“I’m asking, fiercely,” Lorcan said. “I will not make the order because I want you to have the freedom to decide. But you must know what this means. Our entire future depends on this, Lord Tristin. I will be returning to Findius, with or without your warriors. If Ulaid Molt kills me, then the power of that throne becomes his. You know as well as I do what will happen if he wins. Unseelie’s power will scatter across this realm. Perhaps all of Tir Na Nog.”
Lord Tristin shuddered and then clamped his hand on Lorcan’s shoulder. “Give me the evening to discuss this with Lord Maddox. I’ll give you my answer in the morning.”
* * *
Nollaig scuttled off to the guest quarters to get some sleep, but Reyna was far too wired to even think of nodding off. She and Lorcan left for the shore, kicking off their boots when they reached the sandy beach. Together, they strode down the quiet bank to the soft lapping of waves. Her heart pulsed anxiously in her chest as she shot him a furtive glance. She still could scarcely believe he was alive.
“You should not have given him the choice, you know,” she said quietly. It was his realm, and his court, and he could do what he wanted. But she also knew he liked it when she spoke her mind.
“My reign has not come to me in a typical way,” Lorcan said, tipping back his head to stare up at the starless sky. Even the moon was hidden in the mists this night. “My father took on the title of king after the exile. No one objected. It didn’t really mean anything at the time. Not without the throne. When he advanced on Findius, no one stopped him. I suppose they didn’t think he’d be successful. Once he was, they just ignored him. He might have been the High King by the end of it, but it seems most of the lords never thought of him that way.”
He stopped to face her and brushed a strand of hair behind her curved ear. Sparks lit along her skin, and a heat coiled deep within her. “He had the power of the seat. He commanded all the armies.”
“And yet none of that really affected them until now.” Lorcan sighed. “I am the bastard son of a self-made king. I don’t hold command of anything. Ulaid Molt has taken the city. They have no reason to follow me. At least, not from fear. So, I give them the choice. I show them that I am not like my father. I know they cannot love me. I’m nothing to them. But perhaps they can see that I care about this realm. Perhaps respect is all a king needs.”
Reyna’s heart ballooned as she peered up into his raven eyes. “You are unlike any king I have ever met, and I mean that in the best way possible.”
His lips curved into a wicked smile. “And you are unlike any princess I’ve ever met.”
“And you mean that in the best way possible?” she prodded, grinning.
“Reyna,” he said, sweeping his thumb along the curve of her jaw. “I would not want you to be anything but exactly what you are. Every infuriating, electrifying, stubborn part of you. You charge through the world with a ferocity I have never seen in anyone else. You can be maddening. You often scare the shit out of me, and then do it again ten times over. But all of it, every single part of it, is why I love you so much I swear my heart feels pounded to a bloody pulp most of the time.”
Her breath caught. She pressed her fingers against his armor. Even with the leather between them, she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. He leaned into her touch and rested his hand against the back of her neck. Just the feel of his fingers against her skin was enough to send a flare of heat through her core.
He was alive. She was alive.
Somehow, despite everything, they’d found their way back to each other.
He leaned down, and she swore she felt the pulse of his shadows curling around them. Shuddering, she tipped back her head just as his lips caught the skin of her neck. His mouth moved against her throat, delicately at first before becoming more insistent. Sparks dotted her eyes.
“Lorcan,” she whispered, pressing up onto her toes. Her core ached with need; her heart raced in her chest like a dragon seeking prey. His hands found the bottom edge of her tunic and yanked it over her head. Her breasts popped free of the material, her nipples hardening beneath his dark gaze.
With trembling hands, she undid the clasps of his armor and watched him toss it onto the sandy shore by their feet. They shimmied out of the rest of their clothes, clashing together when they were both free of the restraints of them.
The hard planes of his chest shot a new spark of desire through her body. Gasping when his mouth found her nipple, she hooked her leg around his waist and moaned. He buried himself in her breasts, transforming her into a tangle of wild need.
Winding her arms around his neck, she climbed him like a tree, wrapping her other leg around his waist. His hardness pulsed between them. Growling, he nipped her neck with his teeth.
“Someone seems eager,” he murmured as he trailed hot kisses along her collarbone.
She shuddered against him, angling her body so that their hips fit together like the pieces of a complicated puzzle. Reyna had never met anyone like Lorcan Rothach, and she knew she never would again. Tomorrow, they would have to worry about war and blood and fear.
Tonight, she just wanted to lose herself in him.
“I’ve dreamt about you for weeks,” she whispered into his ear. “I don’t want to dream of you any longer.”
He lifted his gaze to hers. Need flashed in the depths of his midnight eyes. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
Her heart lurched in her chest, beating in time with his. “I was never going to stop fighting to get back to you.”
His lips collided with hers, fierce and hungry. She lost herself in his kiss. Nothing in the past mattered anymore. Only his touch. Only his mouth. Only the growing hardness between them.
Shuddering, he slid inside of her. She gasped as her wetness coated his cock. The length of him speared her, hitting the very back of her core. She moaned at the feel of him, a desperate need for more rising up within her like a great, magnificent beast.
“You have never felt better than you do now.” His fingers dug into her thighs, tugging her even closer to him. With a sigh, she slid along the full length of him until their bodies connected like stars.
He slammed into her once more. She hooked her arms around his neck and clung on tight while the speed of his thrusts increased with every passing moment. The heat in her core was almost overwhelming. She couldn’t even think straight around the lust for the only male in the world she’d ever wanted.
