“Not alone, you won’t,” Stark growls. His presence is at my back, and I turn to frown at him.
So it turns out hecanspeak. Eating my pussy didn’t make his tongue nonfunctional after all.
But he just gives me a look that says,If you think I’m letting you wander through a nest of Siphons without protection, you’re dangerously removed from reality.
Elias bows his head again and says, “You are welcome to join us.” His eyes wander briefly over my shoulder, catching on Anassa and the other wolves. “But the wolves will have to stay.”
“Fuck that,” I say furiously to Anassa.
“I agree,” she replies.“I would prefer to come with you. But I also understand that might not be possible if you are to visit a Siphon town relatively unnoticed.”
I nod. I’ll do it. But I don’t like it.
Davide steps forward, smoothing his elegant hand along his horse’s flank as he joins us. His eyes are pale, his stare intense. “I will send for additional mounts.”
My sister elects to stay at the outpost with Venna, Noemi, and… our father. I’m torn about whether it’s safer for her to stay with them or come with me and Stark.
“I will keep watch over her,” Anassa assures me.
Turns out, there aren’t many horses available beyond the exhausted ones the Siphons rode here. They manage to find only one additional mount for us.
I end up having to share a saddle with Stark.
He wordlessly offers me a hand after mounting, and I let go as quickly as I can after settling onto the horse’s back. His hands rest briefly at my hips before releasing me to hold the reins.
Even that momentary touch sends heat spiraling through my body.
How fucking annoying.
Despite the tension and drama of the day we’ve had—which should have me on high alert—I struggle to focus on our journey into town. My body keeps registering the press of Stark behind me, his arms on either side of me.
I’ve been doing my best not to overanalyze what happened between us, particularly in the wake of his sulky silent treatment. If he’s going to ignore what happened, then fine, two can play that game.
But the contact between our bodies keeps resurfacing memories. My hips repeatedly press into his, ratcheting up my body temperature.
His lips. His hands. Hismouth, for fuck’s sake.
I keep my gaze frozen ahead of me, not wanting to show any weakness to Elias and Davide.
Weakness like the sparks that shoot through me every time the horse’s movement jolts us, thrusting Stark’s body against my own.
It doesn’t help that every time I bounce backward, I can tell I’m having the same effect on him.
So much for protecting me from dangers in the Siphon town ahead. I’m not sure I’ll survive another five minutes without kissing or killing the man behind me.
31
STARK
I’m surrounded by enemies I can’t kill, riding a silent creature vastly inferior to Cratos, and yet the woman seated in front of me is going to be the reason I go insane.
Right now, I should be carefully noting the landscape we ride through. Every moment I spend in Astreona is a chance for intelligence gathering that could make or break our position in this war.
Instead, I’m fighting the urge to deliberately hold Meryn tighter to me. To press her shapely ass against my stiffening cock through the thin fabric of her trousers each time the horse jostles us up and down.
This is the last thing I fucking need—Meryn in close proximity, pushing me closer and closer to a perilous edge I’m trying to avoid.
Yesterday was a mistake, plain and simple. That mental connection took us both to a frenzied place, feeding off each other’s sensations and riling each other up. We were out of our right minds.
