“They can circle all they like,” he said, his voice deep and steady. “Let them bare their teeth. We’ve faced worse before, and we’re still standing.”
His thumb brushed across my jaw, a fleeting gesture that made my breath catch. “I don’t care if the entire court turns onus. They would soon learn what a mistake that was. I will not compromise, not when it comes to you.”
The fierceness in his voice startled me — not because it was unexpected, but because of how deeply it settled into the hollow places inside me, filling them.
I swallowed, unable to look away from his intense gaze. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It won’t be,” Ryker said. “But it will be worth it.”
Something stirred within me, slow but steady, like the first bloom of spring after a long, bitter winter. It wasn’t loud or dramatic, but it was impossible to ignore. Warmth spread through my chest, my heart racing and stuttering as if trying to catch up to the truth I hadn’t dared name. It was the way Ryker looked at me as if I were precious. Not forwhatI was to him, but forwhoI was.
Hope rose within me, bright though unsteady, catching me off guard. But beneath it lay something else, bold yet terrifying.
And it felt a lot like love.
My cheeks heated, and I pulled my gaze from Ryker’s just so I could breathe again. Without warning, my world spun, and it took me a second to realize he’d lifted me into his arms.
A soft giggle escaped me, and he grinned. “No more talk of politics or the Unseelie Fae. Let us enjoy this time for what it is.” Ryker strode towards the small fountain that sat in the middle of his mother’s garden.
Around it bloomed an explosion of color. Wildflowers and cultivated blossoms alike, tangled in a riot of textures and scents. Violets nestled beside star-shaped asters, their petals drenched in dew. Pale bluebells swayed gently with the breeze, and bold marigolds opened their fiery faces to the sky. Roses in every shade, from the softest blush to the deepest crimson, climbed the stone walls surrounding the garden, their scent sweet and heady.
The whole place felt alive. It was my favorite spot in this hidden oasis.
Ryker laid me down on the blanket we’d used for a picnic rug, and the moment I caught his expression, heat banked low in my belly.
“You look like you’re getting ready to feast on me,” I said, breathless.
“I’ll do more than that, Temptress. I’m going to devour you.”
With his intense gaze locked on mine, Ryker slid down my body, never once breaking eye contact. He raised the hem of my dress, dragging it up my legs before bunching it at my waist.
The cool air kissed my exposed skin, but Ryker’s heated gaze burned hotter than any flame. His hands traced the curve of my thighs with reverent slowness, and his fingers hooked into the delicate fabric at my hips. I lifted myself just enough to let him pull it away.
“Beautiful,” he said, his voice rough with desire.
The word vibrated through my body, sending shivers racing down my spine. He planted a kiss on the inside of my knee, then higher, his mouth leaving a trail of fire across my skin.
His warm breath fanned along my inner thigh, then he sank his teeth into my flesh, and I cried out. His tongue soothed the sting of his bite, and I tangled my fingers in his hair as he pressed open-mouthed kisses along the brutalized skin.
When he reached the apex of my thighs, I gasped, and my back arched off the blanket. “Ryker.” His name fell from my lips like a prayer.
His tongue speared my pussy, and unintelligible words tumbled from my mouth. The sensation was overwhelming: sharp, sweet, and utterly devastating. My hips bucked against his mouth as he worked me into a frenzy, his tongue tracing intricate patterns that made coherent thought impossible.
“That’s it,” he growled against my center, the vibration sending fresh waves of pleasure coursing through my body. “Let me hear you.”
I couldn’t have stopped the sounds escaping me even if I wanted to. My moans reverberated through the garden, carried away by the gentle breeze that caressed my flushed skin. Ryker’s hands gripped my thighs, holding me open for him as he devoured me with single-minded intensity.
Tremors racked my limbs, and my head pressed into the blanket as I tried to suck in a breath. When he closed his lips around my sensitive bundle of nerves and sucked hard, stars exploded behind my eyelids. I shattered, crying out his name as waves of pleasure dragged me under.
When he finally pulled away, his mouth glistened with my arousal, and his eyes were dark with hunger. He crawled up my body like a predator, and I welcomed the weight of him pressing me into the ground.
“Taste how sweet you are.”
That was the only warning I got before he smashed his lips against mine, driving his tongue into my mouth and forcing me to taste myself.
He rolled his hips, and I could feel the firm press of his erection through his leathers. I reached between us, and my hands fumbled with the laces, desperate to free him. The leather was supple but stubborn, and my fingers shook with need. Ryker chuckled against my mouth, the sound dark and amused.
“Impatient, are we?”
