A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(56)

“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.