Chapter 17

CHAPTER17

Ihadn’t seen Evren since yesterday.

After we told the others of our plan, he was whisked away to talk strategy with his mother and her advisors. He had offered for me to come, but I had refused.

I still didn’t trust the woman, and thoughts were swirling in my mind about my father and the pendant that still buzzed against my chest. There was also the fact that I couldn’t get the image of the way Evren’s friends, my friends, had all lit up with the news of our betrothal. Thalia had grinned exceptionally hard, and Sorin cursed under his breath with a smile on his face as he slid something into Thalia’s hand.

I had just needed a moment to breathe.

My feet bounced on the floor as I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the door. Mina had brought me dinner before quickly leaving, and she had let me know that she was serving Evren his meal in the throne room.

I looked to my feet then back to the door. The sun had fallen and the moons had taken its place, and I knew I should have just laid down and gone to sleep.

But I couldn’t.

My heart was beating at the same anxious rhythm that my feet bounced against the hard floor, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to calm myself down.

I climbed from the bed and pulled the small throw blanket around me. I was wearing nothing but a shirt and my undergarments, but I just needed a peek. To see if he was back in his room.

I opened my door before slowly creeping across the hall, and I leaned my ear against Evren’s door. Silence. I heard nothing from the other side, and my stomach tightened as I looked down the hall.

I should have gone back to my room and waited until tomorrow, but I didn’t. I tiptoed down the hall, and I didn’t stop until I made my way into the main entryway. A few soldiers stood there, and they were taking direction from Jorah. His gaze snapped up to meet me as I entered the large room, and he said a few more words to them before making his way to me.

“Is everything okay?” His voice was firm, all business just like I had known Jorah to be.

“Are you okay?” I tightened the blanket around me. “I’ve barely spoken to you since you returned.”

Jorah’s face softened, and he took a step closer to me. “I’m fine, Adara. You need not worry for me.”

I looked down the hallway which I knew led toward the kitchens.

“Is there something else?”

I looked back toward him. “Where’s the throne room?”

Jorah smiled, and I hated the blush I could feel rising up my chest. But it didn’t matter that he knew I was looking for his prince. Evren was my mate and my soon-to-be husband, and I needed to get over the fact that people would know I wanted him.

“Right this way.” He motioned me forward, and I followed him down the long hallway.

“He’s been in here all day.” There was an edge of concern in Jorah’s voice.

“What exactly is he working on?”

“Ensuring that there’s no way his brother can get to you. It’s his only concern. You are his priority.”

I nodded in understanding even as my chest tightened.

Jorah stopped near a large set of double doors. They were grander than the rest, the tops curved in a beautiful arch that met an intricate design of vines and a sword in the middle.

Jorah knocked twice before he pushed the door open. I took a deep breath and held the blanket tightly around me before stepping inside. There was a large dais at one end of the room with two thrones upon it. Both as black as night and twin in design.

But Evren sat at a large table that was taking up most of the room, and he was staring down at parchments of maps in front of him. There were a few others in the room as well as both Thalia and Sorin at his sides, but it was only him I could see.

He hadn’t noticed me yet, but Thalia did. She gave me a small smile as she stood from her chair and nodded toward Sorin.

He looked up from the maps he was studying with Evren, and he blinked when he saw me standing in the corner of the room. He started to move from the table, and Evren’s attention finally pulled away from the maps and landed on me.

He looked like he hadn’t slept since yesterday. His eyes were dark and tired, and his hair was disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it.

“Princess.” He stood from his chair without taking his eyes off me. “Did you need something?”

I hated how tired he looked. How worn down he was over his racing thoughts of keeping me safe. And I wanted to take them away.

“It’s late.” I let my gaze fall to the windows that stood beyond the dais. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

I saw Evren’s face falter, and he sat back down in his chair. “I will rest. But there are some things I need to attend to first.”

Thalia looked back and forth between us, but I couldn’t make out the look on her face.

But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter what anyone in the room thought other than him, and I pulled my blanket tighter around me as I made my way to him. He leaned back in his chair as he watched me, his hands gripping the arms of the chair.

“Adara.” Even his voice sounded so tired.

“Evren.” I mocked the way he said my name, and Sorin chuckled at his side.

“I think Adara is right.” He walked past Evren before reaching me and placing a kiss on my forehead. “We’ve been at it all night and day. We could all do with some rest.”

Evren nodded once even as he gritted his teeth. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but I stood silently as Thalia and Sorin left the room along with the other soldiers that had been at their sides. The large doors closed with a loud thud, but I didn’t take my eyes off of Evren.

