by Rachel Jonas
He lifted the material over both our faces again, and instructed me to switch bags with him. I complied, and it would be a lie if I said it didn’t feel like my heart got up and walked out of that vault with him.
The seconds seemed to pass in slow motion. Every sound I heard made my heart stop, and I realized why I hated being the one left behind. The one made to wait for some sign of life had it the worst. Unthinkable scenarios played out in my thoughts, and if it hadn’t been for the gloves I wore, I might have bitten off my nails completely.
During these heart-pounding moments, I had a chance to really analyze what was taking place here. This extra mile he was going, was all for the ones I loved, and whether he was doing it for them or for me … I saw him.
I mean, really saw him.
It was hard to tell whether it was the burst of adrenaline, fear of the unknown, or something else, but my eyes were starting to water.
“Silas,” I called out to him, whispering through the com when my nerves got the best of me.
No answer came and my stomach rolled with worry.
My every thought was focused on the amazing person who’d just run off to do this brave thing, and concern for what might happen if he didn’t make it back. In fact, panic was really beginning to set in at this point.
“Silas?” I was nearly pleading now, and there was still no response.
My fingertips braced the edge of the metal countertop, and my mind was made up that I’d go after him. He’d been gone too long for my liking, and I couldn’t let harm come to him when all he sought to do was what he felt was right.
I lifted myself from the floor where I rested on my knees, and had just pushed up to stand, when the door to the vault opened—slowly, quietly.
This strange thing happened to my heart when I realized the one who entered was Silas. Safe, in one piece.
He met me on the floor where I relaxed again, blinking away the water that had nearly fallen, but not quite. My arms went around his neck and I squeezed so hard it bordered on being embarrassing. I didn’t care that he’d only been gone a few minutes. The idea of that kiss being our final goodbye opened my eyes to so much I’d been trying to suppress.
“I’m okay,” he whispered against my ear. “I got everything we needed, so we can go.”
Sweeter words had never been spoken.
He helped me off the ground, and after checking for guards, hoisted me back into the airduct before passing me both our bags to secure. Once I’d done that, he was able to pull himself into the duct by his own strength. We left that room, and the property, leaving no trace at all of ever having been there.
The drive home was quiet. There was a brief stop-off to quickly change back into the attire we’d left the palace in and replace Julian’s license plate, but we were different. The weight of the air between us was so telling of how both our emotions had come over us. With my team, these rides back to our home after such a clean victory were more of a celebration. But this? It had somehow turned into a time of reflection.
For me, something clicked. I mean completely, beyond the shadow of a doubt. The last trace of whatever negativity I may have held, concerning the princes’ dark nature being their ruling force, had been completely eliminated. All it took was one final act of pure kindness to reveal to me what these men had shown me was no illusion.
When I leaned on Silas’ shoulder, he didn’t say a word. His hand moved to rest on my thigh as he drove, and I placed my palm on top of it. Something had certainly changed between us that night.
Something I would hold on to for the rest of my life.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Corina
The house was dark and quiet when we returned. We closed the door quietly behind us, and I slipped my heels off to avoid disturbing anyone who might be resting.
Silas still hadn’t said much, not even when we stopped by a local lab he had access to, where we deposited the blood for analysis, and the supplies he promised my team.
Taking the long material of my red dress in my fingers, I took to the stairs. Silas’ hand at the small of my back, guiding me, made my breaths quicken. What I suspected to be a budding crush merely one week ago, had turned into something altogether different.
Something far more powerful, more significant.
We reached the top of the stairs, and thanking him seemed grossly understated. So, I didn’t bother. Instead, when we paused outside my suite, I placed a single kiss to the corner of his mouth, and peered up at him with amazement in my eyes.
“Goodnight,” I said breathlessly, because it was the only way I could address him at the moment.
“Goodnight,” he echoed, leaving me to pine in his shadow when he turned to leave me.
I stepped inside my room and nearly collapsed at the door, unsure how I’d been able to let him walk away so easily. Every part of me wanted to hold on to him.
Disappointed with my lack of courage, I slipped out of the dress that had been part of the ruse, and let it fall into a heap along with my underwear, lowering the shoes I held there, too. I crossed the room to the dresser, naked until I slipped a gray, thigh-length nightshirt that resembled a lengthy tank top over my head. Securing my hair in a bun, I lit a tall candle and collapsed on the bed.
It felt strange letting the night end like this, when the energy between Silas and I had been running hot all night, right up until we parted ways at my door. Even now, my heart lurched for me to go to him, to humble myself and just … knock.
The instant the word came to mind, I thought I heard a small sound at my door. It wasn’t until the second tap that I realized it wasn’t my imagination. I got up quickly, breathing unevenly with who I hoped I’d find on the other side.
And with the twist of the knob, that heat and longing returned full force.
He’d come back.
Taking in the sight of him, there was no way I’d let Silas get away again. My hand gripped the nape of his neck, and I pulled him inside my bedroom. The second we were locked in, just the two of us, I knew I wouldn’t let him leave this time until we both got what we wanted.
