Page 32 of Iridian

I closed my eyes and sighed deeply. “I don’t want to be here.” Goddess, how I wished we could be all alone in that safe house again.

“I don’t mind where we are as long as we’re together,” he said.

“But you didn’t care about being together when you ran from me and left me alone in that safe house.”

I wasn’t trying to be a bitch, but remembering what it had felt like killed me a little bit even now. Not my fault for trying to understand, for trying to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

With his eyes squeezed shut, he brought his forehead to mine.

“I’m sorry, sweetness. I had hope that the Devil would make that deal with me. I had hope that he’d let me go so I could come back to you.”

“How about next time youtalkto me,” I said, bringing my hands to his face to touch the stubble that had grown on his cheeks just slightly.

“I don’t plan to end up in the Tomb again anytime soon, so…I don’t think I’ll be owing anything to anyone again,” Taland said. “But I promise you this—I willneveragain assume or hope. I will never let anyone or anything get between us in any way. I promise you, sweetness. I’ll kill them all first.”

His every word rang true. My stomach tied in a thousand knots, and even though I didn’twantto like it, I did. Whatever it was about Taland when he said things like this, when he threatened the world on my behalf andmeantit, something primal inside me worshipped him more for it.

“Just don’t die,” was what I said, even if a part of me thought I should tell him that that was wrong. Killing people was wrong—but he knew that already, didn’t he? “Whatever happens next, let’s just make sure we don’t die, okay? Not you and not me. Neither of us.”

He nodded, grabbed my hand and kissed my palm. “We live.”

“We live.” Because in the end, that’s all that mattered.

“Did it ever occur to you when we were in my dorm in school that we’d end up here, talking about staying alive, just three short years later?”

I laughed a little. “Not at all. I thought we’d be arguing about holiday locations, honestly. I thought you’d hate the beach and I’d hate skiing—but that’s it.”

His shoulders shook as he laughed, too, then kissed the palm of my other hand. “I do hate the beach when you’re not there. When you are, I love it.”

My toes curled. “I’ll still hate skiing even if you’re there, though,” I teased.

He grabbed me suddenly and spun me around and put me on his chest while he bit my jaw, and I laughed out loud when he tickled me, stuck his hands underneath my robe and gripped my ass. Of course, he was hard.

“Then we won’t go skiing,” said Taland. “I think I can survive on beaches only.”

I kissed his lips a hundred times. “I’m sure you’ll convince me a time or two.”

“I’ll just have to work very hard at it,” he said, and his fingers were dangerously close to my pussy, so I jumped off him right away.

“Don’t you dare,” I warned. “We need to get ready and go downstairs. We need to be out there when the sun rises, Taland.”

He sat up, a tent in the white towel wrapped around his hips.

Now my mouth watered for an entirely different reason.

“Yes, yes, I know. I’ll just need to use your bathroom real quick,” he said and stood up, took the towel off and threw it on the bed.

Naked. He was so perfectly naked and hard and fucking delicious I wanted to devour him.

“Taland,” I breathed, my eyes on his body, and the asshole chuckled as he walked backward to the bathroom.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a razor I can use, do you? My face is itchy,” he said, grinning.

“Second drawer,” I muttered absentmindedly, then closed my eyes to gather my thoughts. “Damn it, Taland.”

“I’m sorry, baby, but my clothes are in the bathroom.” He shrugged, his eyes glistening. “Join me if you want.” He slipped inside the bathroom and left the door open just a bit.

And I was going to just go to my closet and put my clothes on. That’s what I did—I went in there and I picked up washed clothes and I was going to put them on and walk out of the room.

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