First And Last - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,43

why?”

He laughed and met my gaze. “You get upset that I demand to join you, and when I say I agree with you, this upsets you too. Make up your mind.”

“I’m not upset, it’s just so unlike you.”

He cupped my cheek and ran his thumb across my lips. “I trust in you, Álainn. Besides, you’re right. My impulse to save you cannot be controlled so it’s best not to put ourselves in a situation like that again. Until we know if I can be shielded, I will yield.” He looked back to the book. “Be sure to call on Quinney so that you’re not there alone.”

I sat there in silence and watched him. Holy shit. It happened. This never-ending battle between us finally reached its end and the biggest surprise of all was that he was the one succumbed.

Of all the times I dreamed of this day, I expected to feel elated that he was the one to give in and I would be declared the winner of the never-ending fight. I felt none of that within me now.

Only one thing captured my thoughts.

A second later, I acted on that line of thinking and threw myself onto him. It surprised him, which showed just how quickly I acted. He hadn’t had time to even process my emotions, but it didn’t take long for him to grasp my intention. He lifted me up, carried me into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

He reached for my kilt, but I stopped him and sank to my knees in front of him. “Oh no, this one is all for you.”

It took him a second to free himself from his kilt, and the moment he did, I took him in hand, then into my mouth. Reward for good behavior, right?

* * * *

Not long after, I had stripped out of my gear and snuggled into bed next to him. He ran his finger down the length of my spine. “That makes you happy, does it?” he asked.

“Very happy.” I lifted my head from his chest and looked at him. “I’ve waited a long time for you to come around and stop being such a jerk.”

He arched a brow. “A jerk?”

“Yes, a jerk. It’s about time you put some trust where it belongs.”

He tapped the end of my nose with his finger and grinned. “If the roles were reversed would you behave differently?”

I considered it. Would I allow him to fight without me? Especially if I knew he was in danger. Dammit! I hate it when he is right.

He chuckled and pulled me closer into him. “As I thought.” He resumed running his finger along my back. “We’ll test this shield against Quinney to see if it will hold. Then, we’ll go from there.”

“Look at us, Kyden, we’re compromising.” I really was quite astonished. “Whoever thought this would happen.” I sure as hell didn’t.

“I don’t want to upset you. You’ve enough to deal with. I can put my wishes aside to stand behind you. That’s not a concern.” He gave my butt a little pat, then sighed. “We need to get back to the book.”

I groaned. There was no putting off. “I’ll go.” I quickly jumped off the bed and headed for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kyden demanded.

“Getting the damn book.” I reached for the door handle.

“Not like that, you’re not.” Kyden’s curt tone stopped me in my tracks.

“Like what?” I looked down and realized I was naked. “Yikes.” I burst out laughing. “I totally forgot we weren’t alone.”

I grabbed the bathrobe off the door, then went out to grab the evil thing. After taking the book off the coffee table, I returned to find Kyden had clicked on the night table lights and was just finishing putting up our pillows. I dropped the robe, jumped into bed beside him and ran my hands over the thick cover of the book. “Tell me, what does Diabolus Somes mean?” Since my skill in Latin was non-existent, his help in this department was very necessary.

“Devil’s Remains.”

I should have expected it to be something creepy, but wasn’t prepared since I shivered. Ignoring that, I opened the book and looked at the first page. It was so cryptic. There was some writing on it, but there wasn’t any sense of order. Just scribbles here and there. “What does this mean?” I asked, pointing to the words, Ego sum totus.

Kyden leaned forward to look. “I am all.”

Fear ran cold through my blood. The devil probably wrote