When his hands slide down my body, they stop at my ass. He cups me there, groping the soft flesh. I automatically arch my back and it makes my nipples rub against his stomach. Pleasure zings through my belly.
I’m dizzy.
I feel like I’m falling.
Then I open my eyes and realize I am falling. Kirian’s entire body is tilting backward, and he’s taking me down with him.
“Wha—” I get cut off when cool, humid air coats my skin. Light suddenly turns to dark. “Ooof.” The air is knocked out of me when we both land on the ground, even though Kirian’s hulking body breaks my fall.
I look to my left. To my right. Down at Kirian’s grinning face.
“Welcome to your kingdom, my queen.”
Speechless, my only response is a few incoherent sounds. This isn’t my woods. This isn’t like any world I know, and it’s then that I realize what he did.
“You took me through the portal?” I rasp, pushing myself to my feet.
Disoriented, I sway as I get my bearings.
I see a night sky with the brightest stars and three moons. Three. One is so luminous it reminds me of a dimmed-down sun, and the light casts a silver glow over the landscape. There are rolling hills covered in perfect green grass—not a weed in sight. Mountains line the horizon in the distance, and right behind me is a deserted cobblestone road.
“Kirian,” I scold. “Take me back.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” Standing, he plants his hands on my waist and orders, “Arms around my neck.”
That’s all the warning I get before I hear a ripping sound and two giant shadows loom up behind him.
“Wings,” I squeak out. Maybe that’s why his back is so massive. He’s got big ole flappers in there. They’re not translucent like insect wings or feathered like a bird. They’re grayish-brown and leathery, reminding me of a gargoyle or a dragon. “You can freaking fly? Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”
“They don’t work in realms outside of Valora,” Kirian says casually, as if we’re talking about the weather. “What good would it do to tell you if I couldn’t show you?”
Before I can respond, his hold on my waist tightens, and he takes off. I scream as we leave the ground, and my arms practically strangle his neck when he tips to a horizontal position.
I could fall. I might plummet to my death right now.
Shutting my eyes, I blubber a few protests. I’m not even sure what I’m saying. There’s just a lot of please and holy crap and ohmigod.
The brute shushes me.
Shushes me. He hasn’t been that rude since the day we met when he called me a peasant.
“I have to go home!” I shout in the wind.
“You are home.”
Great. Rational, level-headed Kirian is gone. In his place is an oaf who literally kidnapped me.
Ever wonder what it’s like to witness a fae king having a mental breakdown?
Well, this is it.
Kirian
I’ve made this trip thousands of times, but never while carrying someone. A very wiggly someone.
“Stop kicking. I don’t want to drop you.” I would never do such a thing, but Quinn doesn’t know that.
She shrieks and squeezes my neck to the point of painful. Her legs wrap around my waist, and the warm place between her thighs rubs against my cock.
I groan. My wings falter and we dip, but I quickly right us as I flap harder.
I’ve been erect ever since we kissed, and I just know my cock won’t be satisfied until I have her.
Over the years, I’ve been so careful with Quinn.
After that first week of knowing each other, we never held hands again. It seemed inappropriate, given the vast age difference.
We were affectionate in other ways. Occasional hugs were fine. Comforting pats on the back were necessary. Dancing was fun. She let me touch her face whenever I wanted, since it was the only way I could see her.
But as she got older and matured, our relationship developed into something I’d desperately hoped for since I was a boy. Our interactions turned flirtatious. Our hugs lasted longer. Our hearts beat a little faster.
The past hundred years or so were particularly rough for me. It became difficult to hold back. I often found myself reaching for her when we were together. Not for comfort.
Just because I wanted to touch her.
Then today, she revealed her true feelings, without filter. I knew she cared for me, but I didn’t realize the extent of it.
She loves me.
I have the ability to break her heart, such a fragile thing.
I refuse to be the reason for her pain, even when she’s been the cause of mine. I’ve lived through hundreds of battles. Been gravely wounded. And even though waiting to see her every year was agony, nothing ever hurt as much as today.
When Quinn told me she was leaving, that she’d be gone for such a long time, I couldn’t handle it.
I snapped.
When I kissed her, I damned myself to this curse forever.
It was worth it.
Quinn has expressed her wishes to join me in Valora for quite some time, and it feels right to have her here with me.
I don’t know why it took me this long to give in, but I can recognize an ultimatum when I hear one. She pretended to be upset about her sudden departure from her home, but this is what she’s wanted in the past.
I meant it when I told her I didn’t need my eyes. I’ve been thriving without my sight for over two millennia. Blindness hasn’t prevented me from becoming one of the fiercest fighters our realm has ever seen.
It won’t stop me from taking Quinn as my chosen mate.
Having her by my side will only make me stronger. She can complete our kingdom.
She’s silent and still now. She’s hiding her face against my neck, and her warm breath puffs over my skin.
Too bad she’s missing the sights.
It’s been a long time since I saw the landscape, but I still remember the way the starlight
