Page 200 of Severed Heir

I couldn’t speak.

Of course, Klaus had known. That’s why his final words were for Archer. He forgave him for loving me.

And it was never really about the dragons.

The words sank into me, heavy and unshakable. I opened my mouth to speak, but he silenced me with a kiss. His lips met mine,firm and desperate, and suddenly, the only thing I could hear was the wild beat pounding in my chest.

His hands slid to my waist. He found the twin blades there, easing them from their sheaths, and let them fall to the ground with a soft clatter.

And I let him have all of me.

A shadow portal opened behind us, the air rippling with flame and ash as it pulled us in. The world tilted, blurred, then steadied again as we landed in his room.

“We need a shower,” he muttered. “Well, I need a shower. Desperately.”

We staggered toward the heat, steam curling around us as the water rushed over scorched skin and bruised bones. The battle clung to us in aches and silence, but here, in the quiet, we let it slip away.

Archer’s hands found me, steady and certain, and he leaned in close. His breath brushed my ear as he whispered, “Every part of me loves you, Severyn. You protected my realm when I couldn’t. You are everything.”

I closed my eyes, the words hitting something fragile and unguarded inside me.

“I love you, Archer Lynch,” I whispered. “I think,” I added with a wink.

He kissed me again, hard enough to chase away doubt. My back met the stone, cool and grounding, but his touch lit a fire beneath my skin. There was urgency in him, a kind of desperation, like he needed to claim the one thing he had almost lost.

His voice was rough when it came, brushing my lips like a vow. “Let me worship you, Severyn. Let me erase every moment we were apart.”

“I need you closer,” I gasped.

He pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m not letting go. Not now. Not ever.”

I nodded. In one fluid, desperate motion, he lifted me. My legs wrapped around his waist as he pressed me against the wall. Then he lowered himself, sinking to his knees in a bow beneath me.

His hands tightened around my thighs, spreading them open as the water fell between us. “You aren’t leaving this shower until I’m done with you,” he said.

His lips and tongue kissed my thighs as my feet rested on his shoulders. He plunged his tongue inside my heated core, tasting and devouring every single sense that was left inside me.

Ohshit, I was about to come undone one minute in.

And when his fingers curled, I arched back. “Will you fight in this trial?” I gasped.

His eyes flicked up. “No talk of politics while I’m savoring you.”

“What are you going to do about it?” I asked.

He wiped his chin. “Well, clearly I’m not hitting the right spot if your mind is focused on politics.”

He curled a finger deeper inside me. “I just wanted… to talk,” I gasped.

“Okay, you want to talk while I pleasure you?” He leaned closer. “You won’t be able to keep this up, little heir.”

I was up for the challenge, for the most part, before I cried out in pleasure and he pressed his lips on mine.

He shifted me down and gripped my thighs even tighter. “Fuck you are beautiful. Glistening, sweet and all mine.”

“All yours?”

He placed his hips before mine, pausing. “Yes.” Then he edged his hard cock before my entrance, dragging the tip between my folds, like the teasing bastard he was. “Any last politicalremarks,” he murmured, “before I make sure I’m the only thing on your mind?”

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