Before I Let Go (Skyland #1)(56)

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.