No wonder I’d felt lightheaded. Lungs burning, I sucked in a breath and chuckled. A sound he echoed, though his rang of some deeper emotion. Something rough and sensual. I dove right back in for another taste of him, savoring the traces of woodsmoke and cedar coming off his soft skin. His silky black hair fell around me as we lost ourselves in kiss after kiss.
A possessive sound rumbled in his chest as he turned and pinned me between him and the tree. His tongue brushed the seam of my mouth before he kissed me deeper.
Driven by lust and the sizzling bond between us, I hooked one leg around his hip and drew him closer, clinging to every inch of him. Each glide of his tongue felt like liquid fire. Every hard press of his body created a delicious wave of heat from the top of my head down to my feet.
The raw, carnal desire burning through my veins was dizzying. Made worse when I felt the hard cock through his trousers. I grinded up into him and emitted a shaky moan against his lips. A tremor went through his body as I wrapped my other leg around his hips too. Our fated connection vibrated, heightening as our kisses turned more desperate.
He tore from my mouth with a growl and pulled away from me.
Wait. What?
Breaths ragged and heart racing, it took me a second to come back to my senses. When I did, I saw that he’d put a large gap between us.
“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.
“No.” He stood from the grass and straightened his disheveled shirt. “We should return. Your lovers will be wondering where you are.”
“Wait a second.” I sat up, trying to get my body to calm. “I’m sorry if that was too much, too soon. I got a little carried away, I guess.”
“No apology needed.” His shoulders were too stiff, his tone too damn cold. “As I said, you did nothing wrong.”
“Then why are you upset?” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. His mercurial mood, going from fiery hot to ice-cold, gave me whiplash. “Are you worried about what my men will say? You don’t have to be. I’ve already—”
“I care not what they think or feel,” he interjected, then turned to leave the shade of the willow. “Now come with me or you’ll be left to find your own way back.”
A heavy weight threatened to send my heart to the pit of my stomach. The hot burning behind my eyes said tears wouldn’t be far behind. As he put distance between us, heading for the path, I sat motionless beneath the tree.
Wondering what the hell had just happened—and what I did wrong.
***
Sleep deprivation and stress didn’t pair well. After a long night of being tormented by both, I found myself in the kitchen in the wee hours the next morning, doing what I did best. Forgetting life’s troubles by baking sweets.
“What’s he doing?” Rowan leaned against the wall, having just appeared in the room using his shadows.
“Making cookies,” Lake answered without looking up from the piece of wood in his hand. He sat at the table near the open window, letting the pre-dawn breeze ruffle the silver strands of his hair as he whittled.
“This early? The sun’s not even up yet.”
“It’s never too early for cookies,” I said, whisking eggs, sugar, and softened butter in a big bowl. The dry ingredients were added. One batter down, two more to go.
“Sure.” Rowan watched me flutter around the kitchen. “Should we wake Captain Glutton? He can usually calm him down when he’s like this.”
“No, don’t wake up Maddox. I’m okay. Really.” I skidded to a halt beside the counter and hesitated, bowl of cookie dough in one hand and a cleaver in the other. “Wait. Why do I have this?”I set the cleaver back down and grabbed a spoon instead. “There we go. See? Totally calm and not frazzled at all.”
“Uh huh. Right.” Rowan gave an incredulous look to Lake.
“I saw that.” I spooned up dough and rolled it into a ball between my palms.
“You saw nothing. Go back to your cookies.”
“Keep being sassy and I’m gonna make you eat one.” More dough. Another ball added to the cooking sheet. Rinse and repeat. I focused on each step, trying not to let my mind wander.
Trybeing the key word there. Easier said than done.
After the incident with Lord Onyx yesterday, I’d gone to watch my knights train before snuggling with Lake in the garden as he enjoyed some sunshine. Rowan had found us sometime after noon, and we’d gone to visit Briar at the clinic. A whole day of me trying to process what happened beneath that willow tree.
I still wasn’t any closer to figuring it out.
