The moment he had them above my head, he pulled away from my mouth and watched me. His sexy, self-assured smirk was back in place. “Is it bad that I want to keep you here, in Transition? I don’t want this to end,” he said, before he trailed kisses over my collarbone softly.
I didn’t answer him, because to do so would be to admit that I wanted to stay here with him. I liked being with him and the problem with that was I was falling for my enemy. He was hiding something from me. I’m not sure how I knew, but I had a feeling that when I discovered it, we’d forever be changed. He was more than he claimed to be—so much more.
“Are you sore?” he asked as he allowed me to slide down his body until my feet were on the floor.
“Yes,” I answered him, watching his eyes as he still held my hands above my head.
“I can fix that,” he replied, allowing his hands to glow with power. I instantly shivered and gasped. It was the second time I’d ever seen his hands ignite with his powers. The first time, he’d been using it to hurt people.
“No, leave it, please,” I whimpered as I felt his power start to enter my body.
“If you’re sore, Syn, I can fix it easily.”
“I like the feel of it. The reminder of what we did.”
He shook his head and claimed my mouth again, growling his approval as he did so. When he pulled away, I cried out from the loss of his mouth on mine. “Someone wants to see you, Pet,” he said grudgingly, as if it pained him to say it.
“Adam is out of Transition!?” I squeaked in half panic, half joy.
“He is,” he answered, and he kissed my neck again, as if he couldn’t get enough of me.
I brought my hands up and threaded them through his silky hair. “Is he okay?” I questioned him, even as his hand moved between my legs to press against my sensitive flesh. “He’s fine, he lived. I gave him my best girls to get him through it.” He smiled against my neck and whispered against my ear. “I like knowing your flesh is tender because I fucked it.”
I smiled and then watched as he sucked against my nipple while his eyes met mine. He pulled his mouth away, but only far enough that I could watch as he licked and ran his teeth over the pink tip. I moaned and felt moisture pooling as he continued.
He lifted his head and smiled. His magic wafted through me as he cleansed my body of all signs of Transition, and I noticed a shirt now covered his torso as he pulled away from me.
“You should get dressed before I end up taking you back to the bed, and spend the rest of the day between those pretty thighs of yours. You have an entire gathering up there awaiting you.”
“Huh?” I asked confused as I pushed off of the wall.
“Your boy toy is up there. He’s not very bright,” he whispered.
“Adrian is upstairs too? Can I see him?” I asked carefully.
“He is. I’m only going to say this once, Syn—keep your lips to yourself. He’s been warned now that you are mine. For as long as I have my mark on you, no one else will take liberties with you. Be careful with hunger, Pet. It belongs to me, for now. Remember that, so no one else will get hurt.”
“Ryder, get a grip. I’m not going to lose control this time. Last time was a mistake, and if I had been myself, it never would have happened.”
“So you say, but women are fickle creatures. I don’t share what is mine, and, right now, you are mine. Some women are free with their bodies. You are not to be one of them, understand me?”
“Not everyone works like that. Some need, and want to be loved by one man alone. When I love someone, I give them everything I have and don’t expect to get anything back in return for it. I’d never tear you down, Ryder; not if you were mine. Besides, you told me once before that love was worth fighting for.” He shook his head as his eyes narrowed. I wasn’t sure how we’d gotten into something this deep. He’d told me from the beginning that he wasn’t that kinda guy.
“I never asked for, or offered, you love, Synthia,” he snapped defensively.
I smiled sadly and stepped closer to him until I was close enough to kiss him. “That’s a shame, because this is what you could have had,” I whispered before claiming his lips and putting everything I had into the kiss until I heard his sigh, and felt his hands tremble as they landed on my waist, pulling me closer.
I didn’t want this. I wasn’t supposed to love the enemy. My hands came up to cup his face as I deepened the kiss, before pulling away to stare into his beautiful eyes. “That is what people spend eternity looking for. That’s why men go to war when they lose it.”
“You’re still thinking like a human. I’m Fae, and we don’t fall in love easily, if ever. We marry for gain, or to end wars.”