Chapter 33

He cups my face between both of his strong palms as his lips crash into mine. I feel as caged in as I was before, but in the best way possible as his mouth twists and pulls as it devours mine. While his cheekbones and muscled chest had appeared sharp, his mouth, the press of his lips, are warm and soft.

The taste of his lips ignites a wild fire under my skin. I lean into him, pressing into the taste and feel of him while my body continues to heat to scalding temperatures. Under his touch while my muscles simultaneously go tense and weak. My brain empties except for one thought pounding through my head on repeat. *More, more, more, more.* I want more of him, more of this. As much as I can get. Like he can sense it, sense how much I need this, his lips part so his tongue can trace a deadly line across the seam of my mouth.

I open for him, letting him in, and heat of his tongue dips into my mouth. The feel of him there, exploring every inch of me, tracing along the sensitive lines of my mouth draws a hoarse whimper out of me. That tiny sound of pleasure from me does something to him, draws him in even more, as he kisses me with a new wave of frenzy. Drives him wild. It's like he can't hold himself back from the desire to draw that sound out of me again. Like he needs it.

With a press of the palms still cradling my face, he curves my head up until it's angled in such a way that sends the kiss torturously deeper. So deep that I'm drowning in heat and heartbeats and the pleasurable strain of his body against mine.

The sudden low sound of voices calling out to one another from the other side of the garden shocks me back into reality. I'm startled enough that my lips tug away from his. The space it leaves between us is less than an inch, but it's enough to have me crash landing back into the real world.

I open my eyes to find his scarlet ones staring back at me.

We don't pull back any further for a moment. We can't. The garden air comes rushing back in around us, cooling my flushed cheeks as I struggle to catch my breath.

I can't make sense of what just happened. And I don't want to either. Right now, all I want to do is travel back in time five minutes to that single heated moment between us and re-live it over and over and over again. That overwhelming, electrifying rush is something I want to dive into and never resurface from.

But that doesn't make sense. It *shouldn't* make sense.

After a long moment, he pulls in a breath, his lips parting to break the silence. But before he can say anything, he's cut off by someone calling out his name.

His eyes close, his frustration palpable as he lets out a rough breath, cursing low under his breath.

The unfamiliar masculine voice calls for him again, closer now, "Lothbrook, I know you're here. If you let yourself get injured out here somehow, I'm going to kill you."

Damion lets out another low breath, rising from his crouch in a single smooth motion. I don't know how long I'm going to continue being surprised by how gracefully he moves for someone as broad and muscled as he is. On his feet, he holds out a hand to me and I take it without thought. He tugs me up until I'm standing beside him. The muscles in my legs are wobbly after being huddled in a crouch for so long and the blood rushing through them like pins and needles.

"Leif," Damion says simply, turning to face the male who's been searching for him.

"Damn it all, Lothbrook, what are you doing hiding in the bushes? I thought you'd-*oh*," The low, unfamiliar voice cuts off when I take a step out from behind Damion's back to see the person speaking.

The male standing before us a few paces away is nearly the same height as Damion-maybe a few inches shorter-with curling fiery red hair that flows past his shoulders. Freckles spatter across his pale face while a thin faded scar slashes through the corner of his mouth. Red eyebrows shoot up toward his hairline as mischievous green eyes dance back and forth between us.

"Ah, I see. Shall I be off, then?" The man, Leif, asks, the insinuation clear in his voice.

I can feel a blush heating its way up my neck and cheeks, but just Damion lets out a low long-suffering sigh, "Leif, this is Princess Liliana," he gestures down to me before turning to meet my curious stare, "Lily, this is my second in command, Captain Leif Alfson."

"Of course," Leif says, "The Seelie Princess. We meet at last."

I reach forward to take his offered hand, and I'm suddenly very aware of my bedraggled appearance. The simple lacy white night dress I'd slipped into before bed is covered in dirt from crouching on the garden floor and I can feel my hair twisted and knotted around my face in rumpled waves.

"You can just call me, Lily," I tell the captain, giving him as much of a smile as I'm able, and I hope it doesn't come across as strained as it feels.

"Lily, then," Leif nods in acknowledgement, "Good to see you both made it through the storm unharmed."

"Any reports of the damage coming in yet?" Damion asks him.

The strong lines of Leif's freckled face turn grim, "None yet. Though I suspect there will be more reports than usual. That one was particularly bad."

"They're continuing to get worse," Damion agrees, voice dropping to something brooding.

"And just when we thought we were getting a handle on what the issue was," Leif grumbles offhandedly.

I want to ask what it was they were doing to get "a handle" on the earth storms, but we're interrupted yet again by the sound of footsteps racing towards us.

"*Princess*!"

The three of us turn surprised faces toward the two shifter guards barreling toward us, stopping just in front of me. Xavier and Arden are both breathing hard, their eyes running over me as they look for any sign of injury.

"We came to get you when the bells began," Arden says to me, "but when we got to your room, you were already gone."

My chest warms with the concern in her voice and I squeeze her arm and smile gratefully at the both of them, "Thank you for coming to find me. I'm glad you're both okay."

"She's certainly endearing herself to your guard, isn't she Lothbrook?" I hear Leif note quietly to Damion. As Arden and Xavier finish their assessment of me, and finding that I'm well enough, the sound of Leif's voice has them turning to the males standing next to me. Their heads dip to give their usual salutes of respect.

"Commander. Captain." the guards say, acknowledging them both in unison.

"We can escort the Princess back to her rooms," Xavier says, looking to Damion for confirmation.

A muscle in Damion's jaw tightens, but that's the only visible shift in his face as he turns to look down at me. Though his eyes soften as they land on me, "I need to see to the damages from the storm," he tells me, "You should go and rest. Try and get some sleep. Xavier and Arden can take you back to your rooms, but I'll come by to see you when I'm finished."

Shoving down the irrational part of me that doesn't want to leave him, the part of me that's begging me to stay by his side, I nod in agreement, "Alright."

I ignore the way that Leif's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline again at the interaction and turn instead to where Arden has a hand out for me so I can lean against her. I take her arm gratefully, letting my weight settle against her as my guards escort me from the room.

And as much as I may want to, I don't look back to look over my shoulder to glance back at the black eyes I can feel carefully tracking my exit.