He shifted his hips and hit a new spot inside me. A scream left me as another climax took me before the first one waned. His grip on my hips tightened, and he shouted my name a few seconds later as his orgasm joined mine.
I rode out the pleasure and continued rubbing against his body as another orgasm surprised me. My need spiraled higher. I would never get enough of him. Especially while he remained hard inside me.
ChapterSixteen
Iwoke to the rhythm of Zander’s breath against the back of my neck, his arm still draped lazily over my waist. The lamp light filtered in through a narrow crack in the stone wall, golden and warm, casting soft shadows across the bed.
For the first time in what felt like forever, there was no urgency tugging us out of sleep. Just the delicious realization that we were tangled together, limbs knotted and hearts steadied. His fingers grazed over my hip beneath the sheet, slow and teasing, and I shifted to face him.
“You always wake up this smug?” I asked, voice still heavy with sleep.
He grinned, eyes bright despite the shadows under them. “Only when I’ve had the privilege of keeping you warm all night.”
“You mean when I kept you warm,” I shot back, dragging my hand across his bare chest. “Your feet are ice.”
He laughed, the sound deep and husky. Then rolled over, pinning me with his weight. “Then I guess I owe you… again.”
We didn’t rush. We didn’t need to. And when we finally made love again, it was softer than the night before. A different kind of hunger. Less desperation, more reverence. Like we were memorizing each other in case the world ripped us apart again.
Eventually, we dressed and shared the cold bread and fruit Solei had left the day before, sitting cross-legged on the bed like we weren’t fugitives on the run. Zander’s hair was a mess, his shirt half-tucked, and he kept stealing pieces of fruit from my plate when he thought I wasn’t looking.
“You’re a menace,” I muttered, slapping his hand away for the third time.
He just winked. “I’m charming.”
I was about to retort when the hidden shelf scraped open behind us. My spine stiffened, but Zander was already half-standing, hand near the dagger he kept under the bed.
Solei’s head popped through the gap. “Theron’s people scoured the village last night. He’s already met with Cyran and confirmed you’re not staying with us.”
“Where to next?” I asked, already brushing crumbs from my lap.
“We’re going to have the prince blend in,” she said, her smirk barely concealed as she tossed Zander a bundle of worn clothes. “Everyone knows you.”
Zander caught the bundle and eyed it with suspicion. “Please tell me these don’t smell like goat.”
“They smell like freedom. Change. I’ll wait out here.”
He grumbled but stripped out of his nicer tunic, anyway, pulling on the rough-spun one she’d handed over. The pants were slightly too short and hung loose on his hips. I stepped close, wiping a smudge of dust from his collar before dragging a bit of dirt across his forehead and upper arms.
He arched a brow. “What was that for?”
I grinned. “Now you’re a commoner.”
He leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. “And you’re the outlaw who smeared filth on royalty. Should I arrest you?”
I bumped his hip with mine. “Try it, and I’ll make sure you look like you rolled in pig shit.”
He laughed again, shaking his head as he grabbed his boots. “Charming and terrifying. Gods help me.”
We slipped out the hidden door just as the first light of dawn brushed the edge of the horizon.
Solei led us out the back of the inn just as the first stirrings of the village morning began. The streets were still slick from last night’s rain, puddles glinting in the early light. She walked ahead with purpose, her hood up and shoulders squared, giving us only a glance now and then to make sure we were keeping pace.
Zander walked beside me, his posture slightly slouched, his new clothes hanging a little too loosely on his frame. Nobody looked twice at him. Without the polished boots, the ornate jacket, or the air of command he usually carried, he could’ve passed for a tired laborer or traveling merchant. It worked.
Me, though… people noticed. Eyes caught on my face, then slid to my hair. I’d forgotten the damn hat.
“Keep moving,” Solei murmured over her shoulder. “They won’t stop you. You’re a story now, nobody expects you to walk past them in daylight.”
