A Crown of Cursed Hearts (Kingdom of Blighted Thorns #3)

25. Tempest

25

TEMPEST

W e ate in the formal dining room, and I sat beside Vexxion. He’d given me an odd look when I settled on his right, but I couldn’t stay away.

Drask perched on the back of my chair, and I fed him bits of meat.

Vexxion paid me no attention during dinner, instead speaking with Reyla on his left or Brodine, who’d taken a place directly across from us.

“We can sit in the parlor if you’d like,” Vera said brightly after we’d finished eating. A flick of her finger, and the dishes disappeared, cleaned and returned to the cupboards. “Though I assume you’re all tired and would like to go to your suites.”

We murmured agreement.

“Very well. As for your rooms,” she said as we stood, “I’ve prepared suites for each of you. Zayde, you and . . .” Her eyebrows lifted as she glanced at Layla .

“We’re together.” Layla’s worried gaze sought mine.

“She and Zayde will be more comfortable sharing,” I said, and my sister’s soft smile rose.

“Would the young ladies prefer to share as well?” Vera looked Reyla’s way.

“Oh, I’m not with Airia,” my friend said. “Separate suites if it’s not too much of a bother.”

“Don’t worry your mind about it at all,” Vera said.

Vexxion grunted. “Tempest is with me.”

It was all I could do not to ask him why he bothered. I resigned myself to another night facing his back while he slept deeply and I remained awake, mourning.

“Do you have any preference for room location?” my aunt asked Brodine.

“Nope. Whatever you have available will be fine.”

“Very well. Why don’t I show you where you’ll sleep, and then we can meet in the parlor?”

We left the dining room and walked down a long hall that met up with another taking us into a different wing of the manor.

“There are forty suites here, all of them on the third floor, each with its own bathing area,” she said. “I’ll put the ladies in the north wing, the couples in the east, and you, Brodine, in the west. That’ll give you all privacy. This level holds the dining rooms, multiple living areas, and an equal number of parlors, and a large library, offices, and a grand ballroom take up much of the second floor. You should go look at the ballroom sometime. The balcony looks out at the forest, and the gardens are amazing. They used to be, that is. They haven’t been kept up. ”

We needed to find staff. Could some of this be done with magic?

“One day soon,” Vera said, “I hope we’ll host a grand party in the ballroom, and everyone will come. You’ll see, things will get better.”

They would. I had to believe it.

From the size of the building, it would take time to walk through all the wings.

In the foyer, we took the big broad staircase to the third floor housing the east wing, and we left Zayde and Layla in the first suite and me and Vexxion in the second.

“Your closets are spelled,” Vera told all of us with a smile. “I took care of that this morning when I realized you’d soon arrive. You’ll find a variety of clothing magicked to your exact size. They’re yours to wear as you wish; please feel welcome. If something’s missing, tell the closet, and it’ll appear.”

After giving us a nod, she, Reyla, and Brodine continued on toward the north wing, leaving the four of us behind.

Layla gave me a quick hug, speaking by my ear. “I’ll see you tomorrow? Zayde and I are going to bed early. We’re tired.”

And they were eager to be together. They never stopped touching, and their gazes were only for each other. Pure envy raked across my soul whenever I looked their way.

If only . . .

I wasn’t going to give up on Vexxion. My emotions were a wreck, and they kept flipping me in every direction, but my love for him shone through. I’d find the man I loved inside him somewhere, and one day soon, we’d finally be together again.

“Are you sure you don’t want your own suite?” I asked him once we were inside and had shut the door. “It’s safe enough here beneath the thorns. I doubt you have to watch over me now.”

“We’re sharing a suite,” was all he said. He strode to the broad bank of windows on the right side of the room and peered around a gauzy curtain.

Because I wanted to be with him even if he rejected me, I stopped arguing about it.

Drask swept off my shoulder and landed on a perch beside a window, cocking his head to look outside.

I glanced inside the big bathing area, taking in the usual fixtures. I’d use the tub later. Then I walked across the sitting area to look inside the adjacent room that held an enormous bed with dark blue drapes, plus a few bureaus. A door on the far side led to the closet. One side of that had been filled with everything I adored wearing, from ball gowns in a variety of colors, to my favorite black leathers. The other side held formal tunics as well as casual clothing in Vexxion’s size, plus a few sets of leathers he might choose to wear as well.

I returned to the living area to find him sitting in a chair, his feet stretched out to almost touch the cold hearth. He rose when he heard me and turned, holding onto the back of the chair.

The cavern he’d once described, the one with a wire stretching across, filled the room now. Except he stood on one side, and I remained on the other. I’d outstretched my arm, and though I couldn’t see his, I suspected it reached toward me as well.

But our fingers couldn’t reach far enough to touch .

Did I dare try to flit to where he waited?

I strode over and took one of his hands, squeezing it. “I hope you’ll feel welcome here.”

He led me around to the front of the sofa and sunk down, urging me to join him. It felt good to sit with him even if a wall remained between us. It felt normal, if such a thing was possible after all we’d been through.

“I . . .” He sighed. “It’s strange not being at Bledmire, not to have his collar around my throat.” His fingertip traced across the area.

Did it also feel strange to be with me? It must. How lost he must feel about everything.

“We’ll end whatever this is,” I said fiercely. “And we’ll do it together.”

“I remember everything right up to the moment I arrived at the fortress. Everything after that is dark and cloudy.”

I shared a bit of how we’d met. “You were a pain in the ass,” I said with a laugh. The memory was so vivid even now. If only I could send the image to his mind.

Wait.

“Would you let me try something?” My voice was one big croak as I explained. “You can say no. I won’t enter your mind. I won’t push a spell or my power on you. I promise.”

