in front of the general. Not when he’d already made it clear what he thought of her.
Fallon, noticing the tiredness tugging at Shea, straightened and turned to his men. Darius was in the middle of briefing him about what had happened when Eamon had returned with no Shea and no Fallon. It had evidently caused quite an uproar. With several patrols missing, Darius had made the decision to recall anybody in the outlying areas until they could get a handle on what was happening. It was a decision Fallon agreed with.
“Braden has sent men to recover those we left behind,” Fallon told Darius. “I want my top advisors here tomorrow morning so we can discuss this new obstacle.”
Darius caught sight of Shea slumped over the table and nodded, understanding why Fallon had called the meeting short.
“Understood.”
Braden opened his mouth to object, but at a sharp look from Darius, closed it and gave a gruff nod.
Fallon waited until the two men had departed before he made his way over to where Shea was tilting in her seat. He caught her and then picked her up and carried her to the partitioned area that hid their bed chamber.
She woke as soon as he swung her into his arms. Her eyes blinking up at his, her face sleep-softened and without the normal shields she hid behind.
“Fallon.”
“I’m here, Shea.”
“I was so scared that I wouldn’t be able to find you.”
His arms tightened around her. It was a fear he reciprocated. They’d been in there longer than Shea had even guessed. Long enough that he had nearly given up hope. It was a feeling he was not accustomed to, having spent his entire life raging against the odds and coming out victorious in the end.
“I know. Me too.”
He set her on the bed and began to disrobe, pulling his shirt off as she watched him with shadowed eyes. As he unveiled a body defined by rigorous training and a lifetime spent at war, Shea took a deep breath. The smile that curved his mouth was pure sin. He recognized that sound, it was one he never got tired of.
He pulled her hips to the edge of the bed and grasped the bottom of the shirt she wore, slowly drawing it up to reveal soft skin stretched tight over lithe muscles. When he pulled the shirt over her head, she stared up at him with a yearning that matched his own.
He’d missed her more than he ever thought possible. This last month had been hard. Every day had been a battle to accomplish what needed to be done instead of saddling his horse and taking the shortest path back to her. If his men ever guessed how difficult he found it to be parted from her, they would write stories of how the great warlord had been ensnared by a beautiful pathfinder from the Highlands.
He ran the tips of his fingers over one smooth shoulder, relishing in the shiver that shook her. She tilted her head back, her eyes steady on his, demanding a kiss. One they both knew wouldn’t end with just that. As soon as they started they would catch fire, consumed by a raging inferno of desire that would burn until two people became one, just to start all over again.
It was always like this. He kept thinking it would eventually abate. That this need inside him would fade, leaving him able to think and reason again. So far it only seemed to grow.
He leaned forward taking her lips in a hard kiss, one that was met with an equal ferocity of her own. She gave as good as she got. Always. It was one of the things he loved best about her. Even before he knew who she was. She’d never bow just because of his position.
He tumbled her into their bed, wedging one leg between hers and pressing it hard against the apex of her thighs. She broke away from the kiss, panting as her hands roamed over his back with just the hint of her nails skating against his skin.
Fallon buried his head in the crook of her neck. She writhed under him, the rough sensation of his unshaven cheek against her sensitive skin driving her crazy. His chuckle was gruff and raspy. He pressed a kiss against her shoulder, one hand going to unlace her trousers. He barely touched her as he ran his fingers delicately over the skin revealed beneath.
She panted and arched up. He parted her folds,