haven’t gone to war yet. You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Ah, Eugenie. I know. We will be victorious, you and me. We’re the strongest monarchs in this world. Katrice knows this but is blinded by her grief and rage. You and I will lead this army, and we will conquer the Rowan Land. We’ll split it between us, adding on to our own kingdoms…and from there, we can go anywhere. We could rule half this world together-all of this world-you and me. Kingdom after kingdom would fall to us…”
I stared him, almost caught up in his vision. The apprehension I’d been holding began to lift as I imagined us destroying her forces and me summoning up storms that made the world tremble. I laughed uneasily, alarmed at the way my thoughts had gone. “One kingdom’s enough,” I said, the human part of me bringing me back to earth.
“You say that now, but I tell you, it’s in your blood.” He looked down at me intently, and those rapture-filled eyes seemed to be every shade of green and gold in the world. I fell into them. I felt beautiful in them. Like a goddess. “Eugenie, you’re going to be a warrior queen the likes of which no one has ever seen. Your name will live on when Storm King’s has faded to dust. You will lead your armies on-powerful, fearless, and beautiful. Katrice’s ‘war’ is but a skirmish you’ll stamp out underneath your boot.”
I had a disorienting moment then, recalling a vision I’d had in the Underworld. My soul had been seeking Kiyo’s, but it was Dorian I’d seen in a dream-like state, with the two of us standing on a cliff before armies, both of us radiant and majestic. There’d been a baby in my arms and a crown on my head.
I’d never told anyone about that. It had been a test, not a vision of the future. Trying to keep things light with Dorian, I asked, “And where will you be in all of this? Somehow I don’t think you’ll be lurking in the shadows.”
“My sweet Eugenie,” he said, back to his flippant, gallant self, “there you go, always suspecting ulterior motives.” He straightened up, affecting a dignified air. “I, of course, shall be by your side.”
I laughed. Dorian would always be Dorian. “Sharing in that glory and power, no doubt.”
“A little, certainly.” His mirth vanished, and he grew serious once more. “But also there to keep you safe. Whatever battles you engage in, whether you choose to conquer this world or simply go back to exorcising ghosts…what happened with Leith will never, never happen again. Not while I live. I swear it. I will always keep you safe.” He moved forward but was still careful not to touch me. The vehemence in his voice was so strong, however, that it was practically tangible. “Always.”
My smile was gone. I studied him for a long time and realized I believed him. Kiyo had failed me. Dorian would not.
And I realized then that I’d been an idiot to keep trying to push Dorian away. Did I entirely trust his motives? No. I did trust him to protect me, though. I’d realized just before my capture that I loved both him and Kiyo, loved them just as my blood and soul were also split in two. The two halves of my nature would always war with each other. And right now, I didn’t need the cautious human half that would rationally seek peace. I needed the part of me that wasn’t afraid to unleash all the power I had, to charge forward with no restraints. I needed Dorian right now. It was his love that was going to allow me to be strong and unafraid of what was to come.
Slowly, hesitantly, I reached out and caught hold of his hand. It was monumental. I think he knew it was, too. I hadn’t been able to stand anyone except my mother touching me these last couple of weeks. I certainly hadn’t been able to handle any man doing it. His eyes widened slightly at my contact, and I realized he was holding his breath, afraid for me.
I held his hand, feeling its warmth and the long, smooth fingers. There was so much power in connecting with another person, in having physical closeness. With just as much care as I’d used to touch it, I moved his hand to rest on my hip and stepped forward. Dorian swallowed, and for the first time since I’d known him, he looked timid.
“Eugenie-”
I pressed a finger to his lips and then stood on tiptoe to kiss him. His mouth opened instantly to mine, warm and eager. I pushed myself closer to him, but when I put his other arm around me, he pulled back slightly. I could feel and see the desire all over him, but he shook his head.
“No, no…it’s too soon….”
“I’m the one who says when it’s too soon.” I kissed him again, harder, and was surprised at how quickly the lust burned through my body. Despite what I’d just said, I had believed until this moment that I would never want another man. But being near Dorian, feeling that electricity and power crackle between us…it brought forth all the old desire I’d been fighting recently, the desire that had nearly made me give in to him in that little village, back when I’d still been committed to Kiyo…
But I had no such commitments now.
He returned my kiss with equal intensity, his hands running along my hips. The passion was seizing him, he was starting to lose himself in it. Then, like before, some reasonable part of him slapped him to attention one more time. I think the world would have been shocked to know the Oak King had such a conscience. He broke away again, but this time, I didn’t let him speak.
“Do you want my most recent time to be with him?” I demanded. “Do you want Leith to be the memory I carry with me of the last time I had sex?”
My fingers moved to the buttons of my short-sleeved cotton shirt and unfastened them all. Catching hold of his hands, I brought them toward my chest, spreading the shirt apart and making him touch my breasts. I’d gone braless today, and his hands felt warm where they stroked my bare skin.
“Make this my memory,” I said huskily, with a bit more command in my voice than I’d intended. “Make it good. Make this be what I think of when I think of sex. Finish what you started that day….”
His hands no longer needed my urging. He cupped my breasts, fingers dancing around my nipples. At the same time, he pushed me toward the bed, laying me out on my back. His mouth crushed me with its kiss, and then his lips moved down my neck and to my breasts, taking one of my nipples in his mouth. He sucked gently at first, tongue darting back and forth, but then his lips grew more urgent. His teeth nipped at me while his hands deftly slid my jeans off. After they were on the floor, he sat up a moment, surveying me and all the bare skin before him.
Not having him touch me was agony, and I reached up, unfastening the bejeweled belt and his pants. He backed off the bed, standing up so that he could push his pants down the rest of the way. His shirt came off next, and then he stood there naked before me for my inspection, the perfect, marble god he’d been once before. Looking over the leanness of his muscles, how strong and hard he was, I felt my own body respond urgently. I’d complained to Kiyo before about foreplay, but right now, I wanted none with Dorian-though I had no doubt he would have given me hours of it, armies be damned.
“Don’t wait,” I begged him as I pushed my panties down over my hips. “Don’t wait.”
He caught hold of the panties and pulled them the rest of the way. I thought he’d join me on the bed, but instead he remained standing. He caught hold of my ankles and pulled me toward him until my ass just rested on the bed’s edge. Still holding my ankles, he brought my legs up so they were nearly straight in the air, almost leaning on his shoulders. Then he leaned forward and pushed into me, moaning at the warmth and wetness he found there.
I threw my hands over my head, arching my body up and watching as he thrust back and forth. His eyes were on me too, taking in every part of me. There was something special about sex in the daylight, particularly with him standing over me like that so we could both fully see each other. There was no hiding. Everything was exposed. Vulnerable. It’s easy to feel insecure in such moments, but I didn’t, not with the way he looked at me, not with just lust-but with awe and adoration too.
He buried himself in me over and over, hard and forceful without being painful. It was such a lifetime away from what had taken place at Art’s house that I realized nothing there could even be considered sex. Having Dorian in me felt good and right. My body was brimming with need, and he felt like fire where he moved between my thighs. That heat intensified within me, and I felt a spark of aching pleasure grow stronger and stronger, fueled with each thrust. I cried out, feeling my body on the verge of orgasm, and when it came, it was like an explosion of me, of the world…pure ecstasy and elation bursting from between my thighs to the tips of my fingers and toes.
He set my legs back flat on the bed and then lay on top of me, never breaking stride. If anything, he pumped more forcefully, nearing his own climax. That glorious hair rained down on my face, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in the silken strands. His own arms wrapped around my body, encircling me
