Bite Of Winter (Fae's Captive #3)(24)

I snuggle closer, already well aware of my favorite sleeping spot against his warm body.

Right as I doze off, I feel him stroke my hair and the breath of winter at my neck. “Soon, little one.”





11





Leander





When we emerge from the tunnels, I flinch against the sun and the pervasive heat. So different from the cool, dark caverns that run beneath the plains like spider webs. I mark the entry though it’s disguised just as well as the other entrance. All the same, I’ll be able to find it again if I ever have need of it.

The plains stretch out behind us, two dust devils dancing along the road. Kyrin surges ahead, happy to be out of the depths of Arin.

The high walls of Timeroon beckon, and beyond, I can see the white peaks of the winter mountains. The border is finally within my reach, the cold bite of winter calling to me. My joy is dimmed by the thoughts that weigh heavily on Taylor’s mind. Perhaps I was foolish to think she’d lend me her cares so that I could shoulder them for her.

I pull her hat from my pack and snug it down on her head. Maybe I can’t protect her from her thoughts, but at least I can shield her from the sun.

“Thanks.” She gives me a smile, the one I’ve come to crave.

“Of course.” I kiss the side of her neck. When her pulse quickens, I pull away, lest I tempt the feral.

“I thought I missed the heat.” Beth shades her eyes with her hand. “I was wrong. Ugh.”

“Always complaining.” Gareth digs around in the pack behind him and yanks out her hat. “Here.”

“Thanks, lover.” She takes it.

“I am not your lover.” He sounds angry. But I can sense the frustration beneath it. I’ve known him for too long. The tension between he and the changeling is the sort that could rival the heat wafting from the Spires. When they finally come together, I fear an explosion.

“Better stow that grin, king of winter,” Taylor whispers. “Gareth will blow a gasket.”

“You’re quite the diplomat.” I nip at her neck and squeeze her waist.

“When I need to be.” She grips my knee with her small hand. “Now stop the funny business before you wind up the feral.”

“The business I want with you isn’t funny at all, little one. It’s serious.” I smooth my hand up her stomach, stopping just beneath her breasts. When the memory of how she came for me in the tub surges inside me, a low growl rips from me.

“And there it is.” She sighs and threads her fingers with mine. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”

I pull her hips closer so she can feel exactly how much trouble she’s in for.

The goosebumps along her skin and the sweet scent from between her thighs tell me her walls are falling. Soon, she will be mine. Marked and mated.

“Taylor, don’t be a horny horny hippo,” she says under her breath.

“Horny hippo?” I slide my index finger along the bottom curve of her breast. “Is that a beast from your world?”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.” She shakes her head.

Teasing her is fast becoming one of my favorite pastimes. “I want to hear more about these hippos and what the horns—”

“What form is your feral fae?” She chirps the question, her cheeks pink.

I let her get away with the subject change. “I’ve never seen it manifest, so I don’t know.”

“But you can feel it inside you?”

“It’s never been so close to the surface before. It grows stronger as I age. Our bond also feeds it, gives it power.”

“How?”

“Because of the link between us. Two bonded mates are a power unto themselves.”

“But we aren’t bonded.”

Not yet. “Let’s revisit this in a few—” Movement in the red landscape has me jumping from Kyrin and drawing my sword.

Gareth hits the ground only a moment after I do. “Show yourself!”

Para’s whip lights with orange flames as she slides from her mount and crouches low, melding with the landscape. She’s almost invisible, the subtle pattern on her crimson dress creating a perfect camouflage. We could be surrounded with Vundi warriors and not know it. The thought doesn’t sit well with me, but I focus on the slight mound of scrabbly plants ahead of me.

It moves, and I raise my sword, ice crackling through my veins.

“Cenet?” Para stands, and the fire along her whip dims.

The Vundi male loosens the kerchief hiding his face and steps forward.

“What are you doing here?” She hurries to him and stows her whip.

“I wanted to make sure you emerged.” He glances up at Gareth and me. “I’m here for Para and to ensure the treaty stands.”

“You need to leave.” Gareth loosens his stance but doesn’t sheathe his blade.

“Cenet is a friend and ally.” Para turns to Taylor.

“Is he your mate?” Taylor asks.

Beth snorts. “Oh, my Ancestors, Taylor, you can’t just go around asking people if they’re mates.”

Taylor’s brows draw together, then she laughs. “That was a very ‘Mean Girls’ moment.”

“What?” Beth cocks her head to the side.