Page 50 of All's Fair in Lion and War
“Lorelei.” He grabbed her swinging hands before she could make contact again.
She screamed and stomped her feet. “I want to kill him!”
“Lorelei.” He spoke her name again with the flat calmness that demanded that she listen, but she was so far gone.
“I should’ve died too. Why didn’t he kill me?”
“Because youarea queen. You were his brother’s mate. And for whatever twisted reason. It was more important to punish you because he hated his brother.”
Something broke in that moment. He saw it.
She leaned against his chest and sobbed.
Her chest heaved and shook and she shuddered from head to foot.
He dropped her hands and put his arms around her back, slowly pulling her tighter to his chest. Then rubbed a hand up and down the length of her spine.
“I will make him pay, Lorelei. Me. Not you. I need you to trust me. I need you to let me do this for you so that you don’t die. I can’t lose you too. I can’t fail another mate.”
“I’m not your mate.” Her words were broken and painful and desperate.
“You are. Whether you choose to ever recognize that or not. You are mine. You will be mine until I breathe my last breath and I’ll be damned to the eternal fire if I let you leave this life before me. Is that clear?” He growled out the last sentence. His lion rising with anger at the thought that she would be so careless with her life.
He cupped her face with his hands and lifted her chin so that she would meet his gaze. Her brown eyes were filled with sadness and anger and shock and confusion, and then lust.
Saul’s breath caught in his chest. Fire darted through his veins. That was the first time he’d seen interest in her gaze.
He kissed her.
Not hard. Not demanding, but it wasn’t soft either.
It wasn’t like a first kiss either.
He kissed her like he had all the time in the world. Like there wasn’t a crazy pride of lions threatening the happy life they’d created in Mystery. Like she wasn’t grieving a loss she’d only just remembered. Like he’d kissed her a thousand times before and would kiss her a thousand times after this.
He moved his hands to her waist, pulling her against him and pushing his hips against hers.
She put her arms around his neck and let her body sink into his even more.
She was so soft. Everywhere. Her lips. Her body. Her skin.
Everything about her was perfect. He tried not to consider that he’d ever have another chance to love again. To have another mate. But Lorelei was his second chance and now…they were each other’s second chance.
Her mouth moved against his, and she rocked her hips against his. That part of her that wanted him. That part so deep down she hadn’t been willing to acknowledge it until now.
Until she was more angry than sad. More shocked by the prospect of a future than confused by the loss she couldn’t fix.
The magick had healed more than her memory, it was beginning to heal her heart.
Just a little.
He would take it.
Saul pressed his tongue against her lips and she opened for him, allowing, accepting, approving. Their tongues moved together in a teasing dance that elicited a moan from her chest. Fire licked at Saul’s blood.
That moan.
She wasn’t backing off.
