the kitchen door close. I lifted my head from the pillow and watched the hallway. The moment Thallirin appeared, his gaze met mine and he froze.
“I'm really glad you're home,” I said.
He started toward the hall again and stepped into the bedroom. He was shirtless, already wearing shorts, and had wet hair. That he’d bathed before coming home wasn’t a good sign.
“How did it go? Any trouble?”
“There were infected. And a few hellhounds.”
He sat on the bed and gently ran his fingers along my cheek. I leaned into the touch, needing him more than I’d thought possible.
“I am glad I am home, too,” he said.
“Did you sleep at all?”
He shook his head, and I patted the bed. The mattress dipped as he lay down beside me, and he settled in with a long exhale. I liked that he wrapped an arm around me so I could snuggle closer. My hand rested on his bare chest, just over the steady beat of his heart. Idly, I touched a scar.
His fingers toyed with my hair.
“I heard stories about when you first came to the surface. That you didn't know what we were and killed a lot of us. Is that true?”
“It is.”
“Now that you know what we are, does it bother you that you killed some of us?”
“We were naïve and uninformed when we came here. Knowledge often creates guilt. Why are you asking? Are you angry that I killed?”
I wasn’t stupid. He’d worded his answer to sound like he felt guilty, but that wasn’t what he’d said. He wasn’t remorseful that he’d killed, and I wasn’t judging him for it. I rather wished I could be like that.
“From what I’d heard, you were killing people who were shooting at you. It was defense.”
“Sometimes. Sometimes, it was not. Does that change your answer?”
“No. I know who you are now.” I lifted my head to meet his gaze. “You're a good man.”
He grunted.
Resting my head on his shoulder once more, I thought about who I wanted to be. I wanted to be a good person. I wasn't yet sure what I would do, but I knew that I would have Thallirin’s support, no matter what. I turned my head and pressed my lips against his bare chest.
His fingers stilled in my hair. Looking up at him, I met his hungry gaze.
“Will you kiss me?”
His hand moved in my hair, and he rolled to his side, bringing our faces closer together.
“I have done nothing in my life to deserve you. But I will never let you go.”
He closed the distance as he held my gaze. When his lips met mine, it was in the briefest of caresses. He didn't pull back, though. His thumb stroked my cheek, and he kissed my bottom lip. Then the corner of my mouth. Each touch was sweeter than the last and made my heart ache and my pulse start to race.
When our lips met once more, I opened to him. He made a low sound the moment my tongue touched his. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, desperate to feel him holding me, and caressed his skin, silently pleading for him to come closer. And he did, shifting so he hovered just above me.
I loved the way he started to shake as he tried to hold himself back and did what I could to break that control by slowly hooking one leg around his hip.
He growled, claiming my lips with an intensity that left me breathless. I needed more. It only took a little pressure for him to settle his hips against mine. The hard length of him pressed against my sweet spot and sent a shiver of need through me. I locked my other leg around his hips and ground against him.
Thallirin tore his lips from mine with a groan and arched into me, making me gasp with pleasure. I slid my hands from his shoulders to his clenched jaw and lifted enough to kiss him again as I continued to move under him.
The moment my fingers accidentally brushed his ears, I lost him.
One minute, he was on top of me; the next, he was standing by the bathroom door, his chest heaving and his pupils dilated.
I touched my lips as I looked at him.
“I’m tired of being alone. Let me be with you.”
He closed his eyes and exhaled shakily.
“Soon,” he said roughly.
“You’re stubbornly annoying with this. And I hope we never have a reason to regret your hesitation.”
I patted the bed.
“Lay by me. I promise