“I don’t need rest.” His voice was taut, and he looked along the maps in front of him. “There is far too much to worry about than to think of rest.”

“People tend to make mistakes when they’re tired.” I held the blanket tighter around me and ran the soft fabric against my chin.

Evren cocked an eyebrow at me, and I could see the ghost of a smile on his lips. “You think I’m going to make mistakes?”

“I didn’t say that.” I took a small step closer to him. “But you look exhausted.”

“Ah.” He chuckled. “My betrothed is worried that I won’t look good on her arm?”

My stomach tightened at hearing him call me that, and I couldn’t seem to make my hands quit trembling.

I forced myself between him and the table, and I didn’t stop until I was standing between his thighs. He pushed his head back against his chair and stared up at me.

“I’m not sure that there’s anything you could do to make you not look good.” I pushed my fingers into his hair, and his eyes closed at my touch.

He leaned forward and slid his hand beneath the blanket. His fingers touched my bare thigh, and his gaze darkened.

“Are you telling me that you’re attracted to me?” His lips curved at the side, and my chest loosened at the sight.

“I would never admit such a thing.”

He laughed and his hands moved around the backs of my thighs. “Oh, princess.” His grip tightened, and he lifted me as I let out a small squeal.

He didn’t stop until my ass hit the edge of the table, and my hands came down and had most of his maps flying to the floor.

“Your stuff.”

“It’ll be fine.” He leaned forward and pushed his body between my thighs. “I have more important things to attend to.”

“Like what?” I barely managed to breathe out the words.

“My mate,” he growled and jerked me forward until my sex pressed against his chest. “It would appear that she needs me.”

“I don’t think I said I needed you.” My blanket was barely covering me anymore, but I still clung to it like it could save me.

“No, but the scent of you tells me otherwise.” His hands ran along my thighs, and I attempted to close them around him as I blushed.

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” He stared down at my thighs as his fingers trailed over the inside, just over my scar. “Are you telling me if I go just a little bit higher, I won’t find you soaking?”

“I came in here to check on you.” I looked back toward the door. “I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

His face softened, but his hands didn’t. “I’m fine, princess.”

“You don’t look fine. You look worried.”

“I am worried.” He nodded once before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the inside of my knee.

“I would be foolish not to be.”

“What can I do?”

He leaned back in his chair and stared at me once again. “Nothing, Adara. You’ve already given enough. I just need to figure out what they’re planning.”

“You’ll drive yourself mad.” I shook my head. “You can’t control everything, Evren. You can’t predict what it is that they’ll do next.”

His gaze hardened. “You are my mate, and it is my promise to protect you. I will not break that promise.”

His words were heavy and true, and I could see how much they weighed upon him.

I pushed forward from the table, and I didn’t stop until I pushed onto his lap and pressed a knee to the chair on either side of his thighs. I wrapped my hands into the hair at the back of his head and forced him to look up at me.

“You cannot protect me from everything, Evren.” I tugged on the strands of his hair as the blanket fell from my shoulders. “You are not responsible for shielding me from every possible harm.”

His hands settled on my hips and grasped my shirt in their grip. “I can’t explain it, princess.” His hands tugged me closer. “When I read your name on that invitation, I felt dangerous. I lost control of who I’m supposed to be.”

“And who exactly are you supposed to be?” I searched his dark eyes even as my body ached with the desire to be closer to him.

“More.”

I shook my head at his absurdity. “You are foolish then.” I leaned closer to him until my lips were a whisper against his.

“Adara,” he sighed my name, and my magic swirled with fear of him pushing me away.

I pressed my lips harder against him, kissing him with every bit of need that had been building inside of me.

“If you won’t rest, let me take some of your burden from you.” I kissed along his jaw. “Use me to clear your mind. Drown in me until you can think of nothing else.”

His hands tightened on my hips, and he tugged me forward until my sex slammed against him. A whimper passed through my lips and landed upon his.

“I can’t be gentle right now, princess,” he rumbled against my lips. “I need to work.”

I leaned away from him, but I wasn’t going to let him do this. If he couldn’t be gentle then I would handle whatever it was he would throw my way, but I couldn’t leave him here with that haunted look in his eyes.

I slowly unbuttoned my shirt as he watched me. My fingers were sure, and I watched as his breath rushed in and out of him.

“What are you doing?” His voice was smoky and did little to calm my racing heart.

I opened the button at the bottom of my belly before letting my shirt fall open. I felt so exposed in front of him, but my stomach tightened in anticipation.

