Fates Entwined: Halven Rising

“I will walk Reese to her room,” Keen said, surprising Reese. She figured he’d leave, and she would stay to console her friend.

But Elena turned and wrapped her arms around Derek, who was glaring at Keen.

Portia had destroyed so much, and now she was coming between the alliance Elena and Derek had formed with the Fae warrior.

Keen was marrying her sister to prevent all-out war between the two kingdoms. He was more likely to negotiate a truce with Derek than anyone, but if Derek didn’t agree to the terms? He’d be forced to fight a friend.

Reese exited and walked with Keen down the hall. She entered her bedroom, and he did too. “You can’t marry her. There’s got to be another way.”

He closed the door and let out a light sigh. “It would not be my first choice.”

“So it’s your second choice?”

He ran a hand down his face, then gave her a look. He crossed the room and had her in his arms in seconds. His mouth came down on hers, hard and demanding.

She squeaked at the suddenness of it, and he gentled the kiss.

But she didn’t want gentle. She wanted him. Reese pulled back and held his head between her hands. “Don’t do it.”

He set her down without letting her go. “There are whisperings that Portia has another form of the virus. One that Marlon created alongside the first that is just as powerful, but different enough that it would take time for Elena to cure. Whether or not the rumor is true, no one can be certain. But is it worth finding out?”

Reese took a step back and turned away. Enid had mentioned a secret weapon Portia held over their heads. This must be it.

She couldn’t refute Keen’s logic. But she also couldn’t agree with him. Because to do so meant she’d lose him.

“I’ve searched for the second virus and I cannot find it. It would be easy enough to hide while Portia forces loyalty from people. And if the rumors are true… Our numbers were decimated with the last virus. Regardless of what I wish, Portia is in control at the moment. I cannot defy her.”

All of his words made sense. Except to her heart.

She turned. “Can’t you? Don’t marry my sister.”

He closed his eyes. When he opened them, pure determination lingered in their depths.

He stepped forward and swept her up and into his arms, kissing her as he carried her to the bed. He set her on the mattress and braced his body above hers. “I didn’t want to like you.” He kissed her throat. “I didn’t want to desire you.” He kissed her chin—square on the dimple in the middle. “But there was nothing that could keep me from you.”

The things he was doing and saying had her head fuzzy, distracted, but not so distracted that she’d lost her mind. Reese shoved his chest. “Except the other woman you’re marrying. I’m no cheater. And I’m not someone you can use.”

He rolled to his side, his brow crinkled as he held her hip. “I don’t wish to use you for my pleasure.”

Very formal. And the way he worded his response had her wondering… “But you’ve used others?”

He raised his eyebrow. “Only with their full acquiescence.”

Reese shook her head slowly. “Are all men alike? Even Fae?”

“Perhaps. But you are not like all women. Not to me.”

He rolled back over her and kissed her lips gently. “This feeling that burns in my chest when I see you—that turns to murderous rage when you are in danger—it will not let me go. They search for you and your friends as we speak. They have not found the tavern, and the warriors who fought for Theda are hidden far away. But they will be discovered eventually. And so will you. I must do what I can, and agreeing to marry Illa buys us time.”

Reese’s lip quivered, dammit. “So you’re saying it’s as good as done. Why make the sacrifice? I can protect myself.”

He brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. “You are strong, little one. So strong. You are my heart. I will do what I must to protect that frail thing inside my chest that can’t handle the thought of anything happening to you.”

A muffled cry erupted from her throat, and Reese grabbed his head and kissed him with everything she held inside. She didn’t want him to leave her. Ever. And for the moment, he didn’t seem inclined to.

She tugged at his shirt, pausing for a moment, remembering the times he’d told her not to touch him.

His large hand moved up and covered hers as he gazed into her eyes. Then he was kneeling back and tugging the thick knit shirt he wore over his head and tossing it behind him.

Reese sighed and ran her hands down his chest. “I love your skin.”

His hand skimmed down her waist to her hips. “And I love your skin, your face when you are angry with me—or desirous.”

“I am not—”

He pressed his finger to her lips. “Do not deny it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I want you. Now will you please remove your pants?”

He raised his eyebrow again.

“What? You’ve teased me with your chest and I want to see the rest.” She grinned. But her grin faltered. “Is that a problem? Because if you suggest in any way that I’m loose, I might injure you.”

