was out cold, snoring slightly with her mouth open. She only did that when she was really exhausted. My love spent way too much time that way. I took off my coat and shoes, setting them aside. As gently as I could, I climbed into bed next to her. The moon beams shot through the window, bathing her in light. That wasn’t random. I’d learned fast over the last weeks that the moon followed Layne wherever she was.
She stirred slightly, her eyes opening to slits. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” I rubbed my finger down the slope of her nose. “Go back to sleep. The power suck has to be exhausting, and the idea is to get you stronger day-by-day. You’re going to need an obscene amount of sleep to make that happen.”
She smiled at me in the way that told me she was indulging my orders but might not follow them if they didn’t suit her wishes. “You’re an expert on these things now?” Her eyes were fully opened. “Helped a lot of princesses get their powers under control, have you?”
I kissed her lip, biting slightly on the bottom one just because I could. “Some things just make sense. Period. That’s one of them. And, I told your parents I was going to marry you. They’ve agreed. Not that I gave them much of a choice. That’s a done deal.”
Her eyes widened. So much for getting her to go back to sleep. “You want to marry me?”
“Did you think I was planning on leaving? I told you. You’re my job. One I’m in love with. One I want to do for the rest of my life. Protecting and watching over you, standing next to you, adoring any children we might be lucky enough to have is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I think you want that, too. So, yes, we’re getting married.”
She lifted a challenging eyebrow. “You have two things you need to say to me.”
I knew exactly what she meant. And I had no problem saying them. But she wanted to play, and so I’d give that to her, too. “Like what?”
“Cypress,” she lowered her voice. “Don’t make my temper come out. That’ll hurt right now.”
Fair enough. “Okay, Princess. I love you.” I’d never said that to anyone that I could remember, ever. “Will you marry me?”
Her smile was huge and as much a light in the room as the moon beams. “Yes, I will, Cypress. I love you, too.”
I kissed her, hard. It turned out being told that she loved me was even better than saying it. She moaned into my mouth and threaded her hands through my hair. It was like flipping on a switch. She pulled at my hair, forcing my head to roll back and exposing my throat to her mouth. Dragging her teeth along my jugular, I shivered at the sharp points taunting me. I was trained to never expose my throat to any threat. It was one of the most vulnerable spots on the human body. But I liked the feel of her soft lips against my skin. I reveled in the way she hummed and whimpered against me.
“I want you,” she rasped in a throaty voice.
“I’m yours.”
She started clawing at my shirt, ripping it to shreds with her nimble fingers. I quickly worked my pants off, tugging them down as she licked my chest. I loved how feisty and scrappy she was in the bedroom. She fucked like it was a fight.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” I groaned while fighting with her nightgown. It was tied up, and I wanted to drag my blade across the knot.
“I don’t even remember putting it on. I face-planted when I came in. So maybe one of the house servants changed me?”
I didn’t like the thought of anyone, even well-meaning servants coming in. “We’re going to find magic they can’t break to lock up that door. This place is going to become much more secure. No one comes in here without knocking.” I finally got her nightgown off. Fuck. She never ceased to take my breath away when I looked at her. “You are so ridiculously beautiful.”
Her cheeks pinkened. Could I really make her blush? “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I kissed her cheeks. Her neck. I then licked my way down to her breasts. They were mine. I was taking ownership of them, and that was that. I sucked on her nipple. Her skin was so sweet.
With a moan, she shot a vine