She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I do know. Of course I know. But… I left her before, and she nearly died. I’m supposed to protect her. I feel… I can’t. Bard.” She lowered her voice to a rough whisper. “I couldn’t bear it if she died. Not now. Not when she’s so close to having everything she ever wanted.”
“Gods.” He let out a rough breath. “I’m sorry, Keely. It must be awful, worrying about your friend, especially after everything you’ve both been through.”
She looked up at him, her eyes glistening as she bit her lip, torturing it with her teeth. “Aren’t you worried?”
Yes, he was. But he controlled his emotions—he always had. He kept his feelings locked down, and his mouth closed, it was how he’d survived year after year on the northern battlefields. What he couldn’t protect himself from was how soft and sad Keely was. How lost she was without her usual fiery confidence.
He wanted to reassure her. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. But he couldn’t lie. Couldn’t find it in himself to tell her that everything would work out. Not this time.
He wanted to tell Keely he wouldn’t leave her. That he would find a way to keep her safe. And that he would do everything he could to help her in whatever way she needed. But he couldn’t find the right words. And he didn’t know if it was what she wanted to hear.
Instead, he dragged his thumb down her bottom lip—it was slightly bigger than her top lip, just enough to give it a tiny pout—tugging gently until she released it. And then he lowered his mouth and kissed it better.
He had been too frightened for her, too affected by her grief. He wanted to touch her and reassure himself that she was safe. And he wanted to take away her pain, even if it was only the pain in that tender lip.
She gasped, and he froze, holding himself still, waiting for her to push him away. Expecting it; knowing that she was a dream he could never really have. Knowing that he should never have allowed himself even that small taste.
Instead, she smoothed her small hands up his chest and around his neck—and pulled him closer. Gods. He stepped into the V of her legs and they wrapped around him, her mouth opening under his. Their tongues slid against each other slowly, tasting, sipping, as their bodies leaned even closer together.
He could feel her muscles moving in her back, her arms tight around his neck, her strong legs holding him tightly against her. She was everything he had imagined, and so much more.
He pulled the tie out of her braid and wove his hands through her hair, angling her head as he slanted his mouth over hers, falling into a slowly rising tide of heat.
His cock pulsed heavily against the leather of his breeches, nestled hard against her core, and he rolled his hips as he lowered his mouth to suck on her neck. She tasted just as sweet as he knew she would.
She arched against him, head tilted to the side, giving him access to that throbbing pulse, and scratched her nails over his neck. The sharp sting brought him back. Just enough. He dropped a tender kiss on her reddened skin and stood, still holding her hair gripped in his fist, to rest his forehead on hers. “Gods, Keely.”
Her clear, jade-green eyes looked into his, pupils blown wide. “Don’t you want this?”
“I do. Fuck. You must know how much I do.” He wanted it—this thrilling, exhilarating, terrifying feeling of being alive that was almost overwhelming in its intensity.
He had spent so long keeping all his emotions tightly locked down that now even pleasure was daunting. And Keely, with her brilliant, burning fire, could blow him apart completely. But he still wanted it.
“Then don’t stop,” she whispered.
His breath shuddered out as he tried to keep a grip on himself. On her. He lowered one hand to her hip, his fingers pressing into her skin. He needed control. Without it, it would be too much.
“Please.” Her accent softened her husky words. “All this time, you’ve given me what I needed. We’ve become something, haven’t we? I want to forget, for a moment. I need this…. Please.”
She needed him. Neededhim. And if she needed him, then maybe she would stay. He pressed himself even deeper into her body and closed his mouth over hers once more.
Chapter Seven
Keely wrappedher legs around Tor and pulled him closer. He was so big against her, his heavy muscles rippling as he held her pinned against the tree. His skin was hot and firm, his lips moving over hers in confident sweeps.
It had been so many years, so many cold, lonely years, since anyone had touched her.
She wanted to forget, that was true. But mostly she wanted Tor. She wanted to feel his powerful body against hers. Wanted him to be hers.
She had wasted so much time. Bard. Alanna only got one night with Val. One night. If Keely only had one night left, she wanted it to be with Tor.
Tor was worth it. Yes, he was a soldier, but he was so much more than that—he was a warrior, with a warrior’s ability to survive. He had fought his way to the very top of the Brythorian guards, and he was still fighting now, after everything. And through all those battles, he had never lost sight of his honor.
She ran her fingers up into his cropped hair and tilted her head back, exposing her neck, allowing him to press hot, open-mouthed kisses along her collarbone, scraping his teeth gently down the tendons of her neck, nipping and sucking.
His fist still gripped her hair as he pressed her back into the tree, his teeth on her neck an exquisite needle of pain that flooded her belly with heat and held her whole being captivated by the intoxicating sensations he was rousing.
Bard. This was so much more intense, more potent, than anything she had ever experienced before. All that strength, that well of formidable control, focused entirely on her.
