“Hey.” I turned to face him, snatching a blanket off the back of my sofa and wrapping it around his waist. My fingers brushed the warm skin of his stomach, setting my heart racing. I wanted nothing more than to peel the blanket back off and kiss every inch of him, but for once we needed to do this right.
As much as I hated those four words, we needed to talk.
At his raised eyebrow, I smiled up at him. “There are some things I need to say to you, and I can’t concentrate with so much of you on show.”
His forehead scrunched up, apprehension creeping in, and I quickly grabbed both of his hands in mine. “It’s all good, I promise.” At least I thought it was. Goddess willing, Talis would agree. “Why didn’t you change back when all the others did?” I asked. Not what I’d meant to start with, but it was what came out.
Talis closed his eyes but didn’t let go of my hands. His thumbs rubbed the back of my knuckles, slow and rhythmic, soothing. “In wolf form it was easier to focus on protecting you, keeping you safe. Because if I was human, I would have thrown you over my shoulder, marched you in here and straight up to your bed.”
My mouth went dry at the image he painted, a flush creeping its way up from the base of my throat.
Goddess above.
“And what would you have done then?” I asked, stepping closer.
His eyes snapped open,ver’athgreen and full of a heat so intense I shivered. “Everything, Axel.” Letting go of one of my hands, he cupped my jaw, tilted my chin up. His big hands held so much strength, but his touch was gentle.
I knew from experience that touch could also be rough and demanding, given the right motivation.
His gaze darkened, tongue darting out to lick over his bottom lip, and all the words I’d planned on saying to him suddenly seemed pointless and excessive.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, leaning into his palm. “I’m sorry I hurt you, that I pushed you away, when deep down all I wanted was to hold you tight.” He went to speak, but I shook my head. “I trust you, Talis. I’ve always trusted you, because in all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never once given me cause not to.” The breath I sucked in was ragged, rough, nerves and anticipation warring with each other as I finally admitted to him what I should’ve months ago.
“I was scared.” My voice faltered, and I closed my eyes. Warm, soft lips covered mine in the gentlest of kisses.
“So was I,” he murmured, then kissed me once more before pulling back. “I wanted you so much that I pushed for something I knew we weren’t ready for.”
“No.” I shook my head again. “You did nothing wrong, and I should never have blamed you for any of it. I’d spent too long keeping everyone at arm’s length because the alternative was terrifying, and I chose to hide behind a wall rather than face it.” I slid my arms around his waist, needing to touch him, to feel his solid warmth and know I hadn’t lost him. “You’re nothing like him, I’m so fucking sorry for not seeing that from the start.”
“Enough.” He kissed me again, one hand in my hair, the other sliding around my back to pull me close enough that we touched everywhere from thigh to shoulder. All that glorious shifter heat seeping through my clothes and making me sigh into his mouth. “All I need to know is that you trust me and that you want this.”
“I do.” I kissed him this time, pouring everything into it in case my words weren’t enough. Talis was broad and tall, caging me in with his gentle strength, but inside him lurked a wild and feral beast that I’d only caught a glimpse of last time.
I wanted to see it all.
Feel him let go and take everything he wanted without worrying that it might be too much. And for that I needed to make sure he trusted me.
“If we do this,” I said, tilting my head back to meet his eyes. “It won’t be just sex.” I shook my head with a wry smile. “Not that it’s ever beenjust sexbetween us. But I’m not deluding myself this time. I’m not going to wake up in the morning and regret any of this. I promise. Because I want more than now, more than one night.” I took a deep, steadying breath, my heart banging so hard against my ribcage I’d be surprised if Talis couldn’t feel it. “I want it all.”
His eyes widened, his sharp intake of breath loud in the quiet surrounding us. “Do you know what you’re offering?”
“I do.” My gaze dropped to my bare wrist, wondering how it would work with Talis. Would we bond like Rys and Gabriel? Or join like Dathal and Nick? Doubt shadowed Talis’s eyes, understandably so given my apparent sudden change of heart. “Not immediately. And only if you want to, it’s not—”
“I do,” he said quickly, eyes fixed on mine. “But I need to know that it’s what you want, that you’re sure, because it’s not something we can take back.”
“There’s no rush.” I didn’t care what Lady Sarhin said, I wouldn’t use my relationship with Talis as a bargaining chip with the high court. It was too fragile. “We can wait as long as we need. I just wanted you to know that there are no limitations on what we can be together.” I swallowed thickly, remembering the hurt I’d seen in his eyes when I’d done that very thing. “Not this time.”
He stared at me for a moment longer before the most breathtaking smile broke out, his eyes full of so much hope and happiness, I had to blink back tears.
“I trust you too,” he said, voice reverent.
And then he kissed me.
Hard and desperate, like everything holding him back had crumbled to dust. We stumbled into the wall, Talis’s hold on me the only thing keeping me upright.
His low growl was all the warning I got before he hoisted me up. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I moaned into his mouth as my hard cock now pressed against his instead of his thigh.
He smelt of the forest, of pack, ofhome.The realisation that I thought of this house, this place amongst the trees of Clumber Park as my home instead of the Fae Realm I’d left behind wasn’t as shocking as it probably should have been.
