Page 104 of The Fury She Holds
“Maybe we should go somewhere safer. People are already moving to the mountains in droves. We could move out there.” Egan surprised everyone with his suggestion, but no one spoke against him.
Tal scowled. They had to know that she would never leave the docks. “Absolutely not. I will not let them drive us from our home.”
“Even if it costs us everything?”
There were no words to say to Egan that could explain why Tal wouldn’t leave. Even she didn’t understand it herself. With Faron by her side, Tal watched each of her friends, knowing they wouldn’t leave her, wondering which of them she would eventually get killed.
Egan had started to come into his own this summer. The once quiet teenager now spoke his mind. Rainier had become more of a leader than Tal in the months since the mages showed up. Sybil’s adolescent sense of humor had gotten her into trouble plenty of times, but she was learning how to balance it with the maturity of someone her own age. And Carrick, her enforcer, her rock, remained unchanging. Just as he did from the first day when she had been a sickly child; he saved her day in and day out.
He helped her when she made stupid decisions and put herself in harm's way, when she was too stubborn to make the right decision, and when she became too hard on herself, he saved her. She remembered that he found her first. She recalled how he came barreling into the room like not even a wall could stop him from getting to her. She wouldn’t have expected any less, and she couldn’t have thanked the gods enough for bringing them together.
At some point, Faron had reached his arm around her, and she relaxed into him. He rubbed his thumb on her shoulder, lost in thought, staring at a slit on the ground a few paces ahead of them. She knew he must be thinking of what Rain and Egan had said. Danger lurked within his kingdom, and he had a responsibility to fight it. He couldn’t run away. He would stay here until his death. And if that threat happened to be mages or kingdoms searching for more power, that time may come sooner than they all knew.
Tal stood and pretended to yawn. She excused herself and walked a few paces toward her room. She stopped and turned around when Faron didn’t follow. He hesitated, and it hurt something within her that he didn’t automatically think to join her. She tilted her head and looked meaningfully in the direction of her room, waiting for him to catch on. Almost comically, when he did catch on, he jumped to his feet and bid everyone goodnight.
Back in her room, Faron stood by the hanging curtain, a wariness creasing his brow. Tal removed her boots, socks, and her weapons belt, then hesitated at her trousers for a moment before letting them fall to the ground, the hem of her shirt falling to her upper thighs. Faron quickly apologized and tried to step outside to give her privacy.
“Faron,” she said, her tone full of admonishment.
He stopped and turned around hesitantly.
Tal rolled her eyes. “You’ve slept beside me for two days now. And you've held me stark naked.”
He rubbed a spot on the back of his neck and appeared embarrassed. “Well, yes, but you were clothed the last two days and before that we weren’t in your bedroom.”
She chuckled. “That didn’t stop you before. Stop being such a gentleman.” She left her shirt on and climbed into her bed. She closed her eyes as she hid under the covers. When he didn't join her, she opened them and huffed. Pulling the blanket down, she said, “Are you coming or not?”
His face lit with the knowing smirk she enjoyed so much. He began removing his boots. Satisfied, Tal returned to the comfort under her covers. When they lifted, she added, “May as well remove the trousers too. You’ve been sitting on the ground.” She smiled under the blanket at his pause before his beltclinkedas it hit stone.
A moment later, the covers lifted, and the bed shifted with his weight. She faced away from him, but she could imagine how uncharacteristically nervous he must’ve looked. She could see right through his devil-may-care attitude. The man could act all cool and confident, but when it came to Tal, he was like a lost puppy. Slowly, he eased up behind her and wrapped an arm around her middle. She curled into him and tangled her feet between his legs. After a breath, Faron relaxed and nuzzled into her neck.
They lay like that, listening to the other’s breathing, feeling each other’s heartbeat. Tal didn’t worry about the outside world. Her mind was at ease, her body without pain, and her heart where it was meant to be.
Faron shifted. He inhaled deeply, preparing to talk about something she did not want to face. “Tal, I want you to know, I—”
“Can we not talk about it for one more night?” She turned to face him. “Please?” she asked quietly. The last two days, they hadn’t said a word about Faron’s lies, or done much of anything besides enjoy each other’s presence. He was content to let her heal, and she was happy to justbe. “For one more night, I don’t want to think about the fact that I have the godsdamned king in my bed.”
He searched her face. Tal reached up and smoothed the crease on his brow and placed her hand on his cheek. “Let it be us tonight,” she whispered and kissed him.
Faron melted. The arm he had draped around her middle held her tightly and pulled her further into him while the other came up to her neck and caressed along her jaw. The sensation sent a wave of fire through Tal’s core. She tangled both hands in his hair, crushing her lips to his. Tal wrapped a leg around Faron’s hip and pressed into him. The feral growl that escaped his throathad her smiling against his lips and only encouraged her to continue.
She ground her hip into him, almost content to simply feel him through the thin fabric of their shirts. His hand explored her body, pulling her into him again. Tal smiled for a brief pause and climbed on top of him. With a hand to his chest, she forced him onto his back. Their shirts still tangled between them, but that did little hide the evidence of their desire from each other. Faron gripped her hips and held her steady, a warning on his face.
She leaned down and kissed him again, this time snaking her tongue into his mouth. She needed more. The days spent angry with him, spent without him, now left her with an emptiness that she needed filled.
She needed to feel his arms around her, holding her, comforting her,choosingher. She kissed him until tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t let him see. She reached down between them and rubbed her hand over his length. His hand shot to her wrist, but she gave him a wicked smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll behave.” She kissed him again before finishing with “mostly,” and left a trail of more kisses down his torso.
His breath hitched when she reached the trail of hair below his middle. She reached up a hand and scratched his chest. Goosebumps covered his skin. Tal couldn’t help the mischievous smile she gave when he let out an involuntary sound.
Their moment in the tunnels after the botched plan at the brothel fueled her desire to pleasure him. She’d been too harsh with him, and yet he said nothing of it. He deserved more than what Tal could give him. But while Tal held his attention tonight, she would let her mouth, her lips, and her tongue reciprocate what her mind and her heart couldn’t.
Faron’s body tensed under her, but she didn’t relent, not when he let out a deep, almost pained groan, and not until his body relaxed into the bedding, and an exhausted exhale reached herears. She let the sound wash over her before she crawled up his torso. She kissed his neck then lay on top of him with a smile on her face.
Faron’s arms came around her and held her tightly. He tried to kiss her, but she turned away from him. Instead, he kissed the top of her head and collapsed back onto the pillow. “Blazing hells, Tal,” he sighed. “You—”
“Are unlike any woman you’ll ever meet?”
He nodded. “That too.”
