by Erin Hayes
Anastazie turned around to try to pull him again, but he pushed her out of the way before one of the Ravagers could get to her first. Alec tumbled behind her, falling to his back. A Ravager sliced at his calf, but they were too late. Most of his body was already in Sector One. He tucked his knees up, bringing his legs and feet onto the other side of the protective force field.
The little girl stood over Alec, looking down at him while he grunted a painful breath. “I can’t stay,” she said. “They don’t know I’ve escaped. I need to get back.”
“But how did you—”
“Magic.” She held up a metal cuff, no longer clasped to her wrist, then she tossed a pouch at him. “You forget my magic was second only to Adira’s. I may be little, but I’m strong. But I have to get back before they notice I’m gone, or it’s going to make things worse.” She grabbed Alec’s wrist, pried open his fist, and pressed a handful of herbs into his palm. I have to get back before they notice I’m gone, or it’s going to make things worse. Eat these. Then find Adira.”
The girl ran off. Alec’s world started to go dark again, but before it could, he brought the pouch to his face and poured its sweet berry contents into his mouth. He needed to stay awake. He may have escaped the Ravagers, but he couldn’t let Dvorak or the Guards find him before he found Adira.
Alec Kladivo had been saved by a little girl.
He chuckled, but the pain turned his laughter into a wince. Something was broken.
He pulled himself up with the support a tree, then leaned against the bark and scanned the area. Well, now what? He could go back to the castle like this, but he wasn’t sure how much to expect from the berry mixture Anastazie had given him.
After lifting a large stick from the ground to compensate for his lack of balance and function, Alec started toward the river. He pressed the branch’s tip against the moss of the rocky forest floor with each step, grunting through the pain.
As he continued his hike, either adrenaline took over or the concoction the girl had given him did. Pain subsided, but he was still covered in blood. His need for the walking stick waned. He threw it to the side of the path and increased his pace.
By time he reached the river, he felt almost human again, and as he used the water to clean away the blood, he realized his wounds had already healed significantly. That little girl’s ability to heal rivaled the Regent’s.
Perhaps it takes more than one witch to run this place.
Once clean, Alec took some big gulps of water from cupped hands, then wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist. Now it was time to go after Adira. He turned to start his hike toward the castle, then smiled the stupidest grin of his life.
Well, that was easy.
A few yards up stream and a short walk into the woods, Adira stood in front of a large boulder. Alec didn’t even ask himself how she got there. The ladies of Miss Balek’s home were proving themselves well.
Alec jogged over to Adira, who was so absorbed in whatever she was doing that she didn’t look up. When he reached her side, he touched her shoulder.
She jumped back with a short scream, then quickly covered her mouth.
“It’s just me,” Alec said, reaching for her again, but she stepped back, away from him, her eyes going wide.
She shook her head and dropped her hand from her mouth. “They found your body.”
Alec didn’t want her to jump away from him again, so he stood firm. “I’m sure I looked dead. I may even have been for a while. But no one came to check.”
“A guard told the Regent—he said—he—” Adira’s body shook, and she reached back to brace herself against a tree.
“If a guard said they found a body, they were lying,” he said evenly. He might have been dead, but he’d still seen everything. Now wasn’t the time to explain that to her, though. “If one of the guards told Dvorak he found my body, then I still have friends inside those walls.”
Adira’s body slackened against the tree. “You’re alive?” she said, as though testing the idea. More confidence followed the next time she said the words: “You’re alive!”
She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him back. This time, he allowed himself to embrace her in return.
“Of course I am,” he mumbled against her hair.
She pressed her face into his shoulder, and tears wet his flesh. “I thought I was imagining things.”
“Do you often hallucinate about dead men?”
She just laughed against his body, then pulled away and stared up into his eyes. “We don’t have much time,” she said, as if suddenly sobering up. “I need to get back to the castle.”
Alec grasped her hands. “No way. We’re leaving.”
She shook her head, sliding her hands from his. “But my friends—”
“Are stronger than you think. Anastazie’s the one who saved me from the Ravagers. She can get out on her own, and I’m sure the others can, too. Now come on. We need to go.”
“Where’s Anastazie now?”
“She went back to the castle.”
Adira nodded. “She knows she needs to be there to fight this. And I do, too.”
“No,” Alec said firmly. “You don’t. We’re leaving.”
Adira stepped away again, crossing her arms. “And go where, Alec? There’s nowhere to leave to.”
“They think I’m dead, and you’ve hidden yourself for over a decade before. You can do it again.” He paused, pressing his lips together. He couldn’t do this anymore. If she knew how he felt, she would stop resisting what they both knew needed to be done. “Adira, please. I love you.”
She froze, her hands slowly lowering to her sides. “Don’t say that, Alec.”
“I love you, Adira, and I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.”
She stalked toward him. At least, he thought she was, but instead, she reached past him and grabbed her pouch from the boulder, then turned and started toward the castle.
