“Jesus, Sunny,” he roars, flipping us over and pinning me to the ground. “You don’t play very nice, do you?”
“E ... Ethan?” My voice breaks on a sob.
I don’t give him a chance to answer. He has my wrists in a firm hold on either side of my head as he bears his weight on his forearms. For a fraction of a second, we stare at each other, saying nothing, breathing heavily. The only part of me he isn’t holding down is my head, so I lift it up and smash my lips against his. There is no holding back. My relief, joy, and anger combust into all-consuming desire.
Ethan doesn’t miss a beat. His tongue flicks out and licks the seam between my lips, coaxing me to part them. I oblige enthusiastically. Hedeepens the kiss, making a low guttural sound in his chest. I can feel it vibrate against my breasts and their sensitive peaks. I meet every thrust of his tongue and bite of his teeth with my own, reveling in the feel of him—the taste of him.
“Ethan,” I breathe.
He raises my arms over my head, holding my wrists down with one big hand, as his other hand travels down the side of my body in a hurried but thorough exploration, as though checking to make sure I’m real. I feel the same need. I can’t believe Ethan is here with me. I don’t care who he is or why he kept it from me. For now, nothing else matters but this.
I tug on my hands, but he tightens his grip, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to remind me of his strength. Needing to feel more of him, I arch my back and press myself against him. The dig of his rigid length against my thigh drives me to a frenzy, and I grind my hips against him.
With a growl, he pushes up my tank top, exposing my breasts. He draws in a sharp breath, staring down at them like he’s seeing them for the first time, then he dips his head and sucks an aching tip into his mouth. He groans. I whimper and writhe under him as he turns his attention to my other breast.
I blindly reach for his pants and fumble with his belt buckle. Ethan freezes as though someone pressed the pause button on him. He slowly releases my nipple like it’s the last thing he wants to do, swirling his tongue around it, then scraping it lightly with his teeth before finally letting go. A shudder runs down my spine and to the tips of my toes. He presses his forehead against mine and brings my hand out from between our bodies.
“Not here,” he rasps, his breath coming in rough pants. “Not like this.”
He presses a kiss to my knuckles, then lowers my tank top with gentle care. In our tussle, we’d rolled to the very edge of the woods, and the moon casts his face in a silvery light. I should be mortified for losing control like that. But as tenderness replaces the lingering lust in Ethan’s eyes, I’m just happy to have him back. Everything else will hit the fan soon enough.
“Are you okay?” I cup the side of his face with my palm.
“I’m fine.” He pushes himself off me, and I immediately miss his warmth. I let him help me sit up. I roll my back and shoulders, trying to ease some of the soreness. I didn’t even notice how hard and uncomfortable the ground was.
Ethan stares out into the lake, offering me a view of his profile. His teeth are clenched tight, accentuating the sharp lines of his jaw, and his narrowed eyes glint with anger. He looks older, harder. The man who just kissed me as though his life depended on it is nowhere in sight. This is the man who left me in the cave.
“Where were you?” I ask haltingly, remembering how changed Ethan seemed after my house burned down.
“I tried to ‘persuade’ the yellow assassin to take me to Daeseong. He predictably refused, so I let him escape.” His knuckles gleam white on his fists. “I’ve been following him ever since, hoping he’ll lead me back to his master.”
“How did you end up here?” I know the answer before the last words leave my mouth. It’s a trap forbothof us.
“I followed ...” His eyes widen as he realizes the same thing. “Why are you here? Where’s Captain Song?”
“We got separated.” I can’t explain the Realm of Four Kingdoms to him. Not now. “It’s a long story.”
I scan our surroundings while I desperately think of ways we can come out on top. But I draw a blank. How do we stop a being of the Amheuk who can’t be killed? We can’t defeat Daeseong—not without the sword of light. I turn my senses inward and try to feel the Yeoiju in me, but I come up empty.
“So here’s the deal.” I turn to Ethan, who has a dark frown on his face. “We can either moon shift the hell out of here. Right now. And ... I don’t know ... go back to Vegas and hide out with Ford? Or ...”
I stop to worry my bottom lip. Why does there have to be anor? I have Ethan back. Jihun and the other suhoshins can handle the evil psychopath.I can even offer them the sacred ashes to do it with. I don’thaveto fight Daeseong. But there is anor, because I can’t turn my back on them.
“Or?” Ethan says, his eyes straying to my lips like he can’t help himself.
“Or ... we lure the Cheonji Monster—who we think is a dragon spirit—out of Heaven Lake and steal a couple of their scales,” I say in a rush before I change my mind.
Ethan steps close and places a palm on my forehead to check for a fever. I exhale with an irritated whoosh and slap his hand away.
“I’m serious.” I grit my teeth, wishing this really was a fever dream. “We need the dragon scales along with the sacred ashes to forge a sword of light. That’s the only weapon that can stop Daeseong.”
“You mean we have to forge a twin to the long-lost Gwangdo?” His eyebrows climb into his forehead. “No one has been able to forge a sword of light since the Endless War.”
“Yes, that—” I take an instinctive step back. “How ... how do you know that?”
“Sunny ...” Ethan reaches a hand out for me.
“What are you not telling me?” I stumble back another step.Why did you lie? Why did you leave?I can’t hide from this anymore. “Who are you?”
