Page 106 of A War of Three Kings

My eyebrows shoot up, then a slow smile curls my lips.

“Does your father always torture people heactuallylikes?” Cyprien snaps at her. Keira’s back straightens, her chin rising. “Am I the only one here who has not forgotten that?”

“Easy, Cyprien.” I give him a hard stare.

“Why should I hold my tongue when I speak the truth?” He spins around to me, gold beads clinking in the many thin, black braids he keeps pulled back in a leather thong.

“Trust me, I have not forgotten.” A deep scowl fills Keira’s face. “Nor have I let him. It will be a thing that always tarnishes our relationship, but I know my father. He will spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to me. To Aldrin. A man can make mistakes.”

Cyprien’s lips twist. “And you, Aldrin? Are you happy to play nice now that it is more convenient?”

I let out a long, tired breath and run a hand across the uninjured parts of my face. “Honestly, I get it.”

Two sets of eyes flare wide at me in shock.

“I understand why he went to such lengths. I have never been a father, but I was an older brother. There was no limit to the atrocities I would have committed if Lorrella was in trouble. If I thought a fae had become crazed and was going to hurt her. You know this, Cyprien. You would have done the same for her. I would destroy everyone and everything for Keira, too. I would become consumed and do things I never thought I could. Maybethis war and the threat of the mad king has made me insane, but I am glad there are others who will fight for Keira as fiercely as I will.”

Keira doesn’t hesitate. She closes the space between us and leans over me to place a featherlight kiss on my lips, as though she is afraid to hurt me. When she pulls away, those hazel eyes are large and bright with emotion.

“Thank you. For everything,” she whispers.

I run my thumb across her cheek. “You never need to thank me for fighting to keep you safe.”

Behind her, Cyprien looks like he has just been slapped. He stalks for the door, pulling it open roughly, but pauses to look over his shoulder. “You are still a brother.”

I know exactly what he means.You are still a brother to me.He disappears before I can reply, most likely to return to the hospital to help the human healers.

Keira sits on the edge of my bed, stroking my hair back from my face. “I have never seen Cyprien cry, but I think he came pretty close after they finally got you into the city.”

Guilt floods me, but instead of wallowing in it, I scoop an arm around Keira’s waist and lift her until her legs straddle my hips on the bed. Her arms reach out and grip the headboard behind me. I send out a quick air wield to lock the bolt over the door, then place my hands on either side of her face and kiss her deeply, hungrily.

Like I almost died, and touching her again is a precious gift I never expected to have.

Chapter 27

Aldrin

Ilose myself in the kiss’ intensity. Our lips slide against each other with passion and our tongues caress. I press the softness of her body into me, reveling in the way she wraps around my chest and hips.

The sweet scent of her clean hair floods me. I bunch up her dress to get beneath it and my hands run across the curves of her thighs, her ass, her stomach, all skin on skin. Then they dip in, toward the center of her, at a leisurely pace.

A tightness coils within my stomach, and my blood turns to fire as my heart pounds savagely. My cock hardens, then throbs. I forget all else.

I need to touch her.

To see if she is slick and wet for me.

Right as my fingers almost reach the heat between her legs, Keira pulls away, breathless, cheeks rosy. “You’re still injured. You need to rest.”

She tries to shift off me, but I hold her hips in place. A scowl forms across her beautiful face, but I don’t care. Her movement has brought those ample breasts right in line with my face. In a fraction of a heartbeat, I have the buttons of her neckline undone and my face pressed against them, kissing my way from one tothe other. I pull the fabric open and glide my tongue across the peak of one nipple.

A shuddering gasp slips from her and her back arches, pressing her breasts even closer to my face. I ignore the aching pulse of my ear. The higher my arousal pitches, the less I feel it, anyway.

“Aldrin,” Keira moans. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” My hand grazes up her bare thigh, flicking away the lacy fabric of her undergarment. I smile wickedly as my fingers slide across her damp core and slip inside of her. Those inner muscles clamp down around them immediately. “You want me as badly as I want you.”

“Of course I do.” Her touch roves across my chest, exploring each divot through the fabric of my tunic. “But I don’t want to reopen your wounds.”

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