There was no turning back from this.
She is my salvation, my reason for existence, my queen.
“YOU’RE SURE YOU have to go?”
I looked down at my fingers, twisting, turning—never resting. We’d spent a blissful few hours together, but now the sun was at its zenith, and Jethro tensed with anxiety. I hadn’t asked why he slipped from sated to stressed, but I could guess.
If Daniel and Cut didn’t touch me last night, something had been done to protect me. And it was precarious.
“I don’t want to, but I have to.” His golden eyes glimmered with openness. After talking, we’d dozed in each other’s arms—perfectly content to let silence heal the wounds left behind by honesty.
I shuffled, digging my toes into the carpet. We stood by my door. I’d gone to escort him out, but in reality, I couldn’t stomach the thought of being away from him longer than a second. The connection we’d built throbbed with intensity.
I knew he had to leave to fabricate whatever tale Cut had to believe. I knew our very safety was at stake. But it was inconsequential when faced with saying goodbye.
“I’ll miss you.” My voice was sex-laden and a blatant invitation. Come back to bed, so I won’t have to miss you.
He sucked in a breath. His eyes flickered down the empty corridor behind him. He’d slipped back into his clothes from last night and the faint scents of cigar smoke and cognac clung to him. “Don’t tempt me, Nila…”
My nipples tingled. He was as reluctant to end this as I was. “I don’t want you to go.”
His lips parted as he leaned into me, planting his hand on the doorframe beside my head. “I don’t want to go, either.”
Sadness pinched. “Then don’t.”
He shook his head, looking weary and tired. “I have to. I can’t be here when they wake up. And I have to delete the camera footage of what just happened in your room.”
My shoulders slumped. “Okay, I understand.”
Whatever he’d done to rig the Third Debt was reliant on Cut and Daniel believing a lie. If they saw evidence against that lie, everything that’d been done last night would be for nothing.
It would be a waste.
Jethro groaned. His hand dropped from the doorframe, capturing mine.
The instant he touched me, I sparked from head to toe. I shivered as he stroked my knuckles with his thumb. “Goddammit, I never want you out of my sight again.”
I swayed toward him. “Surely, we have a little more time?”
You’re playing with fire, Nila.
That was true. My core burned for him. My body blazed for his. I couldn’t think of anything but sex. I was reckless, drunk on him.
His forehead scrunched.
I couldn’t help myself. I stood on tiptoes and kissed the faint lines around his mouth.
He froze.
“Nila…”
I kissed him again. A butterfly kiss. A goodbye kiss.
Suddenly, he grabbed my chin, slamming his lips on mine.
His touch was delicate but fierce. His tongue teasing but demanding.
With a soft moan, I opened for him and the kiss waltzed straight into forbidden.
Breathing hard, he pulled away. “Come with me.” Wrapping his fingers around my wrist, he dragged me from my room and down the corridor. His eyes were nothing but lust and urgency.
I trotted beside him in knickers and a t-shirt. “Where are we going?”
“I can’t say goodbye. But I can’t do what I want in there.”
My stomach somersaulted. “What do you want to do?”
He lowered his head, watching me from beneath his brow. “Do you trust me?”
I no longer had to think or doubt or lie. “Yes.”
His lips twitched in love and gratefulness, moving quicker through the Hall. “I want to do what I’ve needed ever since I knew you cared for me. I want to show you what it’s like for me.” We careened around a corner like two eloping lovers. “Will you let me do that, Nila?” The devoted need in his voice circumnavigated any excuse or negation I might’ve had.
“I’ll let you do whatever you need.”
Yanking me to a stop, he kissed me fiercely. His fingers held the back of my skull as if he was afraid I’d float away and leave him. “Thank you. A thousand times thank you.”
Dropping his hand, he looped his fingers with mine and together we ducked around corners, scurried beneath paintings, and entered the secret door to his bachelor wing.
He’s no longer a bachelor. He’s taken. He’s mine.
