“Fuck, Iyana,” he ground out. “You feel amazing.” His speed increased, and he used his thumb to press at her clit. Another orgasm built within her, and when Altair roared his release, spilling himself inside her, she tipped over the edge with him.
Their chests heaved. Altair kept her pinned to the wall, smoothing her hair away from her sweaty face and kissing her tenderly. “You are mine. Understood?”
Iyana nodded, incapable of words at that moment.
“Say it.”
“I’m yours,” she whispered.
Altair pressed his brow against hers. “And I’m yours, love. Forever.”
Three words sprang to the tip of Iyana’s tongue, but she swallowed them back down.Not yet, she told herself. But as Altair cleaned her up and tucked her into bed for an afternoon nap, safe within the comfort of his arms, it was becoming harder to hold back. There were so many valid reasons for her to keep these feelings to herself; she simply didn’t want to anymore.Not yet, but soon.
As she fell asleep, she could have sworn she heard Altair ever so quietly whisper those three words against her skin, but it might have been a dream, and she was too far gone to ask. When she awoke, she’d already forgotten he had said anything at all.
Chapter 36
Zane
The second night at the inn was painfully awkward. For the first night, Zane was extremely vulnerable, and Talon was there to comfort him. During their talks with the rest of the group, they’d sat with their legs pressed together. That area of contact remained hot for hours afterward, and Zane could almost still feel Tal’s gentle, calming hand on his thigh. It was nice to be touched so casually, without fear of repercussions. But the second night there was still only one bed. Zane didn’t know what to do. Should he offer to sleep on the floor or in the chair? Talon had plopped on the bed first while Zane stood frozen in the middle of the room, trying to figure out the nuances of this relationship. Not relationship. Friendship. Friends who slept in the same bed together, occasionally. In only their undershorts. With absolutely no unnecessary touching or kissing. Definitely no kissing.
Talon lifted his head from the bed, his red waves flowing onto the sheets. Zane wanted to run his fingers through—
“What are you doing? Come on.”
Zane lamely gestured at the floor. “I can sleep down here if you’d be more comfortable.”
“Don’t be silly. Get in here.” Tal patted the space next to him.
The prince of Athusa slipped into bed, laying on his back as stiff as possible, keeping his hands at his sides. He stared at the ceiling thinking,this is so stupid, you’ve been groomed your entire life to run an empire and you can’t lay down like a normal person. Talon raised a brow, and, propping his head up on his hand, he looked down at Zane.
“Something on your mind, Your Highness?”
“Please don’t call me that,” Zane grumbled, but his body still refused to relax.
“What should I call you then? Crown Prince, Your Excellency, O Magnificent Broody One?”
The side of Zane’s lip turned up. “Just Zane.”
“Well then, Just Zane, why are you doing your best impression of a wooden plank?”
Now Zane did laugh, and his muscles loosened as well. He finally turned his head to peer at Talon, their faces only inches apart. “I’m not exactly used to sharing a bed with someone.”
Tal gasped dramatically. “Not Prince ‘lock up your daughters’ Zane. What do you do with all those women I see you take to your room, then? Read poetry? Play backgammon? Discuss the merits of celibacy until marriage?”
“That would be less complicated,” Zane said, picking at a piece of invisible lint on the bed. Talon stilled his fidgeting with a warm hand.
“You can talk to me, Zane.” His blue eyes were earnest, open, and honest. “Nothing you say will leave this room. You have my word.”
“I know,” he said, sighing, suddenly eager to prove to Talon that he trusted him. “I’ve lived the last twenty years of my life not knowing who to trust, so I didn’t trust anyone.” Talon nodded his understanding. “The women are a show to keep my father off my back because it’s something he expects from me, but they always wantmorethan I can give them. They think I’ll woo them in public, or extend a marriage proposal. I’m sure some of them hope they’ll accidentally fall pregnant so I’ll be forced to keep them in the court, possibly making them empress. But none of that is what I want. None of it has felt right.”
“Do you not like women, then?”
“No, I like them. I can still enjoy their company for a short time before I kick them out of my room.” Zane smiled sadly as he met Talon’s gaze. “I just also like men, and in my father’s opinion, that is unacceptable. So I haven’t been with a man since I was seventeen.”
“It’s hard when your parents aren’t accepting.” Talon began playing gently with Zane’s hair. The sensation lulled him into a stupor, but this was the best, mostvulnerable and honest conversation he’d had in years, and he didn’t want it to end. He shook off the fatigue.
“I want to think my mother would be accepting, but I’ll never have the chance to ask her. Are your parents…” Zane wasn’t sure how to finish asking the question. He realized he didn’t even know if Tal’s parents were still alive.
