Page 93 of Rising Out of the Darkness
Liam and Killian approached each side of me, and we watched Declan play with the little girl on the street. Liam leaned in, whispering into my ear. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen him like this, Elena. You’ve mended pieces of him that have been broken for far too long.”
I looked up to his smiling face just as I felt a bump against my other shoulder.
“Looks like you’ve gone and lived your moment,” Killian whispered.
Cheeks flushed, I fought back the tears that built behind my eyes. When I raised my gaze again, I was met with a pair of smoldering emerald eyes.
They burned with desire. I felt a shove on my back, followed by chuckles from the men behind me as I shuffled forward towards the prince.
My body tensed as one of his warm hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me in closer. His knuckles slid over my cheek, sending shivers across my skin as my dynamis chased after his touch.
“So, how does one make an exit from here?” My words were breathless.
He leaned in so closely that his lips brushed the edge of my earlobe. “You fear the dark, but how do you feel about shadows?”
His breath tickled my neck. I bobbed my head in approval. Declan gave a nod to his captains, then pulled me into his chest. “Hold tight, love.”
A whirl of black surrounded us, and in a blink, we were back in my room in the castle. Taking a deep breath, I filled my lungs, massaging my temples to erase the dizziness left behind. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to tha?—”
Before I could finish, Declan’s lips collided with mine.
Chapter 36
Declan
Elena’s back slammed against the door as I shoved her against it. The gasp that escaped her luscious lips sent a bolt of electricity down my body, straight to my already aching cock. Invigorated by the sultry sound, I devoured every inch of her lips like a starved man.
I’d meant for our kiss to be delicate, tender, a gentle caress of the way she made me feel every day. However, after what she’d done in the city, the temptation had become insatiable. Elena had no idea what that simple gesture meant to me. Shame had always loomed over me like the very shadows I summoned. Darkness might fuel my dynamis, but it had its claws wrapped tightly over my mind as well.
Tonight, when the people of my city kneeled in respect, some of that darkness dissipated from my soul. It had been a long time since I’d felt a smidge of the happiness that seemed to exude from Elena.
There were no words to explain the emotions that had flooded my body when the people of our city smiled, even laughed together with…me. Forgiveness was something I knew I didn’t deserve, but even in the cold depths of my frozen heart, it was my deepest desire.
Slowly, the weight of my world was being lifted by this gorgeous woman in front of me. Elena’s power didn’t just reside in her dynamis. Her entire being radiated with kindness, passion, and immeasurable strength. It hummed with hope.
Perhaps hope was one of the strongest emotions of them all? Maybe it was hope that we needed to light our way through the darkness of this kingdom.
I needed this woman.
All of her. Mind, body and soul.
My restraint had shattered into a million pieces, as well as all the reasons that had kept me away from her. Tonight, I was going to show my Wildfire just how much I’d fallen in love with her.
When I’d first laid eyes on Elena, there was no doubt that she would be my undoing.
Tonight, I would be hers.
I sucked on her bottom lip, eliciting a whimper from her. Delight filled my chest at her silent plea for more. My hands fell beneath her thighs, pulling her legs around my waist. Heat radiated off her in waves as she squeezed her legs around my back, pulling me flush against her chest. Our heartbeats danced together as one.
“Declan…” she gasped.
“Yes, love?” I panted in between needy kisses, my hands exploring every gods-given inch of her body. I slipped my hands under her tunic, palming the underside of her breast while my thumb brushed over the thin fabric covering one of her pebbled peaks.
“I—I… oh…gods?—”
A chuckle rumbled deep within my throat. “Love, the only name that will leave your lips in the heat of passion will be mine. Do you understand?”
“Is that an order?”
