Eurig stepped up beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. At first, she stiffened, caught off guard, but then she relaxed into his touch. “You’re trying to avoid answering my question, but I know you too well, Bree. You’re going to do something about Taveon, aren’t you?”
“You and Norah seem to think you know my every thought. Do you really think I’m that predictable?” Bree said lightly, though tension raked through her stomach like a dozen tiny knives. If her thoughts were plastered across her face, Lord Dagen would guess it as well. So would the other council members. It would make her quest a lot more difficult than it she’d hoped.
“Predictable? No. But you do have a tendency to run headfirst into danger. Besides, you and Taveon might not share a magical bond anymore, but I know you deeply care for him. You’re not going to sit back on something like this.”
She pressed her lips together. “Are you going to try to stop me?”
“I should,” he said roughly. “Fuck’s sake, I should. Taveon would agree, you know. He’d want me to lock you up in this room to keep you safe.”
Bree bristled. “You can’t treat me like I’m made of glass. A prize to protect. I’m a—”
His arm tightened around her. “I’m not going to stop you, Bree. Lord Dagen is wrong. It isn’t safe for Taveon here, even in the dungeons. If we don’t get to him first, some other dark fae will. And it will not be to protect him. We need to get him out. Before the demons come. Otherwise, I shudder to think what will happen to him.”
Her chest warmed. Turning toward him, Bree felt hope lift her heart. “So, you’ll help?”
“As much as I can,” he said, jaw tensing. “Though I’ll need to be careful. As the king of the outposters, I must keep the peace with the court. Otherwise, my people might be in danger, trapped in here behind the castle walls with potential enemies.”
Bree nodded. “Norah said she’d help me, too, but you have a good point. She needs to tread carefully.”
“It’ll have to be you, Bree,” he said with a sad smile. “It’s always you.”
His voice grew rough with his words. It almost sounded as though he was talking about something else. Something far closer to his heart. Twisting toward him, she wound her arms around his neck and leaned against his chest. He pulled her closer, and he settled his chin on the top of her head.
For a moment, they just stood there like that, holding on to each other. Two ships against a storm.
Eurig’s head dipped lower, and he brushed his lips against her neck. Sparks filled Bree’s body, and almost instantly, her core clenched. Need churned between her thighs as he moved his soft lips against her skin.
She turned her face to the side and met his mouth with hers. Eurig’s kiss was hungry, insistent. His arms tightened around her waist as his tongue speared her lips. Bree moaned, desire whipping through her. She’d dreamed of this while they’d been apart. She’d imagined this moment. Even as she’d felt betrayed, she’d wanted him.
Eurig lifted her from the floor and carried her over to his massive bed. He dropped her onto the soft mattress, flipped her over, and tugged her pants off her legs in one fluid motion. The cool air whispered across her bare ass.
“You are exquisite,” he growled as he yanked the rest of the material off her legs and tossed it away. Eurig wrapped his hands around her waist and hoisted them higher, her knees digging into the silken sheets. She was on her hands and knees now, bare before him. Need dripped down her thighs.
Softly, Eurig caressed her thighs. His hands explored her body as if he was trying to memorize every curve, every dip, every shape of her. She fisted the sheets as she heard the floor creak. She glanced over her shoulder to see him kneeling behind her, his eyes locked on her wetness. He leaned in and dragged a tongue across her core.
She moaned, delicious pleasure rattling through her entire body. Smiling, he took another taste of her, and then another. Bree dropped her forehead onto the sheets and held on for dear life. An ache of pure need spread between her thighs, and her breath puffed from shaking lungs.
“You like that, do you?” he murmured. His tongue dove between her folds, pressing deep within her. Her eyes practically rolled into the back of her head as her pleasure built. Eurig gripped her thighs, licking and tasting and driving her wild.
Her pleasure built to an aching crescendo, and then she shattered around him. An earthquake shook her body, the tremors thundering through her body. Bree bit hard into her lip, holding down the scream that threatened to spill from her throat. The last thing she wanted was the entire court to hear her pleasure.
A moment later, with her head still pressed against the sheets, she heard Eurig unbuckle his belt and the rustle of clothes being dropped onto the floor. His hands returned a moment later, gripping her hips. His hard length slid inside of her.
Bree shuddered as a fresh wave of pleasure washed through her entire body. He thrust inside her, his length filling her up. With a moan, she arched against him, desperate for more.
His fingers dug into her hips as his thrusts quickened. A low growl rumbled from his throat, a sound that echoed everything she was feeling. Gripping the bed, she lost herself in the feel of him, of their bodies coming together as one.
When her pleasure shattered once more, he came with her, his length throbbing in time with the tremors of her core. Sighing, Bree slumped against the bed. Eurig lifted her into his arms and cradled her against his chest.
“I love you,” he whispered into her hair. “And I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
9
RAFFERTY
Rafe hated being away from Bree. The barracks were loud and thick with the scent of sweat, ale, and desperation. As one of Taveon’s favored friends, Rafe had held a life of ease and comfort these past few decades. He’d worried about nothing other than keeping Taveon safe. Of course, that was the entire reason he’d ended up here in the first place. If Rafe was trapped in the dungeons, there was little he could do to help his friend.
Or Bree.