My eyes drank in the maroon painted walls as Jethro prowled the halls of his own quarters. He seemed more at ease here, safe. Ever since finding his chambers, I’d wanted to return. I wanted to explore and see how many secrets his personal space would divulge.
Jethro guided me past gaming rooms, studies, and elaborate dayrooms until he opened the last door and pushed me through.
The moment we were inside, he locked it.
My eyes darted, taking in plasterwork of swooping birds of prey, the deep red carpet, leather-gilded walls, and priceless furniture that out-shadowed any antique my family had back in London. His room was masculine, almost medieval, yet there was a tranquillity about it, too.
I trembled as Jethro came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my front. His lips kissed the diamonds around my throat, drifting to my collarbone. How did he feel about my collar now? Did he have a strange love-hate relationship with the beautiful jewellery like I did?
I swayed backward, pressing myself into him.
His hot breath cascaded over my shoulder. “There aren’t any cameras in here.”
“Oh…” My heart rate skyrocketed.
Jethro’s hand cupped my breast, rolling my nipple between his fingers. “I can do whatever I want to you.”
Once upon a time, that would’ve been a terrifying threat. Now, I knew him. Now, I trusted him.
I moaned as he palmed my other breast. “You can?”
“I can do whatever I need.”
“And what do you need?”
His teeth sunk into the flesh between my neck and shoulder, his tongue stealing the sting. “I can be completely myself. I can take everything you have to give.”
Words deserted me as he spun me around and captured my lips.
His taste slipped down my throat. His eagerness wrapped around my heart.
We only kissed for a moment.
But it felt as if we kissed forever.
Sliding, licking, tasting.
He swept me away from this dimension, guiding me to a different one—a more spiritual one where our hearts beat to the same rhythm and our desire thickened with every breath.
Walking me backward, his arms swooped down and hoisted me off my feet. I gasped at his power, kissing him harder. Instinctually, I wrapped my legs around his hips. He groaned as my pussy pressed against his straining erection.
Still kissing, he headed forward. Arms bunched, lips slippery, he marched me to the bed.
Then I was falling.
And he was falling with me.
The soft mattress cushioned me, while the hard demand of Jethro landed on top, squashing me with fervent need.
My lungs deflated; a small vertigo wave tried to steal the magic of the moment.
He chuckled. “I’ve gone dizzy from switching from vertical to horizontal.”
In that second, I loved him so much I might burst. “Now you know how I feel most days.”
He pulled back, brushing hair from my face. “Is it terrible? To have your brain work against you all the time?”
His question was so much deeper than just enquiring about my imbalance deficiency. It was a probe into how I coped—a mutual understanding of what it was like to have a condition rule your life. “I manage.”
“You manage better than me.”
I cupped his cheek. “Everyone has complications. Some harder than others.”
He smiled softly, pressing another kiss on my mouth. “Yes, but some of us are stronger than others.” His lips trailed to my ear. “And you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”
His hand disappeared down my side, tugging at my t-shirt. I wriggled, helping him slip it over my head. I lay in just my knickers in the arms of the man who’d been given a task that would never come to pass.
Jethro would never kill me.
I knew that with utmost certainty.
He couldn’t because it would kill him, too.
His jaw locked, eyes devouring my naked chest. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
A prickle of sensitivity darted over my skin, centring in my core.
He ran his fingertip around my nipple, causing it to pebble. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Ever. Never let myself open to the pain it can cause.” His finger drifted down my sternum, moving toward my bellybutton. “I need you to know.” His finger coasted lower, dipping into the manicured curls between my legs. “I need you to know that I adore you. I worship you. I don’t just love you, Nila Weaver. I treasure you. I’ve never had anything so goddamn precious as you.”
My mouth fell open as he pressed a single finger inside me. Words flew from my mind as every part of me focused on his touch.
“I’m going to show you what it’s like in my world. Will you let me?” His finger slipped deeper, pressing against my inner walls.
I bit my lip, nodding. My eyes were heavy, body begging.