The tension leaves his shoulders. He pulls me closer, tucking my head beneath his chin. His hand moves in slow strokes down my spine, and I melt into him.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” I tell him. “You need to rest after your ordeal.”
He laughs softly. “That was exactly what I needed.” He pulls me closer, kissing the top of my head.
I listen to his breathing slow and deepen. I feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek, warm and alive and real.
I don’t want to think about tomorrow.
Not now. Not while I’m in his arms.
32
Sebastian
Isla sleeps in the crook of my arm, her cheek warm against my chest.
She’s so damned beautiful, I don’t want to look away. The way her lashes fan against her skin. The way her lips part with each exhale. The faint crease between her brows that smooths itself out as she shifts and turns deeper into me. Her hair spills across my shoulder, carrying that scent of wildflowers and rain. That scent of a wild storm when lightning streaks the sky.
I should get up. I’m in the Shifter Court, the court of my enemies. Isla said that they saved me, but they must have an ulterior motive. They will want their pound of flesh, and I need to be ready.
Soon, I will have to meet with the Drakar and face reality. There are a thousand things demanding my attention, and each one is more urgent than the last.
But for now, I’m content just lying here.
The cave is quiet. Thin morning light filters through the narrow openings high in the rock. The fire in the pit has burned low.
I wish I could push it all aside. Every last piece of it. The realm and its wars and its broken kingdoms.
I can’t. I know that.
I trace a line down Isla’s spine with the backs of my fingers. She stirs, turning her face against my chest. Her body is warm, and her skin is impossibly soft.
“Morning,” she murmurs, the word half-lost in sleep.
“Morning.” I stroke her back, letting my palm rest between her shoulder blades.
She lifts her head and looks up at me. Her eyes search my face. “You were all relaxed, and then you tensed up.” She frowns. “Is everything okay? Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes.” I nod. “I feel fine. It’s just...” I roll her onto her back and settle between her legs. Her warmth meets me, and I groan low in my throat, wanting her all over again. I lower my forehead to hers. “I wish we had more time.”
Her eyes darken with want. I can feel her body respond beneath mine, the way her hips tilt up to meet me, the way her breath quickens. Her fingers trail down my arms.
Then she turns serious. Something shifts in her gaze. “Sebastian, there’s something I need to te—”
“Good morning.” A female voice cuts through the cave.
I lift my head. The hy-were leader walks through the entrance. She carries a pile of clothing in her arms.
“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.” She drops the pile on the floor near the fire pit. “Some human clothes. I thought you might need them.”
Her smile is wide and unabashed. She doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by what she’s walked in on.
I shift off Isla, and she pulls the furs high over us, tucking them under her chin. Her cheeks are flushed.
The female folds her arms and regards us both with that direct, unsettling stare the shifterfae seem to favor. “I’m afraid that the time has come for us to be open with one another. The Drakar would like to meet with you as soon as you are dressed and fed,” she tells me. Then she turns to Isla. “As to you—”
“Are you telling me that Salvorne wasn’t lost like the rest of us?” I ask.