“You may not need me, but I need you.” I ran my fingers over my neck before letting them fall down my chest and stomach. I held his gaze as I slowly pushed them inside my undergarments.

I whimpered against my touch, and gods, I was already so wet.

Evren was stoic beneath me, but his chest rose and fell quickly. He didn’t look away from me for even a moment.

I dipped my fingers into my wetness before moving it over my nub, and I grasped his forearm and ground down against him as pleasure shot through me.

My eyes fluttered, and I wanted to close them as lust swelled inside me but I refused. I kept my eyes on him as he watched me, and I could feel how hard he was beneath me.

“You think I don’t need you?” he gritted the words through his teeth, and I ground down harder against him.

My hips rolled in rhythm with my fingers, and his knuckles turned white against the chair.

“It would appear so.” My thighs tightened around him as another surge of pleasure flowed through me. “You hardly seem affected by me.”

I slipped my fingers from my undergarments and brought them up to my mouth. I could see the moisture coating my fingers, and I kept my eyes on him as I placed them against my lips and ran my tongue along the tips.

Evren’s gaze darkened, and I could almost see the moment he snapped. He snatched my wrist in his hand, pulling it away from my mouth, and he groaned long and loudly when his tongue met mine.

“Fuck,” he cursed against my mouth, and his hands tightened around me.

He lifted me, pushing me back down against the table, and his fingers gripped the sides of my undergarments before he ripped them down my thighs. I lifted off the table, helping him pull them all the way off, and his gaze was glued to my sex.

Moisture pooled between my legs as he moved to the edge of his chair and forced my knees apart. He didn’t give me a moment to adjust or to come to my senses. He wrapped his arms beneath each of my thighs and jerked me forward until my ass hung off the side of the table and I landed back on my elbows.

“As if there is anything you could do that I wouldn’t be affected by.” He ran his nose along the length of my thigh, and I looked up at the ceiling. “My desire for you destroys every bit of my loyalty to my duty.”

His lips met my sex, and I gasped.

His tongue ran along the length of me, and he groaned. “Fuck, you’re so fucking wet.”

My gaze met his, and he didn’t look away from me as he ate from my flesh.

“Eyes on me, princess,” he growled against my skin just as he slipped two fingers inside of me.

I whimpered and tried to tighten my thighs, but he refused to allow it. He pinned me open with one of his hands on my thighs, and his other began pumping in and out of me just as he sucked my nub softly into his mouth.

“Oh, gods.”

“Don’t call out to them.” His fingers dug into my thigh, and his other fingers curled inside me. “I am the one who is worshipping you. I will worship at this altar until you are ripped from my fingers.”

My back bowed from the table as pleasure swelled inside me, and my chest trembled as I tried to take in a breath.

“I want every moan that passes your lips to be a result of my touch. I want what you feel for me to burn inside of you until you have no choice but to let it out.” He pressed his lips against my nub, and my hips surged off the table. “I want to get so lost in each other that we forget everything else if even for a moment.”

I cursed under my breath, and Evren’s fingers slid away from my skin. I searched his gaze as I watched him open his trousers and lean back in his chair. He reached forward, gripping my thighs in his hands, and he lifted me until I had no choice but to cling to his arms and allow him to move me back to his lap.

My legs spread around him, and he held his cock as he lined it up with my sex and pulled me down over him. I bit down on my lip as he stretched me, and I pressed my hands against his shoulders.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” He pressed his head back against the chair and stared up at me as his hands guided my hips until I was fully seated against him. “Do you feel how perfectly you take me?”

I nodded as I rolled my hips against him. My marks buzzed and craved his touch just as much as the magic inside me. Both were desperate for him, as desperate as I felt, and when he lifted my hips in his hands and slammed me back down against him, I buried my head in his neck to try to keep myself from begging him for more.

His hips rolled beneath me as he wrapped an arm around my back, and he used the leverage of his body beneath mine to slam back inside of me over and over until I couldn’t think let alone breathe.

He pressed his lips to my shoulders, groaning against my skin as he held me closer to him. There was room between us to hide the fact that my body trembled against his as our hips moved together.

Evren gathered my hair in his hand, and he pulled my head back until I was forced to look at him. “No hiding, princess. I want to strip you bare. I want to see every part of you.”

He never stopped moving as he watched me, his gaze peering into mine, and I felt so exposed. My body was on edge, every part of me was watching him watch me, and the look in his eyes only heightened everything.

“You are my mate,” he growled as he thrust into me. I could feel my pleasure teetering at the precipice, waiting to fall over the edge. “You are my everything.”

