Lorcan pressed his lips to her shoulder and bit into her skin. The light pain was electric, charging through her like a storm. She dropped back her head and cried out his name, shuddering when he dragged his tongue along her swollen nipples.
Her core clenched tight around him. She didn’t want this to end, but she couldn’t stop herself from hurtling faster and faster toward the cliff. At the sound of her pleasure, Lorcan’s thrusts turned frenetic. He needed her just as much as she needed him, and together, they were a hurricane of shadows and ice.
Every cell in her body turned to light as her need shattered around them. Tremors shook through her, making her come undone. With an eager grunt, Lorcan thrusted once more and released his seed inside her, their bodies becoming one.
She sagged in his arms as her heart still raced. He kept his cock inside her as he gently laid her down on the sand. Need still pulsed within her core. Even after all that, she wanted more. Staring down at her with adoring eyes, he traced his finger along the curve of her jaw.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he whispered.
A tear slipped down her cheek. Reaching up, she brushed his dark curls away from his face. “Does this mean you aren’t done with me yet?”
His lips curled into a wicked smile. “I willneverbe done with you.”
29
Eislyn
“Why have you come to see me?” Emperor Lir peered down at one of his subjects. The uneasy Fomorian knelt to his knees, his head bowed before his ruler. He was a powerful male, black wings flared wide on either side of his muscular body. The strands of his deep purple hair hung like a curtain around a face that looked as though it had been chiseled from stone.
And yet, he looked weak compared to the Emperor who had chained Eislyn to him.
She frowned at the wrist braces. He’d insisted on the bonds after she’d tried to escape yet again. It seemed he didn’t trust her very much.
Obviously.
“I can’t pay my taxes this year, Your Excellence,” the Fomorian murmured, eyes cast to the golden floor.
Eislyn stiffened. Lir had dragged her around with him for the past week, forcing her to witness his every courtly duty. So far, she’d been lucky enough to avoid seeing anything that would transform her mind into putty. She knew what happened to those who could not pay their taxes. Depending on the amount they owed, either everything was taken from them, they were tossed into the dungeons, or…they were executed.
She really didn’t want to watch the Emperor slice someone’s head off their body.
“I see.” Emperor Lir leaned back into his golden seat. “Do you know what we do to those who cannot fulfill their duty as a law-abiding citizen of this great empire?”
The Fomorian swallowed hard. “I do, Your Excellence.”
“Good.” Lir nodded. Eislyn braced herself, glancing away. “You will leave your home to join my army at once. You may have half a day to say goodbye to any family you might have. Once you have served six years, you may return to them.”
Eislyn’s head shot up, and she gaped at the Emperor. She’d never heard of such a thing. He was…pardoning the Fomorian? Sure, he had to spend six years fighting in an army, but that wasn’t such a terrible thing. It was an honor.
Eislyn spent the rest of the day standing quietly by his side while he saw the remaining subjects who had requested time in his presence. Most of the time, he just listened to their concerns. Sometimes, he made commands his guards carried out for him. To stop crime. To help a farmer who had lost it all.
She hated him, but…she could not lie and say he wasn’t decent to his people.
Just not to her.
When they returned to his quarters that night, he ushered in a servant behind him. The serving girl held a silver platter packed full of grilled meats, freshly-baked breads, and fresh fruits and cheese. Eislyn’s stomach grumbled, her mouth watering. It had been a long time since she’d seen food this grand.
Lir unclasped her chain and motioned at the food. “Eat.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Eagerly, she dug into the food and piled everything she could fit onto a plate. She plopped down into a chair beside the hearth and popped a strawberry into her mouth. The juices exploded against her tongue, as sweet as the longest summer day.
Lir strode to the open window and stared at the burnt orange sunset. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
She paused with a slice of chicken halfway to her mouth. “Witness what?”
“My punishment,” he said, twisting toward her. “For the baker who could not pay his taxes.”
“Oh. That.” She shoved the chicken into her mouth, and almost moaned at the tenderness of the meat. “I don’t know why you’re apologizing. You treated him far more fairly than…well, anyone else would have.”
