Page 122 of Queen of Diamonds

Scars she’d given herself to save Zed.

I steadied her as she stepped into the huge tub with jets rippling bubbles about, the water breaking over each perfect curve as she sank in. She’d turned toward me, and I wondered if it was for fear of revealing the scars again.

“Knight?” she asked, peering up at me.

“Yeah…” There was very little left in my brain as I stared down at her, though my instincts fired off in panic as I saw her dark brows bunch. A quiver returned to her lip, the hand still clutching my wrist becoming demanding.

She didn’t need to ask; I just… I hadn’t because… Actually, the reasons were foggy as I tugged my shirt and pants off, unsure about the boxers. But she all but growled at me when I tried to get in without removing them.

“I’m yours, Princess,” I said, and her breathing settled as I sank into the water at her side. It was designed more like a hot tub than a bath, with jets and seats along the edges.

I had to remind myself how much she needed our touch to heal the wounds the suppressant had left behind.

That wasn’t fair.

“We move at your pace, Glade. I’ll be whatever you need.”

“R-Really?” She blinked at me as if I’d just dropped a bomb on her. A frown creased her brow, and her cream cardamom scent was made of silk, wrapping me tight. In it was an edge of need and claim like I’d never felt before.

By the way she was chewing on her lip, eyes narrowed, I suddenly realised… Oh… Damn. With the hormones still raging, I think she’d taken my words in the opposite direction than I’d meant them…

Uh… she definitely had. She drew herself over me, droplets tumbling down glistening skin. My eyes were drawn down her neck to where her breasts were still free of the water as she stared down at me, knees on either side of my lap. Her dark hair made up two curtains, creating our own little world as I forced my gaze back up into her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, chest heaving, only she looked unsure, like instinct had guided her here, but now she’d stopped to think.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

She let out a little hiss, nails digging into my flesh. “Kyan said you’re… mine…” She frowned, as if unsure whether it was a question or a statement, palm lifting from my chest and cupping my throat instead.

A growl of approval rumbled to life in my chest and the anxiety drained away a bit. “Of course I’m yours.”

That wasn’t a question.

For a moment, she was suspended between two halves of all she was. One, fragile and wounded, trying to hold herself together from years of darkness. The other, the queen who’d protected us, giving up everything to keep us safe—the Alphas she’d claimed, even when we hadn’t known it.

She was the strongest person I’d ever met. Stubborn, resilient, fierce. And she’d shattered for us. The scars on her back were a testament to that. I knew what they meant. I wasn’t foolish enough to find a claim within those marks—not one for which I could take credit.

Glade had fought through all of those heats to keep what was hers. We were hers because she’d chosen us, and it was that choice she’d never let him have. Not even in the face of agony.

It was why every touch of my skin against hers made me ache to draw her closer. It was why she was sick.

Plus, I was a little nervous to deny the latter half; a distant storm clouding the back of her eyes and reminding me that she was wounded, not weak—and Glade was pretty damned dangerous when fucked with.

“I’m yours forever, Princess,” I said, leaning down and grazing my teeth along her forearm, where she still gripped my neck in a way that sent an unnatural amount of blood to my cock. That storm dissipated, her scent smoothing out as her lip caught in her teeth and she pressed me back with one hand. The other reached down, curling into a fist around my base.

Well. Shit.

She sank down over my length, a little whine rising in her chest that was so hot it made my blood turn to lava.

I groaned. She was so tight, even as she lifted that perfect body back up, right to the tip. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I couldn’t move, desperate for her to claim me however she needed.

She slid closer, knees bumping against the tub wall as she sank back down, both arms now draping around my neck as she took me all the way to the knot, a dazed look in her eyes.

I growled, fingertips brushing her hips.

She let out another whine, squeezing me so tight I almost came then. She arched against me, round breasts glistening with water as she settled right over my knot, a look of bliss in her eyes.

“That’s my girl,” I breathed, returning my arms around her.

She was calm, at last, amidst the silence, and it was a long time before I spoke, knowing what I needed to say. Knowing it wasn’t enough.

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