A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(71)

And I knew that it weighed harder on Evren.

He had been working tirelessly since he awoke on the battlefield, and it didn’t matter that he needed to rest. He refused until he saw to everyone in our kingdom.

I had tried to stay by his side through it all, but I had finally given in to the exhaustion when my legs began to tremble beneath me. Evren had ordered Sorin to bring me back to our room while he finished what he was doing, and I didn’t argue.

But now, I wished I was still at his side.

Even as my own head felt heavy above my shoulders.

The death of those soldiers, townspeople, and Jorah tore at us all, and I wasn’t sure that I would ever be able to escape the feeling.

I pulled the washroom door open, and I stopped short at the sight of Evren sitting on the bed. He watched me carefully, his gaze piercing and assessing, and the towel I wore did little to hide me from him.

There was such a heavy burden in his eyes, the weight of everything that had happened today bearing down on him, and I wanted to erase it.

I tightened my hand on my towel as I stepped toward him, and his gaze dropped to my bare thighs.

“You look exhausted.” I stopped in front of him and ran one of my hands over his face.

“I am.” He nodded as he closed his eyes and leaned into my touch.

“You should get some rest.”

“There is still much to do.” He turned his head and pressed his lips against the palm of my hand. “I just wanted to check in on you. I figured you’d be sleeping.”

“You’ve done enough.”

He lifted his head and opened his eyes, and he looked at me with such intensity that I felt my bones melting into nothing.

“So many of my men died today.” His voice was rough and filled with guilt, and it killed me. “My friend died today.”

“And they would give up their lives again to fight for this kingdom, to fight for their prince who has spent a lifetime fighting for them. Jorah would have given his life a hundred times over to fight for what he believed in.”

He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against my stomach as his hands settled on my hips. He took a shuddering breath, breathing me in, and my body tensed under his touch. I pushed my fingers into his hair, massaging his head as they moved along his skull.

He was still wearing his leathers, his body covered in dirt and soot and gods only knew what else, but I didn’t care.

“Stay with me,” I whispered.

When he didn’t answer me, I tugged on the strands of his hair and forced him to look up at me.

His dark gaze was almost black, and it made my stomach tighten with so much want for him.

“Stay.” I closed the space between us and pressed my lips to his.

He kissed me gently, patiently, but I couldn’t take my time with him right now. Every part of my body thrummed with my need for him, the need to remind myself that he was okay and that there was nothing that could take him away from me.

I chased his tongue with my own before I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and moaned around it.

His hands tightened against my hips, digging the towel into me, and I pulled it away from my chest before he could stop me. The towel fell to my hips, bunching around his hands, and I pressed my hands into his shoulders before lifting my leg and straddling him.

“Princess,” he groaned and shifted beneath me. The movement made a whimper slip from my lips, and I felt moisture pool at my core. “People need me.”

“I need you,” I said selfishly, but there was no way I was letting him walk out of this room. Not until I used my body to remind him that fate had chosen him because he was worthy.

He was worthy of his people, of his kingdom, of my love.

He had proven it to us all over and over.

“Please,” I whispered as I pressed my lips to his. I kissed him quickly, not giving him time to think, and his hands moved from my hips to my back. He gripped me tightly, pulling me against his growing erection, and I moaned at the pressure.

I ground myself against his length as I pushed my fingers against the clasps holding his leathers against him. I fumbled as I undid them as quickly as I could, and he leaned forward and sucked my nipple into his mouth just as I finally pulled them from his chest.

“Oh, gods.” I threw my head back, and he rewarded me with his tongue and his teeth.

I moved harder against him, and my fingers clawed at his back, pulling his shirt up over his shoulders. He pulled away long enough to help me pull it over his head, then he continued his work against my breast.

I ran my fingers over every inch of his exposed skin, exploring, making sure that every part of him was fully intact.

The memory of him lying in that battlefield without a single spark of life in him flashed in my mind, and my fingers dug into his shoulders as I clung to him.

“Evren,” I moaned his name, and he finally stopped his teasing of my breasts. He pulled his mouth from me, and I met his dark gaze. “Please remind me. Remind me that it’s us.”

The words were barely out of my mouth before he lifted me off him. My back hit the bed, and Evren stood before me, staring down at me like he had been waiting a lifetime for me. And I knew that he had.

He pulled his trousers down his hips, and his cock sprung free. He was so hard, so ready for me, and I trembled as I stared at him.

“You’re so damn perfect.” He wrapped his hand around his cock, and he fisted up and down the length of it as he stared down at my body before him. “Come here.”