Page 72 of A Legacy of Storms and Starlight

Zylah followed Raif’s lead and scrubbed at her hands, watching the blood swirl down the drain. A moment of silence passed, nothing but the sound of them scrubbing away the blood until Zylah finally said, “They were innocent.”

“I know.”

“And we killed them.”

Raif had already walked away from the basin, back out into the bedroom. “I know.”

She spun around at the emptiness in his tone, grabbing a towel as she followed him. He sat on the edge of the bed, chest rising and falling as his gaze fell to his upturned hands resting on his knees. She studied his face, the slump of his shoulders, his empty gaze. He’d killed them. For her. To save her.

“Raif?”

He didn’t look up, and Zylah realised then; it wasn’t just his magic that cost him something. When she’d seen him fight, it was with a ferocity she’d never seen before, and it should have unsettled her, but it didn’t. It wasforher. But it had taken something from him.

“Look at me,” Zylah said, taking his hands in hers and kneeling before him. Raif’s gaze slowly slid up to meet hers. The brightness had gone from his eyes—they weren’t the black of when he used his magic, but a shadow had fallen over them. “Thank you.” She rubbed her thumbs in circles on his hands. He had killed for her. So that she wouldn’t have to take any more innocent lives, so that she wouldn’t have to see their faces when she closed her eyes.

Raif blinked. Once. Twice. As if he were blinking away the darkness that had consumed his eyes more than once that evening. He swallowed. “I just need to… think of something else.” Gone was the playful tone, the humour she’d become accustomed to. The insufferable confidence. He looked exactly how she felt, and she couldn’t bear to see him that way.

She placed her hands on his thighs and cocked her head to one side, summoning a smile. A distraction. That was what he needed. What they both needed. And she could give him that—he’d given her space when she needed it. Held onto her when she needed holding, too.

“I can help with that,” she said quietly, moving to sit in his lap, knees resting either side of him on the bed. She pressed a hand to his chest, his skin warm beneath her palm as his arms wrapped around her. “I can be a distraction.” She tilted her head up to look at him, only to find his eyes were closed, his brow tightly furrowed as he held onto her.

Zylah cleared her throat. “I’m sorry,” she began, pushing back to ease out of his lap, but Raif moved faster, his hands grabbing her behind and moving to lower her onto the bed.

Any shame she had begun to feel in that moment his eyes were closed disappeared as he looked down at her, his gaze drifting to her mouth. “Like a goddess,” he murmured, an arm on either side of her head. Warmth radiated from him, his mint and lemongrass scent flooding her senses.

Zylah reached her hands into his hair, her lips meeting his softly, slowly at first. She pulled back to check it was okay, that this was what he wanted, what heneeded, and he responded by sliding an arm under her waist and pulling her to him, his lips crashing with hers. There was nothing soft and gentle about the kiss. It was hungry, desperate, and she could feel the evidence of his need pressing between her legs, long and hard.

Her heart was like a beating drum inside her chest. She’d wanted this since their first kiss outside the safe house, yet she’d pushed him away. Kept her walls firmly in place. But seeing his come down tonight had brought hers down, too. And she was tired of keeping him out. Tired of hiding from her feelings. She ran her hands down the thick muscles on his chest, his stomach, and slid her fingers into the band of his trousers, but Raif caught her hand.

“Ladies first,” he said, pressing a kiss to her fingers and pulling her arms over her head to pull off her tunic. He knelt over her, tugging her trousers away from her waist and sliding them down her legs.

Zylah watched the way he looked at her, his gaze roving slowly over her legs, her undergarments, over her breasts, her chest rising and falling with each breath. She wanted to take away every dark thought and memory she could from him, to lock them away so he’d never look how he had moments before.

He finally met her gaze; the shadows had gone from his eyes. Instead, they smouldered, and nothing but hunger and desire sparkled in them. He hooked a finger into her underwear, his other hand lifting her off the bed slightly and held her gaze as he slid the fabric down her legs. One arm was still around her as he ran his hand up her leg, his touch feather-light as his hand roamed higher, exploring, teasing.

Zylah’s breath hitched as Raif’s gaze followed the trail of his hand, fingers coming to rest on the sensitive spot between her legs. Every thought fell away from her as she focused on the feeling of his fingertips coaxing circles against her exposed skin. She eased her hips up against his touch, needing to feel more of him, to have more friction against the sensation building within her.

She threw her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth to hers to kiss him again. It might have only been a distraction for him, but she couldn’t deny that it meant more to her. Raif’s hand slid lower, a low growl slipping from him as his fingers met with slick wetness and he slid a finger inside her. A quiet whimper escaped Zylah as she moved against him, his tongue sweeping over hers, his kiss devouring. Her hips moved against him; she needed more.

As if he’d heard her thoughts, he slid in another finger, and Zylah cried out against his lips. “Raif,” she whispered, as a delicious tension coiled tight within her. She reached for him, her hand skimming beneath the band of his trousers and wrapped her hand around the solid length of him.

“Fuck,” he breathed, pulling back to look down at their hands. Zylah moved her hand up and down, once, twice, tugging at the band of his trousers with her other hand to free him. But that didn’t stop him; he moved his fingers faster, his thumb resting on the most sensitive part of her, circling in time with his fingers.

Zylah’s back arched into his touch, the tension building as Raif kissed around her jaw. His lips against her throat were her undoing. Pleasure swept through her, Raif’s fingers slowing as she shook against him. Her bones were liquid, her body heavy and light all at once. The kisses slowed, and Raif eased his fingers out of her as her shaking eased, his hand wrapping around hers as she moved it up and down him.

Another growl escaped him as he eased her hand away, pulling at his trousers and positioning himself over her. Raif paused on his elbows, his breathing as ragged and broken as Zylah’s as he looked down at her, waiting. Zylah answered by wrapping her legs around him, and with one swift thrust, he was inside her, easing further and further. Zylah cried out at the size of him, her nails digging into his shoulders as he moved slowly for her to adjust. But she wanted more.

Raif pulled back, but she tightened her legs around him, her hips moving against his and he thrust deeper, his lips claiming hers as she moaned at the building pleasure. He pulled back again to look at her, his blue eyes bright and blazing as he moved inside her.

She didn’t just want to be a distraction. And she knew he didn’t either. “Raif,” she murmured against his lips. He answered by moving faster, his mouth devouring hers again, each thrust faster than the one before.

Every muscle in Zylah’s body tightened. She dragged her hands up Raif’s corded arms, ran them through his hair, against his neck, his heartbeat pounding against her fingertips. Gone were the shadows of the evening, the darkness that had followed them home. There was nothing left but this moment between them, the burning deep within her.

Release barrelled through her again, and Raif followed, his arms tight around her as she shook, his tongue sweeping across hers as he captured her mouth, hips slowing.

Zylah didn’t realise she’d closed her eyes, but when she opened them, Raif was looking down at her, a hand resting gently against her cheek, his chest rising and falling in time with hers. He held her gaze as their breathing slowed, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw.

He pressed a kiss to her lips and moved to lay beside her, head resting on his arm. A tender expression settled across his face, and another piece of the wall Zylah had built chipped away. She wanted to let him in, for so many reasons. He’d been kind to her. Patient. She owed him the truth.

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