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It took a moment for it to register. “Oh, gods, the friend word? Still?” I pushed playfully at his face.
He shrugged one of those powerful shoulders and slid his hand down my back to pull me closer. “Call me something else.”
“Hmm. Egotistical? Self-righteous. Demanding?” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t look at me like that. Who else will keep you humble?” I smiled widely, tapping his cheek and turning from him.
I didn’t feel the air move, but I felt the sting when he popped my ass. The noise I let out wasn’t in pain. I rubbed my butt and turned around to flip him off.
He lifted a single brow as if in challenge, and I ran, nearly slipping on the floor. I had barely cleared the bathroom door when I felt his arms go around me, lifting me off my feet. I squealed as he tossed me onto the bed and jumped on top of me. He gripped my hands and pulled them above my head when I tried to push him away. He settled over me with a wide grin. I glared up at him even as bubbles of happiness burst within me. “Cheater.”
I tasted his laughter as his mouth claimed mine in a fiery kiss. I was panting when he pulled back.
“Is my kiss better now?” he asked, raising on his elbow.
“Could be better,” I said, my words belied by the shakiness of my voice and the way I writhed beneath him.
Samkiel chuckled and released my wrists. His fingers feathered across my skin as he brushed the hair from my face. He said nothing for a long moment as he just looked at me. Sometimes the way he touched and held me was more intimate than sex.
“There is something else I want to talk to you about.”
My eyes narrowed. “I know that face.”
“What face?”
“The Samkiel plotting face. It’s the deep scowl of an ancient battle-worn king, and it looks like this.” I forced my brows together, drawing another laugh from him. “It usually means someone said something you didn’t like. Given the giant you visited, I assume it’s him. You have another face where your eyes kind of gloss over, and you go off to wherever in that head of yours. Usually, that one means I can get away with anything.”
He chuckled. “Fair.”
“Yup, there is also your thinking face. It’s similar to the one you have now, which probably means one of two things. Either you have a plan that will likely upset me, or you’re annoyed and want to be anywhere but here. Given that lovely third appendage currently hard and pressed against my stomach, I will call you a liar if you tell me you don’t want to be here.”
“You would be right. I am perfectly happy right here.” He pressed his cock against me. “You truly pay that much attention to me?”
I slid my hands over his chest. “I notice everything about you.”
Samkiel brushed a light kiss against my lips, and I felt the emotion in it. I licked at his lower lip, eager to taste it as well. I sighed and whispered against his mouth, “So, I’m not going to like this, am I?”
He shook his head. “I am afraid not, my Dianna.”
My humor died, replaced by worry. “What is it?”
“There were things that Porphyrion said in Yejedin, things I need to know the truth of. I am growing tired of hearing rumors of family secrets that I know nothing about. There is a deity related to the Formless Ones I can visit, but it is not without risk. It’s out of the physical realm, the entrance safeguarded in the council halls.”
I tipped my head. “How can you get to them if the realms are sealed?”
“The physical ones are, but not the mental ones. This one requires extreme focus and power, a level above meditation to visit. It may take a few days or even a week. To leave is as delicate a task as it is to go in. You could rip the mind doing it improperly. I’m not sure how long it will take, but I promise to return as quickly as possible.”
I didn’t ask why we hadn’t used this said deity before. As soon as we’d left Roccurem’s, everything had changed.
“Okay.” I sighed. “So just be careful and don’t rush. I understand if it takes a while. Just don’t overdo it and promise to come back to me.”
“Promise.” He twirled a strand of my hair between his fingers.
“That wasn’t so bad. Why were you nervous?”
“Well,” he paused, “we have agreed not to lie or keep things from one another, but I am also aware of your protectiveness of me.”
I squinted at him, my suspicions rising. “Okay…”
“There was a brief previous relation with said deity. Let’s just remember that I was a very lonely being before I met you.”
