"Come back here, I'm not finished," he teases.
"Don't you dare or I'll scream. I'm ticklish."
His lips quirk upward. "I know." Then he lunges after me.
A yelp flies past my throat and I spin away, darting across the room. I jump up and scramble right over his bed, making a mess of it, then hop down, snatching a pillow for a weapon. Giddiness claims me; I can't remember the last time I just acted silly and laughed at nothing.
He comes at me, careening around the bedpost. I slap the pillow into his head, and he shoves it aside. Then in a flash, he swoops an arm under my knees and another around my back, swinging me up and off my feet.
"You cheat!" I declare.
"How is that cheating? I caught you and now I get to have my way with you."
I cling to his neck, pressing my lips to his collarbone. "There were no rules about this, so it doesn't apply."
He tosses me onto my back on the bed. The mattress bounces beneath me, and he crawls over me, making his way up from my legs to my face. "That's where you're wrong, my kitten. I always get my way, even if I have to play dirty."
I push myself up and reach for a pillow to whack him in the head, but he matches my attempt with a kiss. Our mouths come together; they mash, our tongues craving one another. He kisses me deeply and hungrily, and I don't blame him. This has been way too long in the making.
His hand reaches for my shirt, and he tugs at it aggressively, the buttons popping. He's so strong, all angles, and looks spectacular.
And in that split second of meeting his gaze, a memory I’d forgotten slams into me.
Every time I’ve kissed Deimos, my power shot outward and opened a portal. As if thinking the same thing, his eyes widen, and he gets off the bed in a heartbeat. His hand meets mine and he pulls me to my feet.
“Shit, did you open a portal again? Can you feel it?” Frantically, he scans the room like somehow the answer lays in here somewhere.
My mind is reeling at a hundred miles an hour, and for the life of me I can’t remember if I even felt a surge of power. Arousal, yes, in bucketfuls. Power? Not sure.
“Guendolyn,” he prompts me, holding onto my arms.
“Don’t rush me. I’m trying to think. How could I forget about this? It only happens with you, not your brothers, but why?”
“So, you kissed my brothers while I was close to death in bed?” His brows pinch, his shoulders curving forward almost in a defeated pose.
I cock my brow at him. “Really? That’s what bothers you right now? Anyway, I’m convinced there was no power energy when you and I just kissed,” I state. His brow remains furrowed, and I can’t tell what upsets him most. Me kissing his brothers or that I might have opened another portal somewhere.
“You sure?” He’s already leaving my side and crossing the room in long strides, his arms swinging at his sides.
“Yes. Last time it was unmissable. There was no shaking of walls now.”
He opens the door. “I’ll be right back.” And he’s gone in seconds.
Oh, shit. Why can’t things just be normal? Like kissing my boyfriend shouldn’t always come with the potential of hell unleashed.
Deimos returns so fast, I haven’t moved from where I stand. “My men are doing a sweep of the kingdom just to be on the safe side.” He strolls closer. “So, you’re certain you didn’t feel any tingling of power.”
The more I think about it, the more I’m positive. “Yes.”
“Why? What’s changed?”
The same thought crosses my mind, and I shrug, going through everything that happened recently. But with regards to controlling the portals, something has changed.
“Hmm, well actually.” I reach down to my pocket and pull out the ruby.
“Is that fairy stone from the king’s throne?”
“Yep. And when I hold it, I can now control opening a portal. So—”
“So that’s the answer. It’s got to be next to you.” His hands settle on my hips and he tugs me toward him. “Thank fuck, as I can’t take any more shit, especially if it means not taking you as mine.”
I stare up into his gorgeous eyes, and the panic attack we both had fades. He guides me back to the bed and kisses me, softly this time. My arousal spikes in moments. Our mouths part, and I lean toward the dresser and place the stone down.
Deimos is right there, picking up the ruby and pressing it back into my hand. “Hold it just to be on the safe side.” There’s a serious tone in his voice, a worry that somehow I’ll unleash another wave of disaster on the kingdom.
I can’t even roll my eyes at his concern because last time we kissed, it ended in him being bitten by a Bloodcursed. I almost lost him, and the panic and danger we faced to save him is not something I want to experience again. Wrapping my fingers around the stone, I flop back onto the bed and call him to me with a bent finger.
My heart is racing, a flush flaring over me as I pull off the remainder of my top, along with the undergarment. Nipples pebbled from the sudden coldness, the anticipation of what's to come hums through me.
Deimos groans his approval as he stares down at me, the sound sending a spike of desire between my thighs. My prince leans over me, his lips on my breast, kissing it all around, making his way to the nipple. He accepts it greedily into his mouth, sucking on it like he's starved, like I'm the air he breathes and he can't get enough.
I moan against his touch, running my fingers through his long blond hair. He's captivating, everything I always wanted. I always thought men like him were not in my league—turns out I
