Gray advances. “Shathinor could have sent it—”
I take it and turn it over in my palm, warmth pulsing into my skin. The bond. “It’s from her. I can feel her on it.”
“Let’s go, then.” Valen gestures from across the chasm. “I’m ready.”
“No. Just the king.” Cecile shrugs. “I can only sneak one of you in. More than that, and I’ll get caught.” She shivers. “And I definitely don’t want to get caught.”
“Leander, no.” Gray puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’s a trap.”
“Probably.” I pin Cecile with a hard look. “Lead on.”
Gray grabs my arm. “Wait.”
“Bad plan, my king.” Valen shakes his head. “Let’s talk about this.”
“The rest of you stay here and await my command. If I’m not back by sunup, leave this place and alert the realms of the coming war.” I shake my arm. “Gray, I’ll need that back.”
“No.” Valen jumps to the stairs. “If Shathinor gets his hands on you—”
“He’ll kill me.” I turn to look at both of them. “I knew that risk when I left the winter realm, but I will do anything to save Taylor. She is my sunrise and sunset, and if she asks for me, I will go to her, no matter what.”
Gray scowls, Valen’s face falls, and Selene is snoring again.
“I must see this through.” I offer my hands. They take them, reluctantly, and grip my forearms. “Trust me. Trust that I know what I’m doing, and we will all be together again—either at High Mountain or in the Glowing Lands of the Ancestors.”
“The second option doesn’t seem like the best one.” Valen pulls me into a hug. “Good luck.” His voice is tight.
“This is a bad idea.” Gray squeezes my arm and releases me. “I won’t let you live this down. Not here or on the other side.”
I smile for the first time since Taylor was taken. “I would expect no less.”
“My king.” Valen drops to his knee, his head bowed.
Gray’s face sobers, and he does the same. “My king.”
Cecile clears her throat. “If we’re done here, I’ve got laundry and—”
I turn to her so quickly that she stumbles backward, barely catching herself on the wall.
Trap or no, my fate lies with Taylor. “Lead me to my mate.”
11
Taylor
Cecile’s steps are loud even as she tries to creep down the hallway outside my door. Leander barely seems to touch the stone floors, but I can sense him. Everything inside me goes taut. My mate his here. The one who will rule Arin by my side.
I face the door, smiling as it creaks open and Cecile hurries in, Leander on her heels.
He stops, the air growing cool and his body tensing. “Taylor?”
“Yes.” I step forward, suddenly worried he won’t recognize me, not as I am.
He rushes to me and pulls me into his arms, crushing me against his chest. “Thank the Ancestors. You’re safe.” He kisses my hair, his lips straying down my cheek and meeting my mouth with a fervor that sets off an ache inside me.
I wrap my arms around his neck and answer his tongue with mine, every bit of the passion I feel for him going into this kiss.
He pulls back, but not far. “I have to get you to safety. What did he do to you?” He glances at my darker hair, then runs a hand along one of my wings.
I shudder at his touch, every bit of me attuned to what it feels like to be near him again.
“Taylor?” Cecile waits at the door. “I did what you asked.”
“Your pet is safe. Get out,” I hiss.
Leander’s brows draw together, but I don’t have time to explain, not when my need for him blots out any rational thought. I skim a hand down his abs and reach into his pants.
“My mate.” He kisses me hard, his cock in my hand like an iron rod covered with the finest silk.
“I want you.” I back away and strip my shirt off.
He watches, his eyes hungry as I shuck my pants away and stand naked before him.
When I drop to my knees and pull him toward me, he reaches for my wings again. “You’re fae? How?”
I don’t want to talk. Not now. I pull his cock free from his pants and lick the head.
He growls and runs his hands through my hair. “Little one, we must leave. You aren’t safe.”
I take him to the back of my throat, my tongue pressed against his cock as I start bobbing my head.
His groan creates a sensual wetness between my thighs, and I reach down and rub my clit as I suck him until my cheeks go hollow.
With a roar he lifts me and pins me to the bed. “Taylor, what is this?” He peers into my eyes, desire and confusion warring inside him.
I spread my legs wide and rock against him. “I want you, my king. I need you deep inside me, mated and loved.”
His low purr vibrates through me.
My fangs lengthen, and without a thought, I sink them deep into his shoulder. He roars and enters me, filling me as I cry against his warm skin, his blood flowing on my tongue. His hands grip mine, holding me down as I take everything he offers—his body, his blood, the bond between our souls.
I let go and lick my lips as he claims my mouth again, his body surging into mine and shaking the bed with each powerful stroke.
“Mine.” He nips at my lips as he owns me again and again, his powerful body made for me and me alone. Releasing my hands, he grabs my hair and pulls, arching me so he can suck my throat.
Digging my nails into his back, I hold on as he pistons into me, my breasts tingling with pleasure as he dominates every bit of me, his hard chest rubbing me just right.
Gripping one breast, he runs his tongue along my nipple, then clamps down, his hips still working me as I gasp for breath and twist his hair in my fingers. I moan as he sucks the bud into his mouth, his tongue massaging the tip as my legs spread even wider. Every moment of contact between us is like a little spark of electricity, millions of them lighting me up from the inside.
He pulls away, his eyes dark, and grips my hips. With a rough yank, he turns me over and pulls me onto my knees. With a hard thrust, he enters me from behind. I cry out as he leans over me, his chest against my folded wings as he fills me with hard strokes.
My toes curl when he licks the back of my neck, then bites, breaking the skin with his fangs. He holds onto me like an animal, keeping me right where he wants me as he gives me everything I want. When he runs a hand beneath me and strokes my clit, I begin to shake, my pleasure winding around inside me like thread on a tight spool.
The sound of his skin hitting mine ricochets around the room, and the bed bangs against the wall to his impossible rhythm. I push back against him, driving him further inside me as his fingers strum my sensitive spot. He bites harder, the pain like gasoline on the fire that already burns between us. My hips seize, and I gasp as my release hits, the pleasure coursing through me, overflowing until I can barely breathe, barely feel anything except the tension unwinding in languid waves of pleasure.
Leander growls against my skin, then shoves hard and deep. His cock kicks inside me, and he spurts his seed with a roar. We pant together, our bodies joined and sharing in each other’s pleasure. As my release fades, my knees spread, and I sink down into the bed, Leander on top of me, still inside me.