Page 62 of The Demon King's Destiny

A low rumbling vibrated through the trees, their limbs shaking and rustling the leaves. The soft purple and blue sky turned bright red, reminiscent of the evening he’d come to her not so long ago, livid at having been apart for two years.

An animalist howl broke through the quiet, followed by the sound of something crashing through the forest. She gasped and turned towards the source.

Slowly, Evelyn eased backwards, halting when the bed hit the back of her legs. Lifting her hands, she used her powers to raise a protective barrier, enclosing the ring of trees with her in the center.

Branches and twigs broke with the movement of whatever was coming. She should have been terrified. She wasn’t. Just as the figure appeared on the other side of her magics, she sobbed and dropped her shield.

Marrok barreled intoEvelyn, knocking her backwards onto the bed. He landed atop her, adjusting his weight to his forearms. Desperate kisses covered her face, her neck, her collarbone.

He buried his head in the crook of her neck, his arms clutching her body to his. He inhaled her delectable scent, drew it deep into his lungs. It took a moment for him to realize they were both shaking, not just him.

Evelyn’s tears wet his skin and Marrok squeezed his eyes shut. Though he reviled her reason for weeping, he would bear it and wallow in the shelter of her arms. His mate was his anchor now. The longer they were apart, the more adrift he felt.

He hadn’t had a deep sleep for more than an hour hereandthere in six months. It had taken this long to get some semblance of control and he couldn’t be bothered to celebrate because he was so damned miserable.

He was overtly discouraged, unable to find the culprit who organized the attacks in the summer. None of those captured could give him a name. One extremely disturbed bloke had gone on and on about Sephtis Kenelm setting the world right.

The group was long dead and, even if they were active, they didn’t create rogue demons to terrorize other demons. Their purpose was balance. A nation filled with rogues was anything but.

This week he’d hit a wall, his demon driving him to the breaking point. Quadrupling his efforts, and relying heavily on his men, Marrok pushed himself to the point of exhaustion.

With what he hoped was the last of the rogues, he’d locked the gates to the Corak Peninsula’s colony, tripled the guard, and headed for the fortress. Nothing, short of death, was going to keep him from his mate this night.

He held Evelyn until he felt her tears dry. She relaxed into his embrace and he rolled to the side, meeting her eyes.

“I got your note,” he said.

Evelyn’s sad laugh had his heart constricting inside his chest. Every letter he’d left had been short and void of emotion. He’d only been able to drop in for minutes at a time.

When he saw her note last month, he knew he had to move mountains to get back to her. He’d finally been able to feel some of her emotions and he knew Evelyn was hurting. Marrok didn’t want to hurt his mate. He’d woken before he could reply and hadn’t been in a safe place long enough to dreamwalk again.

I miss you. The three words were all she’d written. They were enough.

“I missed you, too, my sweet.”

Evelyn palmed the side of his face, which had grown thinner. His cheekbones were more pronounced. Dark circles highlighted his lower lids. His blackened hair was longer and unkempt.

Had Marrok not been so large before, the weight loss would have made him look gaunt. Now he simply looked to be of the build of the males of Gwydion, still strong, but lean. Wiry.

A narrow scar was forming from his temple to chin. Someone had cut him deeply. Her magics tingled in her fingertips at the idea someone had dared raised a blade to him.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“I am now.”

A thousand questions entered her mind. The bright, burning, yellowish-brown boring into her, shining onto her skin, dissolved them all. They could talk later. Right now, Evelyn needed to feel.

Images of what she’d been fantasizing teased her, warming her from the inside. Any pretense of shyness died away under the intensity of her demon’s stare.

She pressed her front as close to Marrok as she could get. Licking her lips, she hooked a leg over his hip, holding his hardened length to her center.

“Did you not notice the bed?”

“Evelyn.”

He’d groaned her name. A warning. A plea. Marrok didn’t know which.

Unflinchingly, Evelyn kissed him again, coaxing his lips apart with her tongue. Her left hand pulled at the bottom of his shirt, lifting it so she could place her fingertips upon his skin. Her thumb strummed his nipple and she suddenly found herself on her back.

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