“Do it,” A smile flickered across his full lips before they smoothed. “I want to remember. I feel as if it’s right there, like a word on the tip of your tongue you can’t force past your lips.”

“Tell me if I’m overwhelming you, and I’ll stop.”

He stared into my eyes, and after he nodded, I sent him everything I had, all the love and joy trapped inside me. All of us .

“I manipulated you,” he finally said with a frown. “And I wasn’t honest.”

My laugh snorted out. “No,” I breathed. “Do tell.”

“I’m sorry.” He cupped my face with his big warm hands. “I know better now. I can see why you’re in so much pain. I wish I could feel what I saw, but it’s like looking at images in a book. I can see them, but they’re on the surface, not sinking beneath my skin. I’m not sure if I’m describing this right.”

“I understand.” The tiny bit of hope that had risen when he held my face sunk back into the gloom inside me. We were stretching our arms out across the cavern again, and we still couldn’t touch.

He leaned toward me and closed his eyes, breathing me in. “I feel as if I know you, yet I don’t. As if we’ve been apart for so long, we don’t know how to find each other again.” His eyes opened. “But no matter what, I know that I want you. That you’re a part of my soul I’ve searched for all my life, that without you, I’m nothing. No matter where you travel, I will find you. In this world and every other beyond, Tempest.”

“In this world and every other beyond, Vexxion,” I vowed. “No matter where you go, I’ll follow. No, I’ll stand by your side as your shield. My weapons, my magic, and my heart are yours.”

“We’ll find each other again. I’m determined.” He gave me the sweetest smile before he kissed me, his touch uncertain at first, as if he thought I’d pull back and scorn him .

I never could. He was my breath, my heart, and my soul all wrapped up in one.

I would chase after him no matter where he went because I couldn’t bear the thought of a life without him. I’d rather stand beside him as a friend than have nothing.

As he continued to kiss me, my moan coiled up my throat. I clung to his shoulders. Fear of our uncertain future fled. I was going to live in this moment.

He urged me down to the cushions, bracing his palms on either side of my shoulders, pining me with the delicious weight of his body.

He tasted like the berries we’d had for dessert. I wanted him more than anything, and in this moment, I’d sacrifice everything as long as I could feel his loving touch one more time.

With a growl, he deepened his kiss, his tongue demanding entrance to my mouth. I gave way, clinging and whimpering beneath him, taking all he had to give and demanding more. He was everything I needed, the only person I’d ever crave.

His knee wedged between my legs, driving them apart, and his hands were everywhere, stroking down my sides before moving to my breast, squeezing my nipple through the thick fabric.

A blink and I wore nothing.

He lifted his head, and his gaze sought mine. Was he asking for permission to do more?

I held his face. “I need you.” So much. Always.

“I’m yours.”

His kiss was bittersweet, but I brushed aside everything but the feel of him touching me with infinite care. I ran my fingers through his hair while he kissed down the column of my neck to my breast. When he sucked on my nipple, it felt new and the same. He was my Vexxion, but he wasn’t, but all that didn’t matter. As long as he didn’t pull away and turn cold on me, I’d deal with the aftermath of what we were doing later.

We were stepping off the edge of an abyss, but I couldn’t pull myself back. I wanted it all even if in the morning, I’d wake with regrets. I’d coast along in this moment where I could pretend he was mine again. Let the fates deal with me later.

His fingers trailed across my belly and slid between my thighs. I was wet for him already. I was always wet for Vexxion. One look or one kiss was all it would ever take. There had been a time when I would’ve cursed myself for allowing anyone to mean this much to me, but I’d fallen hard and fast for this man, and there was no turning back. I was his, and he was mine, even if he didn’t know it. I never wanted to drag myself back to the person I was before I met him.

Climbing up over me, he kissed me hard, as if he’d die if he didn’t have one last taste of me. Our tongues swirled together, and I wove my fingers into his hair, tugging gently. I would bind him to me physically because I was having a hard time holding onto the hope that he’d ever love me again.

I’d never get enough of this man, of his taste and the thrill of his body, heavy on mine. His growl rumbled through his chest, and he lifted his head, watching me with eyes as dark a blue as a turbulent sea. He pumped his fingers deep inside me before swirling them, tugging them back out to drag them across my clit.

He gave me a smile much like the man he used to be, the one who saw my flaws and still loved me. It broke my heart. He kissed down across my chest and belly. Pushing my thighs wider, he crawled between them. His smile of pure joy shattered my heart all over again.

Then his mouth was on me, his tongue driving inside me while his fingers rolled my clit. It felt good, nearly painful, and my cry jerked out, echoing in the room.

“From the moment I woke and saw you this morning, this has been all I could think about,” he snarled against my overheated flesh. He flicked his tongue across my clit. “Seeing you spread out for me like this. Knowing I’m driving you out of your mind with pleasure.” He looked up, his gaze locking on mine. “No matter what, you belong to me. You know it, and the feeling’s locked inside my soul. No one else is going to touch you.”

So far gone . . . So close. I could only nod.

“Good girl.” He dragged his tongue from my clit to my entrance and stabbed it inside.

Lightning burst within me. I was going to come so hard I’d scream. The entire world would hear.

His mouth stole every thought from my mind except of him. The push of his tongue and his fingers inside me. The way he stroked my clit. The way his threads teased my nipples to hard buds. I’d gone feral, bucking up to him, whimpering, and yanking on his hair.

Come for me, Tempest, he growled in my mind.

Did he realize he was speaking to me this way or was he as far gone as me?

It’s mine, and I want to feel it, he said. Taste it. Give it to me now .

Just like that, I was swept away. My orgasm crashed over me, and my hoarse cry rang out, echoing in the room, echoing in my mind and within his.

At that moment, he looked up at me with pure satisfaction.

And I could swear I had my Vexxion back with me once more.