Page 15 of Void of Endings
She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of sun-drenched palms, warm sand, and plumeria. This place brought her comfort. This place was home.
Home.
Maeve gasped and jolted upright, her eyes flying open.
Her gaze swung wildly around the room, taking it all in, everything exactly as she remembered. A guitar propped up in the corner, a wardrobe that was partially open, and a glass domed ceiling revealing the stunning blue sky. And then she saw him.
He was leaning against the double glass doors that led out onto their shared balcony. Twilight eyes flecked with gold were focused on her, his face unreadable beneath a swath of midnight hair. He stood as though carved from stone. Unmoving. She wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. His arms were folded across his bare chest and sunlight glinted off of his bronze body, each muscle seemingly crafted by a god. Even his tattoos looked sun-kissed, glittering gold displaying swirling suns and crashing waves.
Sun and sky, he was magnificent.
Surely, she had to be dreaming.
“Not a dream,astora.”
Maeve slid out from under the comforter, her bare feet touching the wooden floor. Her knees trembled, and she took one step forward, worried that if she moved any closer, he would disappear.
Then his mouth curved into a slow smile.
She darted across the room and leapt into his waiting arms. He caught her without even stumbling, and she locked her legs around his waist, clutching him. His strong arms wrapped around her, and he tucked her head beneath his chin as her chest heaved, desperate to be as close to him as possible.
“Tiernan.” His name fell from her lips on a strangled sob.
“I’m here, Maeve.” He cradled her against him, pressing featherlight kisses across her temple. He bent his head low, breathing her in, like she was the very essence of his soul. “I’m here.”
“I missed you.” The tears came freely now, hot and fast, sliding down her cheeks. She shuddered and his grip tightened. “I missed you so much.”
“I’ll never lose you again,” he murmured into her hair as he carried her over to the bed. He sat on the edge, positioning her in his lap.
Maeve held on, continuing to straddle him. She wove her arms around him, unable to let go. He was here, holding her, and he was real. Burying her face in his neck, she reveled in the feel of his skin, in the beating of his heart, in the way his soul reached for hers, binding them together.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his low baritone a balm to the anguish of being separated from one another.
“I will be.” She didn’t want to relay the experience with the memory keeper. It was awful, having to relive so much of her life all over again. It had been far more intense than she ever expected, and she hadn’t realized how many times she’d been left broken.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
There was no pressure. No demand. Just a simple question.
“No.”
She didn’t want to talk about anything. She simply wanted to be with him, to feel him, and be near him.
Maeve nuzzled her nose against the column of his neck, pressing her lips to where his pulse beat solely for her. He was all she ever needed in this life and the next, all she ever wanted. He was her anchor. Her rock. A thousand lifetimes with him would never be enough. “I only want you.”
Even as she spoke the words, her blood started to hum. Desire, a swell of longing suppressed inside her, simmered to life. It was as though she’d been woken from a centuries-long sleep, and all she craved was him filling every inch of her. She wanted his hands, his mouth, his tongue, his cock. All of it. All ofhim, touching and tasting all of her.
Tiernan’s hands moved to her hips, gripping her, fastening her to where she could already feel him hardening beneath his pants.
“Astora,” he growled, smothering a groan.
She was bare beneath the nightshirt she wore—she’d never been fond of fancy undergarments—and the friction of him pressing against her swollen flesh nearly sent her over the edge.
Maeve slid off his lap and headed toward the bathing suite.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Tiernan stood, prowling toward her.
“I need a shower.” She lifted one shoulder, then let it fall, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