Alec jogged after her. He placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her, and she spun around, tears glazing over eyes. “What’s wrong?”
She brushed him off. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Me?” He grabbed her wrist before she could run off again. “I’m not the bad guy here, Adira. And you’re the one who taught me that people are too precious to be manipulated like game pieces. It might have taken me a while to come around, but I have, and it’s because of you. Because I love you.”
Adira’s lips trembled. “I…I love you, too, Alec. But—”
“No buts. No more excuses. I shouldn’t have pushed you toward this. I was wrong; there is no excuse to sacrifice a human life.”
Pressing her lips together, Adira shook her head. “But you weren’t wrong. I need to protect these people.”
“You really believe that? Who would you be saving? What kind of humanity is worth saving if they believe sacrificing people is the only way to do it?”
She placed her palm against the side of his face. “I’m looking at, Alec. I believe in saving humanity like yours. You changed, and they can, too.”
Alec looked down, taking in a slow breath. This was his fault. He’d let the world he grew up in make him believe that sometimes people had to do things they didn’t want to do, and then he’d spent the last couple weeks convincing Adira of the same. But this should not be one of those things.
“People aren’t property, Adira,” he said. “No one should be forced to do anything in this life for the sake of others.”
Reaching up on her toes, Adira pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “No one is forcing me, Alec. I choose this.”
“So that’s it? You just give up? You’re just going to go along with the Regent? You don’t even know what he’s really—”
Adira raised a finger to his lips. “I do know,” she said, then she dropped her hand back to her side. “In fact, he told me himself. And I’m not just going along with it. I have a plan.”
“A plan to ge
t yourself killed?”
When her expression steadied, Alec’s heart fell. He’d thought earlier today that the Ravagers had killed him. But it was Adira’s next words that did the job.
“Well…yes.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“I can’t let you do that, Adira.”
“It’s not your choice to make.”
Alec’s expression turned pained. “Why are you doing this?”
“You know why,” she said, her chest tightening with the realization of all she would be sacrificing to do it. Her decision had been easier when she believed him dead. “You know why better than anyone else.”
When he opened his mouth to speak again, Adira closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his. At first he stood frozen, but within moments, his body eased against hers, and he took her in his arms.
She pulled away and stared up at him. “I do love you, Alec. I want you to know that. No matter what happens.”
“If this is what you choose, then I’m behind you.”
“It is,” she said quietly. A calm buzzed through her in that moment that could only be described as complete acceptance. Any inner battles going on within subsided. This was it. Her sacrifice. Her choice. And perhaps her last few hours here in this life. “Alec?”
This time, he silenced her with a kiss, as though reading her desires from her heart before her mind could even process them. Somewhere in the back of her consciousness, the warning for her to hurry back of the castle whispered. But the shouts of her need to connect with the man she loved drowned everything else away, until all that remained was Alec and herself, standing in the woods, his hands on her hips and his mouth to her lips.
Alec backed her up against the tree, her chest heaving against his own. He pulled her shirt over her head, breaking the kiss.
“Don’t start something you’re not going to finish,” she said, trying to keep the tremble from her voice.
He dropped her shirt to the ground. “I don’t intend to.”
After guiding her off the beaten path and behind the thick overgrowth of forest plants, he pushed her to her knees, out of sight, and then dropped down beside her, scowling.
She took his hand. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he muttered. He pushed her shoulder back until she was lying down beneath him. “I’m trying not to be angry with you.”
“Angry with me? Why would—”
“Don’t.” He glared at her. “You know why. You’re putting yourself at risk.”
“Oh,” she said, giggling. “You’re that upset about it?”
“Upset is not the right word. But I plan to sort it out after this.”
Before Adira could respond, Alec had taken her pants off and thrown his own in pile with them. He nestled between her legs and touched her hair gently, as if he might break her.
“You’re a beautiful mess,” he muttered. Then he sat back on his heels, his thighs under her own spreading her legs apart and leaving her open to him.
Adira shivered. Alec’s inner torment was palpable, coming off of him in such strong waves it nearly assaulted every nerve ending in Adira’s body, making her both nervous and aroused at the same time. She knew what she had to do and had committed to it—but had Alec accepted that yet?
“Promise me you won’t get in my way,” Adira whispered. “Promise you’ll let me do what I need to do.”
Alec pushed her hands up over her head, pinning them to the ground by her wrists, and stared down into her eyes. “I can’t promise you that, love.”
Adira’s lip trembled, but Alec leaned in and kissed her, stilling her nerves. His hips pushed forward enough for the tip of his cock to press against her folds. As he pushed his head inside, he broke the kiss.
“You’re soaked,” he whispered.
Her cheeks burned. “You want this as badly as I do, I’ve noticed.”
Alec chucked, then eased more of his cock inside of her until she winced from the pressure of him stretching her. It hurt…but it felt amazing. Her whole body was on fire, and her mind swam with too many thoughts to process. Her hips squirmed beneath him.
