“Good morning, my love,” he whispered in my ear.
“You’re awake?”
“I have been for some time. I didn’t want to disturb you, but now...” A smile entered his voice, and he lifted the hem of my shirt and splayed his palm across my belly. Warmth billowed from his body, and he shifted closer until his broad chest brushed my back.
I snuggled into him, loving the feel of his heat taking the morning chill away. And loving that he was here with me andsafe. I’d been dreaming of this moment for so long. Aching for it. At times during the previous weeks, I thought it’d never come true.
“Stars, I want to wake up to you every morning,” I murmured.
He kissed my neck, then nipped at my skin. Behind me, he hardened, growing thicker and longer with every breath, and I pushed my backside into him. A low growl rumbled his chest. “You will. From now on, this is where you wake. In our bed. With me.”
“Where’s Guardian Alleron?” I asked quietly, my eyes closed when his hand trailed across my skin, over my hip, and down my thigh. His movements were soft and lulling, yet arousing too.
“He’s no longer in the palace.”
His hand danced up my side, and a smattering of goosebumps broke out across my skin. “Where did you take him?”
“Away. He’s currently without a tongue or fingers, and he’s en route to one of the Lochen islands.”
I flipped over to face him, my eyes flying open. “What?”
Jax smiled lazily at me, his dark hair tousled and his eyes bright despite the early hour. His chest was bare, his tanned skin beautiful and smooth in the morning sunshine. The scar that had once grazed his skin right below his breastbone, from Lordling Neeble’s attack, was now so faint it was hard to see. “Quinn’s had a few run-ins with the Lochen. He knows some of the more unsavory individuals who inhabit their isles, and he sold your guardian to one of them.”
My jaw dropped. “Sold him? Like a slave?”
“Exactly.”
“But slavery is outlawed, not only on our continent but the other continents too.”
Jax shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Just because slavery is outlawed doesn’t mean that it doesn’t occur. Slavery will always exist in the darker parts of society. You just don’t see it.”
His finger trailed along my jaw, and he tugged me closer. I breathed in his scent. Pine and spice tickled my senses, helping to alleviate some of the panic coursing through me.
“So my former guardian is now a slave?”
Jax dipped his head to kiss my neck. “He is. It’s a fitting end for him, don’t you think?” His lips trailed along my collarbone, and with his other hand, he worked my shirt free until it was up and over my head. “My Ironcrest magic has kept his voice robbed and will continue to do so. But even if it wore off—or an Ironcrest spellcaster dissolved it like you said happened initially—without a tongue, he’d be hard pressed to talk, and without fingers, he’ll be unable to write. Besides, as a slave, nobody will listen to him anyway. Even if he could tell the entire realm that I was the Dark Raider, nobody would believe him.”
A shudder ran through me. It was so cruel. So vicious. Yet the fierceness billowing along my mate’s bond told me he’d do it all over again. Jax’s ruthlessness, especially when it came to protecting those he loved, had no bounds. And even though his dark nature might disturb some, it’d never made me feel anything but safe. It was who he was. Dark and light. Vengeful yet capable of breathtaking kindness. He was my mate, and to me, he was perfect.
“I’ll never see him again.” I tilted my head back when his mouth returned to my lips.
He kissed me deeply, then pulled back enough to say, “No, my love. He’s gone for good.”
“And now that King Paevin’s dead, Bastian can return home.”
Jax’s lips found the soft spot on my neck that always caused a stirring to inflame my core. He kissed there, grumbling in pleasure when I gasped. He kissed me again softly, reverently, then nodded.
“Yes, we’ll take Bastian home today and take you back to the Isle of Song so you can report the knowledge they require, and then we’ll return to Faewood to ensure the other half-breeds are freed. They’re still wearing those anklets, although without the king commanding them, I’m unsure what state they’ll be in. But once we save them, we’ll return here, and then we’ll find a way to make my parents accept you.”
I wrapped my arms around him, allowing myself to get lost in his touch. In a flurry of magic, all of my clothes were off, and then Jax’s hard naked body was atop mine.
And when we began to move together, his hard length filling me in the most perfect way, a flicker of hope burned inside me. Maybe, just maybe, all of this would end up as we’d always hoped it would.
Maybe everything finally,truly, would be okay.
CHAPTER 24
We made love twice before getting up. Still, it was hard to leave the bed. Jax and I had enjoyed so little time together since completing our bond, and given the predatory gleam in his eyes when we finally both rose to get dressed for the day, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before his magic whisked my clothes off once more.