Silas was the quiet storm I never saw coming, and as he took ownership of my lips with a commanding kiss, I was certain of it.
His cool hands braced my neck between them, and I inched closer as they warmed against my skin. The emotion between us continued to steep.
Our lips stayed locked as his long strides led us toward the bed. He sat, pulling me down to straddle him, and my knees pressed into the mattress, never allowing the distance between us to grow. There was just something about knowing how real our chemistry was that drove me forward, full-steam ahead. It only increased tonight, realizing how our interests had somehow aligned.
In a way, it’d been in the back of my mind that I’d only fallen for a prince of the Dynasty because of the bond’s juju. And this had caused me to question its depth on more than one occasion. However, the rawness that existed in this space now, blew that theory right out the water.
A cool breath passed over my lips when I pulled away, only long enough to ease further up his toned thighs, until my knees settled against his hips. With him beneath me, I felt powerful in ways I hadn’t before, and the awareness of it went to my head.
“Take this off,” I commanded, practically tearing at the t-shirt he’d changed into.
Without hesitation, he followed my orders.
I loved the feel of his fingertips tracing wanton trails up and down my thighs, loved it even more when those same gentle caresses were used to ease the straps of my nightshirt down my shoulders. I freed my arms, and when we embraced, my bare chest crashed against his.
My lips were drawn to his again. It was as though my body had a mind of its own now, responding less to cues from my moral compass, and more to the demands of nature.
Specifically, his nature.
I felt him beneath me, aware of how this intimate moment between us had aroused him.
Big time.
A
deep groan from him intermingled with our kiss, brought on by the feeling of me settling onto his lap completely. No longer intimidated by the idea of there being a such thing as ‘too close’. Strong hands settled at the curve of my waist, and that heat between us doubled. The surge made it feel as though time sped up, resulting in a frenzy of flying clothes that fluttered to the carpet as we resumed our position.
There was a sense of relief that stemmed from there no longer being a single barrier of fabric between us. There was only him. Only me.
Only us.
As I lifted my hips before lowering down onto him again, taking him in, a gentle squeeze to my waist brought a soft cry from within, expressing a vulnerability, a weakness for his touch I wouldn’t have shared otherwise. The bed creaked in rhythm, and I only paused to allow Silas to work his fingers through my hair, removing the jostled bun that sat atop my head. As the strands cascaded down my back, the warmth of his lips covered my throat.
The sensation of it sent a ravenous, primal need pulsating through my veins.
“Do it,” I breathed with urgency. “Please.” I was only half aware that the thought had been spoken aloud. Without thought, I’d just submitted to this need in the form of a request.
At first, there was only more of his soft kisses, but then, just as I began to think he wouldn’t respond, two sharp pricks to the side of my neck assured me I’d been wrong. Each breath that cascaded over my lips as I panted became quicker than the last. As Silas sucked fiercely at the wound, I braced both sides of his face, realizing I’d never experienced anything quite like this, a deep, all-encompassing intimacy that made the room around us seem to disappear.
When his venom began to flow through me, it was marked with a potent sting just beneath my skin. To offset the discomfort, his hands that once held my hips, rose to the small of my back where his arms pulled me closer, holding me in a gentle embrace. It worked. Before long, I only focused on the pleasure he brought me, and not the pain.
His fangs withdrew, but his tongue trailed my skin there, savoring the taste a little while longer. Pushing my hair out of the way, I brought Silas to my shoulder for him to feed again, because that’s how the Claiming worked. There was no hesitation this time. His teeth sank right into me and I whimpered into his ear, but not because he’d hurt me. These were, without a doubt, cries of pleasure.
Silas’ breaths were heavy and labored as he swallowed again, placing a tender kiss in the spot once he was done. My body was on fire for him. Literally. A trickle of sweat raced down my spine to where he gripped me. In the height of this powerful moment, his gaze met mine and I couldn’t look away. Not even if I wanted to. He had a hold on me and bonding with him would only strengthen its power.
I watched as he brought his wrist to his lips, biting down until he broke the skin. Two small pinpricks of blood slowly appeared, and once the deed was done, we would be bound to one another forever.
He offered it to me, and the taste was no longer unnerving. In fact, I didn’t even flinch as I savored his very essence. His stare was curious, and with the wicked smile that followed, I knew the sight of me feeding on him was one he enjoyed. So much so, as I drank, his eyes slipped slowly to the back, until they disappeared behind closed lids.
We both had our fill, had both held out for about as long as we could, and as if our souls were in tandem, we let go.
Together.
I clutched Silas’ wrist against my lips, and it muffled the sound that seeped through them.
Mine … but not his.
A stream of obscenities—words I couldn’t imagine him uttering otherwise—filled the room, and maybe even the entire house. He hadn’t held back anything.
I was locked to him, unable to move for quite some time, but slowly, my breath returned. There was no reason to rush and push him away. Instead, I reveled in the afterglow of the raw passion that reverberated between his body and mine.