“You were saying?” he asked, holding his body perfect still. He nibbled her neck and traced kisses down her collarbone, then pulled out enough to graze his teeth across her hardened nipples. When she moaned, he whispered, “Shhh. Not a sound. If we get caught out here before I’m done with you, I’ll be really angry.”
“I thought you already were.”
His teeth pressed harder until she had to hold back a yelp. Then he released her. “I told you to be quiet.”
As his lips came back to her mouth, he rocked all the way into her, giving her all of him, and she moaned against his mouth. Her breathing shifted to quick, shallow breaths.
Alec withdrew, then flipped her over with surprising speed, knocking a gasp from her lungs. His body crushed against her, and he held her still by her hair, his lips against her ear.
“I want to make love to you, Adira,” he said, “but not this time. If I did it this time, it would feel too much like this is the last time. And it won’t be. We’re going to get through this.”
Adira’s body trembled, and she closed her eyes to take a slow breath. “You said you would finish what you started.”
“I said I wasn’t going to make love to you,” Alec said, spreading her legs apart while keeping her breasts and stomach pressed to the ground. “I still have every intention of fucking you.”
A fresh wave of arousal coursed through her, and her back arched sharply at the base of her spine, his hips cupping her ass and his throbbing cock working its way back into the warmth between her legs. From this angle, he went even deeper, and Adira had to press her lips together to stop a cry of arousal from shattering the whispered hush of their surroundings.
Alec’s cock hardened more, and Adira gasped, momentarily unsure if her body could handle his girth. The pressure was all at once amazing and terrifying, and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself as he began to pump into her with enough force to rock her body against the ground.
He muttered something as he went at her harder, his fist tightening in her hair and keeping her head held still. Moments later, his hands eased down to her shoulders, then grasped around her ribs, holding her entire body still. Cool air wafted over the skin of her back as the blast of each plunge took on a new jolting power. Without her body rocking away from his, she was forced to take the full blow of every stroke, and she gritted her teeth to hold back from screaming her pleasure.
Even this did not seem to be enough for Alec, though. He started to pull her into him with each thrust. Her ass crashed against his hips. His cock pounded into her. Although Adira held back her screams, silence became impossible; moans vibrated from deep within as pleasure built from her core.
She couldn’t take much more before this would send her over the edge, but Alec didn’t appear that he would slow down anytime soon. He drove harder and faster into her, and she fell apart in an explosion of pleasure that arched her back as her walls clamped down around him. It seemed an impossible feat with the size of him, and yet her body gripped him with such ferocity she thought the tightening would never subside.
Her eyelids fluttered, and her lips slackened in soft pant, nearly delirious from orgasm and trying to keep up with Alec as he continued to ride her. His thrusts slowed, just as hard but more punctuated now.
His hands dropped from her ribs to her sides, and he reached with one hand beneath their bodies to rub her clit as his thrusts turned into more of a slow grind.
“I need you,” he mumbled, breathing hard.
The small circles his fingers made paired with the way he was pumping into her caused her body to build with need for a second time. Soon he had her moaning again. He moved his hand and leaned over her to trail hot kisses along her neck.
“And you need me, Adira,” he added.
He was right. She couldn’t do this alone. Even when she had believed him dead,
it was still his presence in her heart that drove her actions and determination.
As his speed and intensity increased, his cock hardened even more. His body was like stone against hers, his thrusts passionate and unforgiving. He sent her over the edge once more, this time joining her, holding onto her hips like handles as he pushed in deeper than she thought possible, grunting as he held still, his cock pulsing.
When he withdrew, Adira’s body chilled, and she shivered. She pulled on her clothes and watched him do the same.
Alec helped Adira to her feet and pulled her body to his, wrapping his arms around her to kiss the top of her head. “Do you really love me, Adira?”
She sighed against his chest. “Of course.”
She felt him nod against the top of her head. “Then I hope you will forgive me for what I'm about to do next.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Alec lifted her, threw her over his shoulder, and headed away from the castle.
She pounded her tiny fists against his back. “Put me down!”
He continued on, moving quickly. He needed as much distance between them and the castle as possible, especially if she was going to carry on like this.
“Alec! I have to go back there!”
He scowled. Did she have a death wish? He’d fucked her with the full force of his anger. His every thrust has been driven by his worry, his fear, his fury. And he’d thought her orgasm would have quieted her determination to get back to the castle. Would have bought him some time to talk some sense into her.
Apparently, he’d underestimated her. Again.
As he thought back to their encounter just moments ago, he smirked to himself. Even if he were to put her down, she wouldn’t be able to walk much after the way he’d rode her.
His cock twitched at the thought of it. He would have loved to see that. And that was a reminder of exactly why he needed to keep her as far from the Regent as possible. Dvorak had ruined enough between them. He’d taken that moment and so many others. But he wouldn’t take her life. Alec would never allow it.