fuzz so that it tickled his palm as it slipped free.
Diana’s chair stopped rocking and she peered down at him where he was sprawled comfortably on the woven rug on the floor. One eyebrow raised at him as she flicked the back of his hand with her tail. He chuckled and attempted to snag it, but she snapped it away quickly, a snort of amusement leaving her.
Growling playfully, he lunged again, his smile widening at her squeal. As she attempted to evade his hand, she slipped out of the seat of the rocking chair just enough that, with a firm hand wrapped around her calf, he yanked on her leg and brought her sprawling over him.
The warm, rich scent of summer flowers and musk surrounded him as she fell into his arms. Taking advantage of the situation, he rubbed his cheek against hers. Chortling mirthfully, Diana pushed herself up just enough to peer down at him through her softly glowing eyes. He gazed up at her, his heart so full that the words slipped through his lips.
“I love you, Diana.”
Her laughter died and she drew back further to peer down at him in surprise. “You love me, or do you just want everything to fall into place easier with Cacus?”
He shook his head. “Cacus is nothing. I have barely thought of him while I’m with you. I love you, Diana. Fate, Eternal Forest, Cacus… None of that matters to me as much as you do. You make my heart and soul whole. You are my one and only light.”
Diana melted against him, her arms looping around his neck as they continued to lay sprawled together. He felt her fingers sifting through his hair to caress his ears and trail down the sides of his face to his jaw.
“I feel like I have waited forever to hear those words from you. I tried to tell myself what we have is good and that as long as we are both happy, that is what matters most. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear the words,” she chuckled weepily. “I love you too, Silvas.”
His heart leaped in his chest and he drew her against him, his mouth capturing hers with a growl. His tongue swept in her mouth and she rose up to meet him with a sound of contentment. As they kissed, their tongues twining together, power raced between them. He felt it, white-hot light shooting from within her into him. It ran through their bond, fracturing the block with a hundred points of light in his mind’s eye before shattering it, flooding his mind.
Releasing her mouth, his head tipped back, and he cried out as memories came rushing back. He remembered the fear in her eyes when they met, her stubborn resilience when he challenged her in the palace, her strength as they traveled through the mountains. Every smile, tear and pained cry came back to him. Even the tears that fell when she reached her limit. They battered at him, overwhelmed every sense.
His heart broke, and he curled in to hold her close, savoring her brightness and the warmth of her attention, even the flicker of her surprise along their bond.
“I remember,” he whispered into her hair.
“Thank the fucking gods,” she replied seconds before she pulled back and punched him square on the chin.
Yelping, he brought his hands up. “Okay, I deserved that,” he mumbled.
Diana laughed and yanked him up to claim his lips once again.
Chapter 45
Curling her fingers into his tunic, she worked it up over his body, taking care not to tear it with her claws. Unlike her, he didn’t wear any extra clothing. He refreshed the same pair with a bit of magic that made her envious. They broke their lip-lock long enough for her to whip it off him, exposing the hard muscles of his abs and pectorals that rippled as he shifted his body to help her. Carelessly, with one hand, she tossed it across the room.
The flickering light of the fire played off his velvety skin and she leaned down to press a kiss against it. Making love on the floor in front of a roaring fire seemed a bit Hallmark special cliché, but she couldn’t care less. She moaned as his hands aggressively swept over her. Even as her fingers were eagerly fighting to remove the clothing from him as quickly as possible, Silvas’s claws tore at her clothes, shredding them from her body. She arched against him as his claws