Page 90 of A Tempest of Shadows

I shuddered at the possibility and gulped. My fingers involuntarily twitched; I felt too jittery and terrible about all this.

Then tell him the truth and face the consequences of your actions.

It was the most sensible thing for me to do. It would end his hunt and ensure his safety while getting rid of my insecurities because he would walk away afterward.

If it weren’t for the distinct possibility I might end up dead, I would tell him. But I wasn’t ready for death, and the loss would destroy my mother. I couldn’t do that to her just to end the misery I’d created for myself.

When he opened the portal, we walked through and emerged at the roadside across from my home. The familiarity of it and the love that always descended over me when I returned home didn’t come. I was far too jumpy and confused to have anything calm me today.

“I’m going to return home to shower and change. I’ll return tomorrow,” Ryker said.

“Yes, of course. I’ll see you then.”

I started to walk away, but he grasped my arm and pulled me back. Startled by the action, I didn’t have a chance to recover before he clasped my face and kissed me.

I gripped his forearms as his muscles flexed beneath my touch while his tongue caressed mine. I was starting to forget all my uneasiness when he ended the kiss.

“Tomorrow, Ellery,” he whispered against my mouth.

Unable to respond because his kiss had stolen my breath, I smiled. He searched my face for a second more before kissing the tip of my nose and releasing me.

Beneath the trees, the sun’s rays fell over him to cast him in and out of shadow. I savored the sight before turning and jogging to my home and up the steps.

My lips still burned from his kiss, and I had to resist the impulse to touch them as I opened the front door. When I glanced back, I couldn’t see Ryker in the forest.

Disappointment and a sense of loss descended over me when I stepped inside. It was too soon for my mother to have returned from her trip, but with everything going on, I’d half expected her to be here.

The hush encompassing my home told me she wasn’t. My shoulders slumped as loneliness overwhelmed me.

I was sure Scarlet and her family were somewhere on the property, but for now, I was on my own. Normally, I enjoyed that, but today was not a good day to be trapped in my head with all its turmoil.

When I started to shut the door, something behind me stopped it. My heart leapt into my throat, and I spun as I prepared myself to find a member of the king’s guard standing there, waiting to take me away.

Instead, Ryker leaned against the doorway with his hand on the door. I blinked at him as his gaze leisurely surveyed me, and a smile curved the corners of his mouth.

He looked casual, but I sensed the predator beneath the surface, waiting to attack, and I was his prey. I’d never wanted to be the hunted; now, I craved it.

“I can always bathe here, can’t I?”

I couldn’t stop smiling back at him. “We don’t have any clothes that will fit you.”

“That’s okay; I don’t plan on wearing clothes.”

My breasts tightened in anticipation as his smile faded and his silver eyes burned into mine. I should tell him to go home. I should tell him that what happened in the tree house was a one-time thing that couldn’t continue, but it would only be another lie on top of my pile of them, and I couldn’t bring myself to utter it.

At least my other lies were ones of omission; I would utter this one right to his face. Even if it was for the best, I didn’t want him to leave.

I stepped back to let him enter. He uncoiled from the doorway and closed the door behind him before prowling toward me.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

Ryker

Propped up against Ellery’s headboard, I pulled her back against my chest and wrapped my legs over hers. My fingers slid through hers as her hair tickled my skin, and her enticing aroma enveloped me.

Her apple scent had mingled with that of sex and me. I inhaled it deeply as I relished the feel of her. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d been this relaxed and happy.

After the Ghoul War, my time in Doomed Valley, and watching as they cut off Leo’s head, I hadn’t believed it possible to feel like this again. Here, in her room, with the colors of the setting sun spreading across her ceiling and reflecting off the mirror on the bureau to my right, I’d discovered happiness again.