“I did not say that you are—loose—if I’m correct in interpreting your meaning.”

“I beg to differ. You’ve said my clothing is too revealing on many an occasion.”

He smiled. “That is because I do not wish for others to see what lies beneath.”

“You were—jealous?” She smacked his shoulder. “You jerk. You made me think you thought I was some floozy.”

“What is a floozy?”

“Someone free with her body.”

A dark look crossed his eyes. “I do not wish to share you. Ever.” He dipped his head and nuzzled her neck. “Or hear of your past,” he murmured near her ear.

She stretched her neck to give him better access. “But that was the problem with your jealous comments. The only guy I’ve ever been with scarred me something fierce with words like that.”

Keen leaned back, his jaw tightening. He scanned her body. “Scarred you? Where? And who is this human who dared hurt you?”

“Not physically.” She ran her hands down his chest again. “He was my first, but…”

He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. “But?”

“He never called afterward. Which hurt, I’m not gonna lie, though what he told his friends and their friends was worse. He said I was easy. It didn’t help that I dressed—Well—you’ve seen my style. I’m not ashamed of my body.”

Keen looked off. “He used you, then made you feel that his actions were your fault.”

She tilted her head, considering. “I internalized it more—but yeah, that about sums it up.”

Keen’s eyes grew intense. “That man will pay for what he did to you.”

This conversation was going in the wrong direction. “He doesn’t deserve more attention.” She slipped her hands to Keen’s stomach, where his body was taut with muscles that dipped and undulated in waves. She tugged at the waistband of his pants. “I want to move on, and I want it to be with you.”

“Be that as it may, I will need a name.”

Keen’s attention was way too focused on her asshole ex. She just wanted him to understand why his words in the beginning had hit her hard.

She’d never wanted anything serious with anyone. Avoided it, in fact. But with Keen, she wanted everything. Absolutely everything. And it scared her, but not enough to stop what they were doing. “You said you have to leave soon. Let’s not waste time talking about the past.”

“But—”

She cut off whatever he was about to say by pushing him back and sitting up. She unzipped her dress. The gown was elegant and modest, but not so much when it gaped around her breasts in the lacy bra Enid had given her to wear.

Keen watched her gown slip off her shoulders to her waist. He reached out and ran a hand along her arm to her wrist, where he twined their fingers and leaned over and kissed her. “Let me protect you. If it’s the only thing I can give you, let me give you this.”

His eyes were so intense, so fucking loving. What was he doing to her?

“What if I want more?” She ran her hand down the smooth skin of his back and squeezed his ass.

He growled. “You are breaking me.”

“In a good way?”

He leaned down and took her mouth in answer.

She’d call that a yes.

Reese tucked her small fingers beneath his fitted black pants, and squeezed that firm backside. “These pants really need to go.”

Keen kissed a trail down her neck to her breasts, where he seemed to get distracted, pushing them together inside of her bra with his large hands and kissing them one at a time. She wiggled her hips, and he moved farther down until he came to where her dress pooled at her waist. He slid the gown down her legs and over her satin heels, tossing it to the bottom of the bed.

His eyes never left her body. From her heeled shoes to her tiny bikini underwear to her push-up bra that gave the girls extra oomph—he took it all in. He settled his hand on her hip, where it shook above the thin panties. When his gaze locked with hers, his emerald eyes were so dark they looked black.

Her strong warrior’s hands were shaking…because he wanted her. Wanted to protect her—wanted to touch her.

Reese reached up and squeezed his biceps and smiled in what she hoped was a clear invitation.

He scooted down, lifting one of her legs over his shoulder until his head was above the center of her.

“What are you—”

He kissed her there. Through her panties, which might as well have been made of organza, because she felt that kiss to her core.

Reese’s head dipped back, an inarticulate sound escaping her mouth.

She looked back at him, and he grinned. “I thought you were conservative. What happened to we only mate for offspring, and all that business. You said it’s not done for pleasure…” She trailed off as he linked his pinkies under the sides of her panties and pulled them down slowly, bending her knee to remove them.

“That is correct.” He paused and licked her where he’d kissed her moments ago.

She panted. “Keep doing that, please. I promise I won’t enjoy it.”

He winked.

Forget that bullshit about Fae being sired from angels. Keen was the devil. Because he spread her legs wide and did it again—licked her over and over.

