“We’re not supposed to be doing this,” I remind him.
“Doing what?” The invisible hand cups my ass.
Thane lowers his head, and I angle my chin upward. For a moment, we stand like this. Staring at each other, trying to fight the pull. Lips only a hair’s breadth away.
Then he cradles the back of my head with his real hand, and his mouth claims mine.
Chapter 40
This time, I let the moan take over—even more so when he forces me to walk backward so that my back is pressed to the wall.
He drops heated kisses on my throat as I lace my arms around the back of his neck. As he starts to pick me up, coaxing my mouth open a bit more with his tongue, we hear a solid thud sound in the building.
I gasp and drop my leg. Thane freezes, looking toward the sound. His orbs disappear.
I hear footsteps click along the marble floors, coming from the hallway.
“Who’s there?” someone calls out.
Thane takes my hand, and I immediately feel warmth coating my skin as a guard steps around a corner and marches into the gallery. He holds my hand tight, allowing the whispershade to take effect while the guard walks deeper into the room, searching the area with a slight frown and a hand on the pommel of his sword. His iridescent buffers gleam under the spotlight, appearing more like pearls left in the sun.
My heart speeds up as the guard looks past us. If he takes one more step closer, he’ll bump into us. Thane’s whispershade can hide us from view, but it doesn’t prevent touch.
Raising his left hand, Thane gives his wrist a flick. One of the paintings across the room falls off the wall and crashes to the ground. I’m glad it’s not a Devell piece.
“What the shadows?” The guard whirls around, storming across the room to inspect the fallen painting. When he does, Thane tugs on my hand, and we hightail it for the exit.
Our footsteps thunder across the tiles, and the guard shouts, “What the shadows?” so loudly it echoes through the building.
We don’t stop running until we reach the end of the footpath leading to the inner city. Coming to a halt between two buildings, Thane takes a sweep of the area while I place a hand on the wall to catch my breath. A stretch of silence passes between us as we look at each other. Then the widest smile I’ve ever seen spreads across his face before he breaks out in deep laughter.
I bust out laughing myself, despite the burning sensation in my lungs. “Oh my gods,” I wheeze. “Did you see that guard’s face?”
“I think we scared the shadows out of him.” Thane’s laughter continues. I’ve never heard him laugh like this. It’s always a grunt or a dark chuckle. But this laugh is brighter, clearer—infectious, even. This is a new side of him, one I very much enjoy.
I press the back of my head to the cool wall. “I shouldn’t be having this much fun during a death journey.”
Thane shrugs his shoulders. “Better to laugh your way through it.”
I swallow hard to clear the dryness in my throat, breathing a little easier now. “Can I be honest with you?”
He nods. “Of course.”
“I just… I worry that I won’t make it back to Analla. What if that captain doesn’t show tomorrow, or even the day after?”
“We’ll steal a boat,” he says.
I frown and fold my arms.
“Fine. We’llbuya boat,” he corrects himself.
I sigh. “Being on a speedship will be interesting. I’ve never been on one before.”
“Neither have I.”
I push off the wall, wiping my forehead. “Anyway, we should probably get back to the inn before that guard comes looking for us.”
Thane gestures in the direction of Irina’s inn, allowing me to take the lead.
