeared, I would have probably killed myself to take you down with me.”
His lip quirked in a sleepy half smile. “Vicious little thing,” he murmured.
I closed the distance between us before I realised what I was doing. I sat on his lap and curled myself against his chest. He let out a shuddering breath, a sound of disbelief. Like he couldn’t trust that I was real. His heart raced beneath my cheek, wild and uneven.
“Do I have a choice in this?” I whispered.
He tensed. His fingers lifted to my chin, tilting my face up so I had no choice but to meet his eyes. “I do not want the Seven Hells to destroy Lumireth. But if winning meansforcingyou to choose me,” he said as he ran the back of his forefinger over my face. “Then the whole world canfucking burn.”
I leant into his touch and looked up into the endless depths of his eyes, where I could see nothing but devastating truth.
“What if…” I trailed off, trying to find the courage to be vulnerable. “I want to choose you.”
Something in him broke, his expression softened and raw emotion shone in eyes. How did I once think them soulless? There was so much suffering in them, so much grief.
He cupped my face with both hands, thumbs brushing my cheekbones with a tenderness that stole the breath from my lungs. His forehead pressed to mine, and for a heartbeat, we simply existed.
Save him,the voice whispered, barely a breath that sent gooseflesh over my skin. Our breaths mingled, and our chests rose in the same rhythm. Then he kissed me. Softly. Carefully. Like he was memorising me. My hands curled around the back of his neck as warmth bloomed through me, magic unfurling like petals desperate for sun. His thumb stroked the corner of my mouth, coaxing me closer, deepening the kiss with tenderness. I sighed against his mouth, fingers curling into his shoulders. Our lips moved with aching reverence, slowly and deeply.
He made a pained noise, and I drew back. “Your shadows,” I gasped, eyes widening. Darkness crawled across his skin, burrowing into him in aggressive strikes.
I tipped my head back, brushing my silver hair behind my shoulder to expose my neck. His hair was silky between my knuckles as I gripped the base of his neck and pulled him towards me. A shiver shot through me as his lips brushed my neck, his breath fanning against the sensitive skin.
His teeth grazed me teasingly. An excited flutter spreadthrough my stomach, warmth sinking between my thighs. His large warm hands wrapped around my waist, and he bit down. A sting of pain, then warmth and pure want flooded my system. But he didn’t use his venom.
A moan left me, and I ground against his growing hardness.
His hands roamed, squeezing my breasts and rolling my nipples between his thumb and forefinger in a way that made me whimper. Slipping between my thighs, a growl vibrated against my neck as he slid his fingers over my panties. Mouth leaving my neck, he stood and lifted me until my legs wrapped around his waist. A metallic taste filled my mouth as his tongue slid against mine. But I didn’t care.
My panties bit into my skin for moment before they were ripped from me. I gasped as his hands gripped my ass, squeezing the flesh and walking us backwards until my back hit a wall. “Please,” I whimpered against his mouth. I was desperate. Desperate to be consumed by him.
A strange urge washed over me, and without thinking, I bit his bottom lip.
He paused, muscles tensing beneath me as if he had turned to stone. “Be very fucking careful, love,” he ground out with his lip between my teeth.