With his tongue on her pertinent parts, doing unholy, pleasurable things to her, he slid his hand dexterously up her back and unhooked her bra.

She registered him pulling it down her arms, but mostly she was moaning. And rocking into his mouth.

“Your pants are still on,” she said shakily—surprisingly lucidly, considering the havoc he was wreaking on her body. “I think they should be removed. But not for pleasure. For comfort… Don’t you think you’ll be more comfortable?”

She glanced down, and sweet Jesus, his mouth was still on her as he balanced on one hip and unsnapped his pants. And he wasn’t wearing underwear.

Her eyes went wide.

There was large, and then there was Keen. “Maybe we should rethink this?”

He pulled off her heels and tossed them, his wet mouth sliding up her belly as he kicked off his boots and his pants. “You do not wish to be with me?”

His mouth encircled her nipple and he flicked it with his tongue, licking and sucking lightly.

She rubbed his shoulders, running her hands down his muscular arms. “I’ve never wanted anything more,” she said before she could think.

That was the problem. She couldn’t think when he was touching her. Or near her.

He lifted his head and studied her face. And then he slid up her body, the huge length of him resting between her thighs. But as distracting as that was, when he touched her temples with the tips of his fingers and looked into her eyes with what appeared to be something dangerously close to love, she could think of nothing but how deep her emotion went for this man.

He kissed her with lips and tongue, tasting and mimicking the rocking of their bodies pressed together. And then that part of him she thought would never fit was easing inside in slow measures, entering her and seducing as much as his mouth.

Reese felt stretched, and at the same time her body shook with arousal. In this moment, she was his and he was hers, and nothing else mattered. Not his species, or whether or not they were right for each other. Because in this moment no one in the world was righter for Reese than Keen, kissing her with such intensity and tenderness that he stole her breath.

His nose ran along her hairline, his soft lips pressing against her temple.

She kissed his jaw and felt his heart quicken. He was fully seated inside her now—by what she could only presume was some kind of Fae magic. Or her body being extremely turned on.

He shifted, entering at a slightly different angle, and she moaned.

“I swear I’m not feeling pleasure,” she said, rocking her head back, because whatever he was doing was revving up something wild inside of her. “No need…to worry…about defying Fae rules for coupling.”

She bit her lip. Something was building, and she wasn’t sure she could keep it in much longer.

His breathing was ragged. “It is not only pleasure between us…it is more.”

He kissed her deeply, and she lost her hold on that elusive building, exploding, sinking, then soaring above this room and the world. There was a good chance she cried out. She couldn’t be sure, because a moment later her lover was moaning in her ear, setting off another rush of heat through her.

Keen’s movements slowed and he dropped his head above her shoulder, seemingly catching his breath. He lay above her, most of his weight on one arm, but that still left a lot of hot naked guy covering her. She smiled and closed her eyes. She might even have drifted off.

What felt like minutes later, Keen moved again. But this time he was pulling away.

Reese’s eyes popped open. “Where are you going?”

Please don’t leave me.

She told herself to simmer down. Some men could be depended on. Keen had proven how much he cared by being there for her, even when she didn’t know she needed him. This wasn’t the same as her first time. Keen wouldn’t abandon her. He’d said men mated with one woman…or wait, women only mated with one man?

Shit.

She would not beg him to stay.

No matter how many times her father hadn’t shown for graduations and birthday parties. Not even after that high school jerk started the rumors. She never begged—never let them see how much they’d let her down.

Reese pulled the covers over herself as Keen stood and slid on his pants. He didn’t look at her until he was fully clothed. When he did, she saw regret in his eyes.

A stab of pain lanced through her chest. She read it all in that look.

He was leaving. Nothing had changed.

She turned away and reached for her dress. “Don’t say anything. No excuses. I can’t…I can’t take it. Just leave.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she sensed him standing there as she put on her bra and pulled the dress over her head. She couldn’t help it. In a moment of weakness, she glanced over.

He was staring off, not looking at her, his arms stiff at his sides. She couldn’t tell what he was feeling. Could read any number of emotions from everyone else, but not Keen.

He stalked to the door and gripped the handle for a split second before he opened it and slammed it shut behind him.

Only then did Reese collapse and roll to her side. There were no tears. Not this time.

But inside, her heart was bleeding.