Despite the warning in his head, he remained still. "I shouldn't be in here with you like this. It's not proper."
"What did you come to tell me?"
Khalon tried his best to avert his gaze but he could feel the heat coming off Riley. The pull to take him, claim him was growing fiercely. This was a perilous situation they found themselves in. If Khalon wasn't careful....
"Khalon?"
Khalon made the grave error of meeting Riley's gaze. His pupils were dilated, the black almost taking over and leaving a sliver of green-gold because now they were more green than gold. They were stunning. Everything about Riley was exquisite. What had he come here to say? Riley's eyes widened slightly and he put his hand to Khalon's chest.
"I can hear it."
"What?" Khalon's voice was low and gruff. Riley's touch burned through his clothes to his skin.
"Your heartbeat." Riley snapped his head up, his smile lighting up his face. "I can hear your heart. It's incredible."
Khalon pushed Riley into the doorway with a feral growl. He crushed his lips over Riley's, groaning at the whimper he let out as he opened his mouth to Khalon. Their tongues tangled and Khalon pressed his thigh to Riley's erection, exploring Riley's skin with his hands. Fire burned through Khalon and he moved his lips to Riley's neck, where he sucked, licked, and nipped at his soft skin. He slipped his fingers into Riley's feathery locks, taking fistfuls of it. Riley moaned, arching his back up as he pressed himself into Khalon as much as he could.
Riley's bare shoulder called to him and Khalon felt his canines elongate. He licked the skin when the tribal markings under Khalon's clothing shifted, the bands on his wrists spinning in anticipation. With a gasp Khalon tore away from Riley.
"I'm sorry," Khalon said roughly. Riley looked puzzled. His lips were pink and swollen from Khalon's kisses, his chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, his skin flushed a wonderful shade of pink. He looked decadently ravished. Khalon stepped out of Riley's reach. "Forgive me, I came to say we shouldn't indulge in such acts, and here I go betraying my own judgment."
"Oh." Riley's disappointment squeezed at Khalon's heart. "Because I'm leaving?"
Khalon nodded.
"I don't suppose you.... You could ask me to stay," Riley said hopefully. The words made Khalon foolishly happy and simultaneously wretched. Riley had given him the opportunity to save them both from further heartache, and Khalon would make use of it.
"I won't be doing that," he replied gruffly. He straightened, his expression hard and his tone intentionally cold. "Do you know why I'm protecting you from the demons?"
Riley swallowed hard. He shook his head.
"To protect myself. If you were to be killed, I would be left weak and vulnerable. The demons would slaughter me next. That's why I protect you. Self-preservation. I cannot afford to keep you. You are weak, and my life would be in constant danger."
Riley flinched as if he'd been struck. "I know you feel something more than that."
"What I feel is the mark causing me to believe I care. No other reason. I am king of the Soldati. I could never be mated with such a frail and weak creature. You have nothing to offer, Riley Murrough. At most you are a pretty distraction."
Riley nodded, his voice almost a whisper when he spoke. "Right. Got it. Thanks for clarifying."
When he turned and walked off into the room, he took Khalon's heart with him. A considerable amount of effort was required on his part not to follow. He could sense Riley's heartache, the overwhelming despair and feeling of inadequacy. It was clear even in the human world, Riley struggled with confidence, and Khalon had callously used it to his advantage.
Khalon walked into the sitting room and shifted into his tiger form, curling up in front of the fireplace. He concealed his face beneath his large paws in an attempt not to hear Riley's quiet sobs. He consoled himself with the knowledge that once the priestess removed his mark from Riley and sent him back to his world with no memory of Khalon, his heart would once again be mended.
If only the same could be said of Khalon's own heart.
Chapter Nine
IT WAS kind of sad and pathetic, but Riley was happy.
Despite Khalon's harsh words to him, Riley wasn't pissed off at Khalon. How could he be? Okay, maybe he was a little bit pissed, but Khalon had every right not to want to keep Riley around. Everything he said was true. Riley had nothing to offer Khalon but possible death. Who would want that? So Riley went to Khalon the next morning and told him he understood. Khalon was visibly surprised, even more so when Riley asked if they could be friends while he was around. To Riley's relief, Khalon accepted.
It was almost two weeks since that night, and maybe it was selfish on his part, but he was secretly glad the captain and his warriors had needed more time to clear the way for them. In those two weeks, Riley spent almost every moment of every day, from early morning to late evening, with Khalon. As friends, of course. Setting that boundary helped ease the tension.
The two of them helped around the village, where Riley learned how to plant seeds, harvest vegetables, and gut and clean fish, among other things. Rayner was teaching Riley how to fight with a sword despite Khalon's disapproval. He was afraid Riley might hurt himself, but actually Rayner said he was doing exceptionally well for a human. Apparently Soldati warriors learned swordplay by the time they were old enough to walk.
When Riley wasn't sparring, he and Khalon spent time with the foxling children, playing and learning from them. Well, Riley was learning. He learned about all the different types of foxlings and how the Soldati kingdom was also home to lynx shifters, wolf shifters, ocelots, margay, and leopard cat shifters. Khalon and Riley ate together, went for walks, and Riley told him about growing up an only child to a single mom. How despite her busy work schedule, she always made time for him, how they'd had fun together, and her current adventures as she traveled the globe via cruise ship. He told Khalon about his brief career as a freelance artist. How designing corporate banners and brochures slowly ate away at his soul, so he stopped. No matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to find his calling.
The morning was spent like any other, with Riley and Khalon helping the villagers with their tasks and chores. After lunch Riley and Khalon walked around the village with Rayner, Adira, and Ezra. Khalon stopped, lifting his handsome face to the sky.