Page 56 of Lies That Bind
I frowned. “What? Why wouldn’t I believe you?”
He’d seen us fight?
He shook his head. “It’s too hard to explain, Aisling. Can we just enjoy this time together?” He traced his finger along my collarbone and sent chills down my spine.
“Are we still getting married? In your visions, will I still be your wife?” I asked, trying to understand how we could be separated for a while and fight, but still get married one day. I wasn’t sure I fully believed that, but I wanted to. It didn’t make sense.
The most beautiful smile graced his face then. “Yes, Aisling. I’ve seen you as my wife in three different visions now. But it’s… a long way off. We take the bumpy road to get there.”
I had to admit, I’d come to daydream about some of the things he told me. I couldn’t fathom a world where I would be his wife, but I’d come to crave that future. If I were destined to be his wife, why was tonight the last time he would kiss me? Maybe Elaine would find out and ban me from seeing him? WouldI?Probably for a while, yeah. I had to be sensible. I was the empress.
“One last thing,” I asked him, letting him trace over my skin, causing heat to travel with his finger. “What did you mean about my father and you wish I would believe you? At least tell me that?”
He bristled, stopping his rhythmic motions over my skin. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“But you did.”
He nodded. “Aisling… your father wasn’t a good man. He was hiding things, dark things.”
I frowned, my heart beating in my chest like a drum. “What? No. He wasn’t perfect, but?—”
“No, Aisling, he wasn’t even decent,” he snapped, and I stepped off of him.
“I understand you harbor ill thoughts of my father because of what he did to yours…”
“It’s not that.” Kohen stood and stalked forward. “I don’t care about that anymore. I care aboutyou.”
I frowned, confused. I backed off. “I shouldn’t have brought this up if this is indeed our last night together—for whatever reason.” I folded my arms. He was staring at the wall.
“What are you thinking? Talk to me,” I said. I felt desperate to hold on to the last two days. The secret kisses in the closet, him slipping into my room at night; I wanted a million more days like this.
He peered over at me with fire in his gaze. “I’m thinking of how deeply I love you and wondering if I’ve shown you that enough.” He walked over to me. “I’m praying to every star in the sky that you know that every cell in my body aches for you. All the time we’ll spend apart, I will be thinking of nothing but you.”’ He cupped my face in his hands: “Aisling, if you rememberanything of me, please remember that everything I do is to protect you.”
An overwhelming fear washed over me, my stomach turning to rock and my heart ceasing to beat for a second.
“What did you do, Kohen?”
He leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine in a way that made my soul ache. “It’s not just what I’ve done, it’s also what I’m willing to do. I’ll burn this entire world down before I let a hair on your head be harmed.”
The fear inside of me grew.
“How long will we be apart?” I realized at that moment he was saying goodbye. That’s what this was.
A deep sorrow entered his features. “Long enough to slowly kill me inside.”
What? I didn’t understand? It was starting to scare me.
“Kohen—”
A knock came at my door, and my eyes flew wide. Kohen brushed one more chaste kiss to my lips and then ran to hide behind the door just as I walked over and opened it a crack. It was late, and Elaine was standing there fully in her military fatigues, holding a note. “We got a response,” she said.
From Maxim?
“Let’s go to the command center, call in Caruso and Ledger. We might need all heads on this one,” I told her, praying she wouldn’t suggest coming inside my room to read it together.
Her gaze flicked into my room, and I held my breath. Did she know? Could she smell him? Could Vespa, who stood at her side, peering up at me with interest?
“Yes, Empress,” she said, revealing nothing, but I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
