my shoulders and began to feed his healing energy into me. His brow was furrowed with concern and his mouth went tight with worry.
“You’re worried about me,” I breathed.
He shot me a look that suggested I was an idiot, then said gruffly, “Of course I am. Now lie still.”
His healing power flowed through me, taking away the agony that pervaded every inch of my body. As the pain faded, my head cleared.
Tarron was really worried about me. And frustrated by it.
I could feel it.
The healing power created a connection between us, and the desire to protect me roared through him.
It warmed something inside me—something primal.
Yet I was fated to kill him.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to drive out the memory of the premonition.
With my eyes closed, my other senses heightened. I couldn’t help but focus on the warmth of his hands. The sound of his breathing. The scent of his skin.
Heat shot through me.
Desire.
With the pain gone, all I could think about was his touch.
All I wanted to think about was his touch. Because everything else was a disaster. And this wasn’t.
Far from it.
It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Like we were being pushed together in the best way possible.
The energy in the air changed. It was as if he could sense the desire that gripped me. His touch on my shoulders tightened possessively, and I moaned.
“Mari.” My name sounded torn from his throat, his voice tortured.
I opened my eyes and caught a look of such desire on his face that it made me shiver.
Despite everything, I wanted him.
He swept me into his arms, and a low groan rumbled from his throat as his mouth crashed down on mine. Heat exploded through me as his lips moved expertly on my own.
He nipped and laved, and I plunged my hands into his hair, holding him close. His scent wrapped around me, a crisp autumn day along with the more intimate smell of his skin. His soap.
I pressed every inch of my body against him, running my hands down his neck and along the muscles of his shoulders and arms.
He cupped my head in one huge hand and cradled me against him with the other, curved protectively over me in the bed. As if he’d never let anyone get to me.
“We shouldn’t.” His voice sounded ragged as he laid me back on the bed, his actions belying his words.
“I don’t care.” I reached for him, pulling him down.
His weight pressed me to the mattress, his harder angles aligning perfectly with the dips and curves of my body. Pleasure shot through me, from my center to every inch of my extremities. He moved against me in the most perfect rhythm, and I shuddered.
I couldn’t resist him any longer.
This thing had been pulling at us forever, fate determined to push us together.
Fate…
Was that the only reason we were doing this?
My comms charm blared, pulling me from the moment. Tarron groaned, a sound of such tortured frustration that something tugged inside me.
Aeri’s voice blasted out of my comms charm. “I’m at the damned entrance to this stupid Fae realm, and I can’t get in! Mari, you better be there!”
I flopped back on the bed and groaned.
Tarron pulled away from me, dragging a hand through his hair. His eyes had turned fully black and his horns had appeared. Fangs glinted white against his lips. “I’ll take care of it.”
I touched my comms charm. “Tarron is sending someone to you.”
“Good,” Aeri snapped.
Tarron rose, lifting himself off me and climbing off the bed to stride to the other side of the room.
While he called on someone to get Aeri from Kilmartin, I drew in a shuddery breath and sat up. My injuries were gone, and I felt fine. More than fine, actually, if I ignored the thwarted desire still racing through my veins.
“We need to stop doing that,” I said, even as I knew it wouldn’t happen.
“Agreed.” He turned to me, eyes flashing. The signs of his arousal were gone—horns disappeared and fangs retracted—but darkness still gleamed in his eyes. “How do you propose we stop?”
“Chastity belt?”
He raised a brow.
“For you, not me.” I grinned.
He cracked a smile.
A knock sounded at the door.
He moved to answer, and I sagged backward. Good timing. Definitely good timing.
While he answered, I turned and pressed my hands to my hot cheeks. I needed to get myself under control. This was ridiculous.
I popped a butterscotch candy into my mouth and sucked hard, but it did nothing to distract