I swallowed hard as I searched his face. He held my gaze firmly, and I had nowhere to hide from his truth.

“Say it.” His hand tightened in my hair as he continued to thrust inside of me. “Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours.” My hands trembled against his shoulders and wave after wave of pleasure hit me. “And you are mine.”

“I will never let him take you.” He wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me tighter against him. “He will never touch you again.”

His voice shook with his promise. Evren would choose me.

If it came down to me and his kingdom, something deep in my chest told me that he would choose me.

My fingers tightened on his shoulders and my magic slithered inside me. Black smoke fell from my fingers against his skin, and the groan that fell from his lips was a deep rumble as I began rolling my hips harder against him.

My body felt like I was burning, like I was on the verge of combusting, and I chased that feeling even though I knew I shouldn’t.

“Evren,” I whispered his name, and I needed to know that he was falling apart with me.

“That’s it, princess.” His lips moved to my neck, and he grazed his teeth along my sensitive skin. “Ride me.”

His hand moved and gripped my breast tightly in his fingers.

“You take me so fucking good,” he whispered against my neck. “Your body fits mine so perfectly. You feel that?”

I nodded my head against him as I bit down on my bottom lip. My pleasure was surging inside me, begging me to let go, and I feared I might drown when I finally did.

It was too much, the way I felt about Evren, and it was all crashing into me.

“I have never wanted anything more, princess.” His tongue ran against my ear. “I have never felt so desperate to give someone else this kind of pleasure.”

“I’m so close,” I whimpered, and his hands moved to my hips.

He lifted me, just a few inches off of him before he slammed me back down against him. I moaned as he hit something inside me that I was desperate for.

“Good girl.” His nose ran along my jaw. “Let go for me. Give me what is mine.”

I wanted to. I had never wanted anything more, but I dug into him and my magic poured from my fingers. I was looking over the edge, desperate to fall, but I couldn’t.

I couldn’t let go even though I was screaming at myself to do it in my head.

Evren’s teeth grazed over my neck once more, and my core tightened around him. “Can I?”

I nodded my head just as his tongue met my neck.

“I need your words, princess. You have to tell me it’s what you want.”

“Please,” I begged him. “Please, Evren.”

The words had barely passed my lips when his teeth sank into my skin. Pain sliced through me, and my body froze against him. But that pain was quickly replaced with pleasure, and I let my head fall back, giving my mate more access to me.

His teeth sank deeper into me, and his hands tightened on my hips. He lifted me higher before pulling me back into him, and my body sparked with pleasure.

Pleasure that wouldn’t stop.

“Evren!” I cried out his name, and his hips surged from the chair.

His own magic fell from his hands and floated along my skin as we moved together. His hands were tense against my body, and his magic felt reckless against me.

He thrust inside me once more with a loud groan against my skin, and my core clamped down around him as I felt his own pleasure spill over inside me. I could no longer hold on, no longer chase the feeling, because it slammed into me, throwing me off the edge.

And I lost control as I came against him.

He pulled his teeth from my neck before bringing his mouth to mine, and I could taste my blood on his lips. I should have pulled away, been disgusted by the act, but I kissed him harder than I ever had before.

Pleasure still rushed through every inch of me, and I didn’t want to stop and think about why I was so aroused by my mate taking from me.

He had only done so before when there was a dire need, but this was different. This need was nothing more than primal, and my hands shook against him as I tried to come down from the high it gave me.

This wasn’t about saving anyone. This was me choosing every part of him.

I pulled back from him and stared at my mate. His face was flushed and his gaze lazy, and I could no longer see worry rolling off him as I had before.

“Are you okay?” His voice was tired as he ran his fingers over my neck where he had just bitten.

I nodded and ran my fingers down his arms. My magic still trickled from my fingers, but it was softer now, more controlled.

“I want you in my bed tonight.”

My gaze flew up to his. “What?”

He pushed my hair out of my face and searched for something I was unsure of. “You are my mate, and now you are my betrothed. You will be in my bed from now on.”

“That isn’t very proper.”

Evren snorted, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t think the way you just took me was very proper either, princess.” He leaned forward and ran his nose along my collarbone. “Nothing I wish to do to you is very proper.”

I swallowed hard, and my thighs tightened around him.

“You like that, princess? You like thinking about all the ways your mate dreams of defiling you?”

I didn’t say a word as he looked back up at me and pulled my bottom lip in between his teeth. They scraped over the sensitive skin, and another small wave of pleasure coursed through me.

Evren chuckled before pressing a small kiss to the side of my mouth. “Gods, you’re going to destroy me.”