Page 47 of The Lord of the Labyrinth

Kate never imagined sex could feel so life-changing. It was no wonder people went mad with lust and longing. She’d wanted to feel this her entire life. Each time Roan thrust into her, she felt like she belonged to him, that they were connected in a way that could never be broken. After everything she’d been through in the last few days—nearly being drowned by the morgens, getting attacked by the trolls—she just wanted to be right here in Roan’s arms, getting whatshewanted.Him.

“Yes,” he growled. “Mine, forever.” Those simple words were her joy and her doom as her body burst apart in a fierce orgasm that nearly killed her.

She lay limp, smiling dreamily. The cave shook as Roan roared her name, followed by silence. The glowworms’ light winked out before they cautiously lit themselves again. Heat filled her womb, with Roan’s hard shaft still buried deep within her body. Kate had just enough strength left to tighten her thighs around Roan’s hips, desperate to hold him inside her.

“Please don’t go...” She buried her face against his shoulder, fighting tears. She didn’t want to lose that sense of connection to him, and she feared that now he had gotten what he wanted from her, he would abandon her.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Roan assured her. He gave a low chuckle that sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

ChapterTen

The king of the dark woods kept watchful eyes upon his precious bride. She made no cry for help, not even when she faced the worst of his world. She kept her head high and let nothing keep her from the path... the path that would lead back to him. He held his breath... waiting... hoping.

—Anon.,Tales from the Twilight Court

Kate felt loose all over. Every muscle had been worked to exhaustion by Roan’s lovemaking, and now all she wanted was to drift to sleep in the arms of the man who had introduced her to such bliss. She rubbed her cheek against Roan’s chest. The smattering of dark hair that grew between his pectorals fascinated her. It was soft, even silky. Her lips curved in a drowsy smile. Sex had been everything Kate hoped it would be.

Roan lay stretched out on his back, an arm folded beneath his head. His other palm rested on her bare hip, while his thumb slowly rubbed back and forth on her skin. Kate studied his face beneath the glowworms that still gently pulsed with blue-green light above them.

She wanted to touch Roan, explore him, feel howrealhe was in that moment to her. He was not something ethereal—he was more than feathers, magic, and moonlight. This was a virile, muscled sex god. She’d grown up hearing such hyperbole from her friends, talking about famous movie stars or popular boy bands, but there was no exaggeration here.

She reached up to gently cup his cheek, and Roan angled his face toward her. The cleft in his chin called for her kiss. Just as his furrowed brow, with its permanent sternness, made her want to snuggle close and steal his worries away. She wondered what a Fae king would even worry about, then remembered that this was not a safe land he ruled over. Patch had told her something of the fighting between the Seelie and the Unseelie. Was Roan always worried about war? His lips parted when her fingers traced his mouth and caressed the cleft of his chin.

“What are you thinking about, little one?” Roan asked.

“Me?” She wasn’t used to being asked that.

“Yes.” His rough chuckle sent delicious shivers through her. He wanted to know whatshewas thinking. Her thoughts were all over the place one minute, and then they’d suddenly snap back to being here with him.

“I honestly don’t know. I was thinking that this is surreal, being with you. Impossible, even. But you’re so very real, aren’t you?”

His smile deepened. “Yes. How does that make you feel?”

“Like I’m dreaming... but awake. Likeanythingis possible.” But that barely touched how she felt. How could she explain it? Letting down her guard with him, thinking about herself for once... it had set part of her free that she’d never realized had been trapped.

I’ve never felt like this with anyone,she realized. Of course, she’d never had a chance. She’d worked too hard during high school on her grades and extracurricular activities to have time to truly get to know the few boys she’d dated. She’d been so burdened with worries about Sandra, her father, and failing their expectations. And when she got to college...

Had she met anyone in college? She had, hadn’t she? Kate swore that she’d met someone during her first semester. Why couldn’t she remember who? It was like that part of her memory was just...gone.

A faint cry of alarm rose up in her. She shouldn’t have a blank space for something like that. Forgetting car keys, sure, but not whole relationships. Her hand swept down Roan’s body as she started to sit up, brushing over his cock, which had become stiff again. Roan caught her wrist, holding it against his lower belly, stroking his fingers over the back of her hand. It was sensual, intimate, and she was mesmerized by the feel of it.

Her straying thoughts, whatever they’d been, faded, and she reveled in this moment with the very real, very dangerous, andveryattractive Fae king lying beside her.

“Are you mine?” The question, meant only for herself, slipped out, and she winced as a wave of mortifying heat swept across her face.

It was a ridiculous thought. Roan couldn’t belong to anyone. He was a dark Fae king with powers she had no understanding of. And she was just Kate, a powerless human woman who was here to temporarily entertain him.

“Kate.” Her name was a low rumble on his lips. He captured her wrist and gently brought her fingers to his mouth, where he kissed her knuckles.

“Sorry. Forget I said anything.” Kate tried to pull her hand away, but Roan only pulled her closer, until their bodies were skin to skin. His gaze pinned her in place, and that string of thoughts that had made her so unhappy faded away. The spell in his eyes refused to let her think about anything except how good it felt to lie here against him.

“Iamyours,” he said. His words sent a jolt of joy through her so strong that she felt like she was flying. But it came crashing down a moment later as she realized he couldn’t mean it. This was just pillow talk. She could hold part of this man, this Fae who was in her life for a while, but only a while. He was as unattainable as the distant stars.

“You do not believe me,” Roan mused, his sinful smile turning to a frown. “Why?”

Because her desire for him, wanting to claim him on a deeper level, terrified her. She’d never done that before with anyone, and she also didn’t trust that it would be true. Why would a Fae king care about her? This, this moment right here, was all she’d really have of him, moments where she could pretend that he was hers.

“Kate, I crave you in a way that I’ve never craved anyone. The things you make me feel puzzle me, even frustrate me, yet you make me feel all of these emotions I’m so unaccustomed to feeling. You own me in a way no other ever has. That you must believe.” His eyes seemed to search hers, for what she didn’t know.

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