Page 95 of Taken By Shadows

“Imogen …” My name thrummed in the air like a bell tolling. “Imogen …” His hands came away from my hips and began opening the remainder of his shirt. “Imogen …”

My eyes snapped open to the flickering light of the lonely flame on the table, struggling against the gloom. A bell rang out through the city, heralding the new hour.

I was alone, books piled all around me. I wiped the heat from my cheeks as I sat up.

Damn fae bastard invading my dreams. And not even finishing what he started in them. There was a deep throb aching between my legs, and I couldn’t even deny that the sight of Kaed above me was something my body wanted.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep for, but the shards of light beaming from the mirrors in the central terrarium shaft were beginning to brighten the library a little.

I cursed internally at that as I gathered up a few books and hurried from the stalls, the ache in my centre momentarily distracting me as I moved.

The lanterns that hung on the walls of the Alabaster Palace were still glowing with fae lantern light as the dawn burned away the last vestiges of night.

No lights were glimmering through the windows. Relieved, I slipped through the door and shut it behind me, my back sliding against its ornate metal filigree.

The foyer was in total darkness, not a whisper of light to be seen.

“Perhaps you need reminding of the rules of our bargain.” A dark resonance echoed through the halls.

And Kaed stepped out right in front of me like he’d been conjured from darkness.

Chapter twenty-nine

Kaed lifted the blackness, his eyes murderous as they looked into mine.

“I was researching!” My pulse slammed through me, still reeling from his apparition.

“Your research does not give you the right to not come home, and break my rules.” His voice was so steady, so low, I could have mistaken him for calm. But his calm was lethal—a stillness before a storm.

“Your home. Your rules.” I scoffed. His shirt was closed here in the dark of the foyer.

I buried the heat that threatened to bloom on my cheeks as my body recalled the feel of him against me.

“Yes.” His eyes blazed like blue fire in the dark. “You don’t get to move about this city alone.” Were those rules for my protection or his investment?

“Ridiculous,” I muttered under my breath.

But of course, he caught it and answered with a low growl. Fae male bastard with fae senses.

“You’d be living in a cage now if it wasn’t for me,” I retorted with narrowed eyes.

He glowered at me and moved in closer, heavy strands of hair falling over his eyes. He leaned over me. His movements were languid. Less restrained. “Careful, peach,” he whispered, his breath falling across the shell of my ear. There was a sweetness and something spiced on his breath. “Or your privileges of freedom will be revoked.” Was he drunk?

My body trembled a little at his words. Or maybe his proximity. I’d been away from him for so many days, I’d forgotten how imposing he could be.

“You wouldn’t.” I tilted my chin up to him, daring to meet his stare.

“I implore you to test me on that. Please.” His hair tickled my temple as he shifted the air around us. His challenge hung between us.

I tried to hold my breath in case I nudged any closer to him. But his scent cascaded right past any sense of preservation I had. The sharp notes of orange and bergamot mingled with the oak and smoky aura of whatever was on his breath. And I drank it in deeply, inhaling him.

A moan distilled from my earlier thoughts tumbled from my lips, and Kaed became a dark statue beside me, muscles tensing and jaw clenched.

There was little light in the room, but his eyes shone. His mouth opened a fraction, and I thought I heard his breath catch.

A loose strand of my hair had fallen across my brow, and Kaed’s finger wound around it. My body awoke with heat and the threat of fire. All it would take was one spark to set me ablaze and burn my resolve to the ground.

His hand traced my temple. And I suddenly forgot how to organise my thoughts.