There was plenty I hadn’t realized about Silas, but there was also something more I wasn’t aware of until now, until we’d been intimate. This man I once equated to being the boy-next-door, was filled with passion and fire like you wouldn’t believe.
Yes, I had it on good authority that Sir Silas Aldridge of the North was special. And together, the two of us were electric.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Corina
It seemed the good in Silas just kept shining through. Slipping beneath the comforter with him set a scene as intimate as the encounter we shared a moment ago. As my cheek rested against his chest, I was already feeling the effects of our bond changing me from the inside out.
His trait that was slowly weaving itself into my DNA, was loyalty. There wasn’t even a question that this sudden warmth and fealty I experienced toward those I already cared about beyond comprehension came from him. Even as it overcame me, I moved deeper into his side, craving the closeness.
Knowing that all this love and devotion resided within him made me see him in a new light.
Tonight had been eye-opening in so many ways, a rush from start to finish. Although, for very different reasons. I couldn’t remember a time when my heart raced more, felt more. And that was all because of Silas.
He pushed the hair away from my face and a soft kiss pressed to my forehead as he stroked my shoulder. I wanted him like this forever, right in this very space, he and the others holding me. Only, there was a small part of my brain that kept jarring me awake every time I tried to settle in, telling me we had unfinished business with the other princes.
As much of a rush as it had been, keeping our secret now that all was said and done felt wrong. Seeing as how Silas and I both came out unscathed, I saw no harm in revealing the truth about where we spent our evening, and what we gained from the excursion. Not only had we scored the blood and supplies, we were now armed with new information we wouldn’t have known otherwise.
That HIN-190487 was not only still alive, but someone seemed to hold just as much interest in her as we did, because they’d risked life and limb to take her.
And there was also the Claiming. They’d likely want to know that the bond was one step closer to being completed. I was certain it would intensify their search for Roman, their attempt to convince him to rejoin their unit. Eventually, Silas studies would be halted if they weren’t able to do so.
Honestly, I prayed daily that there was another way, some loophole they hadn’t thought of, maybe something they’d missed in Dr. Percival’s research. It was bad enough I was linked to Aaric—who I dreamed about again the night before, even after having such a beautiful time with Julian. Chances were, he’d visit my dreams again when my thoughts should be focused on Silas tonight.
It was just a hard truth I couldn’t seem to outrun.
Silas released a breath that moved strands of my hair, and I sensed tension.
“You okay?” I peered up to ask, running my fingertips along the edge of his jaw.
He smiled and kissed me. “Better than okay,” was his answer, “but I can’t seem to relax.”
I smiled, already knowing why.
“You’re anxious to tell the others the truth, aren’t you?”
He laughed when my guess hit the nail on the head, and so did I. “I shouldn’t even be thinking about that right now, I know, but—”
“Say no more. I was honestly thinking the same thing,” I revealed, inching back so he could climb out of my bed.
He didn’t move in a rush, though. A barrage of soft kisses rained down on my neck and chest.
“If you’re up to it,” he said with heavy lids as he scanned my naked frame, “I can return in the morning.” The offer was loaded, lacking the innocence I think he meant to uphold. I saw right through him, and leaned in to softly bite his lip.
“I’ll definitely be up to it,” I assured him.
He stood, and I lay there, watching his statuesque silhouette saunter away from my bed. “Would you like me to come with you?” I offered. “That way, if they’re angry about
what we’ve done, I can help soften them up.”
He passed a smile over his shoulder, as he slipped back into the pants that had been removed so hastily.
“No, just rest,” he commanded. “I’ll take care of it.”
Again, I wasn’t used to being shielded from things, but it felt nice, comforting. A girl could get used to it.
He returned to my side for one last kiss, before leaving me to bask in the afterglow alone. Grinning, I pulled the sheet over my face. Of all the things I thought I’d be feeling at this point in my stay at the palace, these emotions I carried were not among them—peace, happiness … love.
No, I hadn’t uttered the words to any of the three yet, but I felt it beyond the shadow of a doubt. I loved them. Each in his own way, yet I did.
Finally pealing myself out of bed, I headed into the bathroom to engage in my favorite pastime. And tonight, with the heist we pulled off, I figured I deserved it. Bubbles and a few drops of oil made it perfect, as did the addition of candles and the gentle storm that encroached upon the Capitol.
When I finished in the tub, and let the water drain, I opened my bedroom window to let in the fresh air, enjoying nature’s serenade as thunder rumbled in the distance. There was no denying it, I was still giddy from what I shared with Silas. He was so much more than I expected.
A completely irrational thought entered my head then, and I didn’t bother overthinking it as I reached for my link to my team. If ever there was a time it made sense to wake Liv in the middle of the night, it was tonight. Even as I dialed her, I was grinning from ear to ear.
“Everything okay?” she answered groggily, and I only felt a little guilty for disturbing her.
“Everything’s great,” I beamed, slipping a pair of stretchy pants beneath the nightshirt I’d worn earlier, re-securing the bun Silas had undone. “I just need to talk.”
