Page 108 of Swift Wings Shadowed Heart
“Never mind.”
I turn to leave, but he cages me by bracing both hands against the wall behind me. “Do you want to know if I’m sleeping with someone else? Or is this your way of asking for exclusivity?” His lips are tipped into a slight smirk that makes me want to rip it off his face.
Shrugging, I lie, “Neither.” A pause while I use all the cockiness I can muster to shape my features. “It’s really my way of asking if you would be mad ifIslept with someone else?”
“What?!” he growls.
Mission accomplished… smirk ripped off his face.
“Hmm, I guess that answers my question.”
“Don’t toy with me, Rhealyn. I’d kill anyone who touches you. You’re mine.”
I tilt my head to one side. “Don’t I have a say?”
He retreats, straightening to his full height and becoming a looming, aloof creature. “Is there someone else you want besides me?”
Too late I realize I tread over extremely dangerous territory. He’s possessive, but he’s also proud, and he won’t stoop for anyone who doesn’t want him. Vaylen wasn’t going after Eleonora. He was going after me because he wantsme. After tonight and that look in his eyes, I’ll never doubt that.
But what about me? Do I want him and only him? The answer manifests itself as naturally as flowers bloom.
I take a step forward and coax one of his clenched fists open. “There’s no one else, Vaylen Everett Stormsong. And in all honesty, the question was, indeed, my way of asking for exclusivity.” A shameless lie. “I don’t want you touching or kissing anyone else. The thought makes my blood boil.” An absolute truth.
With a strong tug, he pulls me against him. “It seems we’re of one mind, Rhealyn Rose Wyndward. The thought of anyone but me touching you or kissing you makes my blood boil, too.”
I frown. “I never told you my middle name.”
He chuckles. “I’ve read your Academy file a dozen times. From the night of the Rite of Flight, I made it my purpose to learn everything about you.” He looks into my eyes in a way I’m afraid to describe. Tenderly caressing my cheek, he adds, “Please be careful, Rhealyn.”
I frown. “Where’s this coming from?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Just promise me not to do anything reckless.”
“Reckless? Me?”
He raises his eyebrows.
“Only my mouth is reckless… and big, but I doubt the Screechclaws will care about that.”
“Please, I’m serious. Just promise me.”
He’s truly worried for some reason. Perhaps because he knows how awful things can be here, and I don’t. I caress his face back. “All right, I promise.”
He smiles, then his lips crash into mine, possessive and hungry, causing my back to arch like a bow with the force of his taut passion. He could break me, and I would die a happy woman.
45
Vaylen
We are up and ready to depart before dawn. Last night, I went to bed strung up, torn between the need to hold on to Rhealyn, and my duty as High Prime.
Her jealousy did something to me. I must admit I liked it, knowing she feels just as possessive of me as I feel of her makes me want to rip her clothes off and fuck her until we’re both blind.
Rhealyn is sharp and perceptive. I have a feeling she saw the way Eleanora tries to woo me. She was at it from the moment we arrived, reaching out to touch me every chance she gets. I’ve been avoiding it, but I need to talk to her about the proper distance between a Prime and his Clutch members.
The irony is laughable. I want nothing proper between Rhealyn and me. For her, I’ll keep breaking all the rules.
I can’t help but search her gaze even now as she lines up with the others. She was glad when I told her she was coming with us. There’s no way in any level of hell I would leave her behind. Our enemies could renew their full force attacks on Cinderhold at any moment, and she might find herself in the middle of a battle. Constantly thinking of that possibility would drive me crazy all the way to Hearthdale and back. I wouldn’t be able to focus on the mission.
