“I have no quarrel with you, Stormborne.” Roz retorted smoothly, choosing his words delicately. Airess interjected before Taryn could respond, pushing Taryn’s chest with her hand.
“Excuse us. I need to talk with myfriend.” She bit out the words, not caring if her words sliced him. Let them. His reaction to their bond had sliced her heart open more than she cared to admit.
She grabbed his hand and dragged him away from Roz before things could get more heated. They walked through a sea of ballgoers and out onto the balcony, far from the crowd. The humid air blasted against her skin as they walked out.
“Are you going to marry him?” Taryn demanded, following close behind, his eyes laced with hurt.
“Are you serious?” Airess asked as she whipped around to face him. He was blind if he couldn’t see just how much she had begun to care for him. She wouldneverbetray him. She could never be with someone else. What she felt for Taryn outweighed any hollow proposal this king might give her.
He laughed sarcastically, cloaking his pain once more. “I wouldn’t fault you for it. You deserve the life he could give you.”
Airess shook her head and groaned, frustration boiling over. “Again with this! I don’t want that. I don’t want to begivena life.” She crossed her arms. “Why do you care if you don’t even want me?”
Taryn paused, eyes fluttering shut momentarily. He raked a hand through his hair and then slid his gaze to hers. He exhaled slowly and stalked up to her, invading her personal space. Taryn lifted her chin gently with his fingers to look at him.
“Oh, I want you,” he whispered, sending chills down her spine. He ran a hand along her jawline. Airess’ entire body warmed at the contact and her stomach fluttered. Gods, the things this male made her feel with a single touch. A single phrase.
“I want you every day, every night, everywakingfucking hour. I’ve wanted you since the day I met you in that ballroom. Airess, you have to know I would do anything for you. I would commitatrocitiesfor you if it meant having you by my side. I thought about rejecting the bond–I did,” he was shaking his head, as if it were impossible. “I thought I was strong enough to do it. But you’re too perfect. You are ethereal. A Goddess in physical form sent to destroy me. I don’t want to tarnish you by claiming you, but I am learning that I am a selfish, selfish male.”
Airess’ eyebrows rose at the raw confession, heart pounding. “You wouldn’t tarnish me,” the words came out as a whisper.
He shook his head. “I will. I will ruin you.”
She grabbed his tunic and pulled forward, dragging him to her with force. His pupils dilated. “Stop putting me on thispedestal. I am not this gracious being that you think I am. I’ve killed just as you have. I’m tainted, and I have a feeling this is only the beginning of what lies ahead,” Airess bared her teeth at him, anger and love and frustration melting into one.
“I’ll say it for the last time, Taryn. I don’tcarewhat you’ve done. I don’t care that you’ve killed. If darkness is where you are, then I’ll happily meet you there,” she tilted her head back and laughed. “Have you ever considered I have darkness as well? Have you ever considered thatImight ruinyou?”
She saw the leash he held on himself break, desire and passion welling behind his eyes. He lurched forward, cupping her face with his hands and slamming her into the wall behind them. Her breath hitched as her back hit the wall. Taryn angled his face towards hers, their lips inches apart. His shaky fingers fanned out against her cheeks.
He was holding onto his restraint by a thread, and she intended to break it.
“Love me. Ruin me. Claim me, Tarynon.”
A primal growl rumbled in his chest as their lips collided. He claimed her mouth, pressing his body as close as he could to hers. Her hands gripped his face, as if she needed to hold him, to make sure this was real. Their kiss was a song of stars and light, of beginnings and ends, a push and pull that echoed out into the universe.
His lips on hers felt so right, so at home, that she sighed into him. His hands traveled to her hips and he cupped her breast. The touch had her sighing with pleasure. She was on fire, every inch of her skin igniting with his touch. Taryn ran his tongue over her lips and she obliged, letting him in.
They were a mixture of teeth and lips. A mixture of love and anger. Taryn deepened the kiss, kissing her so hard she wondered if she would ever breathe again after this.
She broke away, her mouth red from the kiss, drunk on passion. “I–I accept you.”
His eyes shone bright with longing and desire, and she saw his mental walls fall.
“AndIyou.”
He kissed her, gently this time. He trailed kisses down her neck, holding her waist tightly as if to not lose control. She moaned at the kind of touch she only read about in books. But this was real. Taryn was real. TheirBondwas real.
He trailed kisses down her jaw until he met the crux of her neck. “My beginning and end,” Taryn said in Runean, before grazing his canines across her skin. The feeling startled her, but invoked a primal feminine urge deep within her.
More.
She neededmore. Airess didn’t want to wait. She slipped a finger under the waistline of his pants, not caring where they were or who could see. Taryn stiffened, inhaled sharply, and pulled back.
“What–”
“I don’t care,” she breathed. “I want this.”
At that, Taryn smirked, and a deep rumble vibrated from his chest. His hands tangled in her hair as he gripped her ass, and yanked her towards him. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “Say it again, Love.”
