Page 170 of Dukes Are Forever
Ingrid glanced at her. "Care for a flight, Your Grace?"
"Go with Lark and Ingrid," he told her, a smear of soot across his cheek.
"What about you?" she demanded.
The line of his jaw tensed. "I have to finish this, Adele. I have to make sure he dies this time."
"The entire tower's on fire! He's called your bluff."
As if to punctuate her words, something else exploded.
"He's here somewhere, I know he is—"
"Please," she whispered. "Please come with us. Come with me...."
Malloryn turned his face away from her touch. "I can't." Capturing her hand, he pressed it to his lips, his eyes raw with unspoken words. "I'll see you at home."
Then he turned, heading into the smoke.
Adele stared after him, her heart in her throat, aware of all the eyes watching them.
Just before he was about to vanish, he paused.
And then he was striding back toward her. Capturing her face in his hands, he pressed his lips to hers. Adele wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as he kissed her, long and slow and deep. She didn't want this moment to end, for the second it did, he'd walk away from her again, she knew it.
This was goodbye.
All the things left unspoken between them poured into a moment of perfection. Of need and desire, and a thousand little secret confessions.
And then Malloryn finally drew back, carefully disengaging her arms from around his neck.
"I love you," he whispered, his eyes gleaming bright gray in contrast to the soot on his cheeks. "I have tried not to. I knew I was breaking every single promise I ever made myself when I looked at you. But I couldn't help myself. You drive me crazy, Adele. But you also give me back a piece of myself I thought I'd lost."
Another kiss, her arms locking around his neck.
And then he was capturing her wrists, lowering her hands in front of her, his expression grim. "And so I want you to go. If I don't make it, go and live your life. Be happy. Be free."
She knew what he was saying.
He didn't think he was going to survive.
"Come with me!"
"I can't." Malloryn cupped her hand against his cheek. "This needs to end, Adele. One way or another, one of us has to die. If I walk away, he'll scuttle free, and then there'll be more dead girls in the streets. More explosions. More killing. He'll come after the queen again. He'll come after you. I can stop it. I have to stop it."
"None of this was your fault!" she cried.
"Adele."
The way he said her name always cut right through her. But this time, there was a slight pleading undertone.
"Know this," he said. "I want that future we spoke of. I will fight for that, if nothing else. And I will come home to you if I can. But you need to go now, before the tower goes down." His mouth softened into a smile. "Be brave."
And let me go….
She didn't want to go.
Heavens knew what Malloryn faced. But if his attention was focused on protecting her, then he'd be at risk himself.
