He pulled me into a tight embrace until soon I was sitting on his lap, his arms wrapped fully around me, my hands clutching his T-shirt, my face buried against his neck. I was crying for a lot of different reasons. Odhran losing something so precious to him, the evil that was chasing us and that wanted to hurt Cian and Odhran because of what they were born as, and all the stress finally bubbling to the surface and spilling over. It all just came to a head until I couldn’t control it anymore.
I didn’t know how long I stayed like that, sitting on his lap, clutching him as he held me, but soon my tears dried, the hiccups dissipating, and I felt like I had a semblance of control again.
I pulled back but only enough so I could see his face. He slid one hand up my back, over my shoulder, and along my neck to cup the side of my face. The feel of his thumb stroking my cheek had me leaning into his touch. When I was with Cian, I felt like I was wading in a warm pool, floating with this surreal contentment moving through me. I didn’t know if it was this Linked Mate connection we had, or if it was because, for the first time in my life, I knew I meant something profound to somebody else.
“I’m sorry for breaking down, for showing weakness,” I said softly and didn’t know why I needed to tell him. I’d never apologized for how I acted before, but I also knew I had to be strong right now.
The soft smile he gave me, the way he kept stroking my cheek, his other hand resting on my lower back, didn’t make me feel weak. It actually made me feel stronger than I ever had before.
“Ye’re no’ weak. Ye’re human with verra human emotions, and that’s an incredible thing.”
I held my breath as I noticed his gaze lower to my mouth, and a second later he was kissing me softly.
I could tell it wasn’t a kiss of sexual need, but one where he wanted to be close to me in an innocent way. He broke away far too soon and murmured, “When ye’re a species in the Otherworld, ye’re meant tae be strong, to show no weakness. The vulnerability that humans have, that almost innocence, this lack of perceived strength that they think is a downfall… it’s verra beautiful.” He looked down at my lips again. “It’s beautiful on ye.”
My breath hitched at his tone and softly spoken words. I slipped my hands up his chest, over the hard planes of his pectorals, and curled my fingers around his shoulders.
Everything was so upside down right now that all I wanted was to have control, to make decisions for myself that I knew the outcome of.
What I wanted, who I wanted was Cian.
And so I leaned forward and kissed him again, our lips barely brushing, his mouth soft and yielding to me. Our eyes were still open, and his expression was one that showed shock and… hope. It also showed his glowing blue eyes, and I felt the rumble from his chest. My pussy clenched, my nipples aching.
“I want you,” I whispered against his mouth and pulled back, gauging his reaction. His eyes were hooded, his arousal clearly written on his face. And I felt the physical proof of how much he really wanted me pressed against my ass, the thick, hard length causing my pussy to become even wetter.
“We have all the time in the world, my Evie. We donna have tae do this now. I’ve waited two and half centuries for ye. I can wait as long as ye need.”
I softened against him farther at his words, at the fact that I knew they were the truth. The knowledge that I had this kind of control over him was heady. Knowing he wanted me so much he couldn’t physically control himself was drugging.
I shook my head at his words because I didn’t—wouldn't—stop this. Did we really have all the time in the world? If those people attacked us once, they’d do it again, wouldn’t they? Would this be a never-ending cycle of where we were just running constantly, always looking over our shoulders until one day we were killed or Cian was taken?
I felt all of that seep into me as Cian cupped both sides of my face and brought our foreheads together.
“We have all the time in the world,” he emphasized again, saying each word slowly, pushing them through the haze of panic that started to rise. “I will no’ let ye go.”
I didn’t know how the next sequence of events happened, but before I knew it, my hands were wrapped around his neck, my lips slanted against his. I was frantic as I kissed him, stroking my tongue along the seam of his mouth until he groaned for me, parting his lips so I could sink inside.