Chapter 181: Mine...
(... continued)
Kieran’s spine straightened, his body going deathly still except for the rise and fall of his chest.
The growl threaded through the silence again...louder this time...
His grip on her tightened as he slowly rose to his feet, lifting her higher against his chest. She didn’t stir.
"Stay asleep," he whispered against her temple. "Please...I need to take care of this...I will be back..."
He turned in a slow, wide arc, scanning the dense wall of mist. The threat was out there. He could feel the pulse of it in his bones. An old familiarity lingered... Kieran needed to make sure it was really what he thought it was...
He found a hollow truck of a tree and gently laid Autumn down... her head resting against the bark as her body slouched against the ground.
Kieran immediately turned back letting out a furious growl demanding the creature to show itself... let out its intent...a growl of challenge... but the reaction was exactly the opposite of what Kieran expected...
One final growl echoed through the mist, vibrating through the trees... then the creature stopped moving all together.
Paused.
And slowly... backed away.
Not out of fear maybe.
But as if... it was done. For now at least.
Kieran heaved a deep sigh and immediately turned, rushing back to Autumn’s side. He fell on his knees upon sighting her as if he was half expecting she wouldn’t be where he had left her... He took her hand and kissed her fingers...
"I don’t care if you wake up hating me," he murmured. "I will still be here. I will carry your hatred if that’s what you need... just don’t leave me behind and run away anymore,little thief."
The wind rustled.
She had been sleeping...or so he thought.
Something in her snapped to attention the moment Kieran’s lips touched her skin. She turned around... And the instant her eyes found him sitting there... she lunged.
Fuck.
The momentum literally sent the two of them flying. Luckily Kieran balanced their fall with one hand and grabbed her waist with the other...
She was here. In his arms.
After days of losing his mind with worry, after nights spent imagining the worst...she was finally there...warm and alive and pressed against him like she belonged nowhere else.
For a heartbeat, he forgot about the world. He forgot about the imminent threat lurking somewhere near, about the gnawing suspicion that people close to him were behind all of this.
None of it mattered.
Because Autumn was kissing him. Fucking hell... she was actually not kissing him... she was eating him up...
Her lips crashed against his, desperate...hungry, her fingers tangling in his hair like she was afraid he would vanish if she let go. And by the Moon, he understood that fear. Every second without her had been torture.
Now that she was actually there...back where she belonged...he too couldn’t hold back.
Neither did he want to.
Her hands were everywhere...scraping down his shoulders, gripping his shirt, pulling him closer with a need that mirrored his own. He kissed her harder, deeper, his tongue sliding against hers, tasting her, claiming her.
No words... no questions... no answers... no accusations... no apologies... just the need... the want... the overwhelming compulsion...
She was a gift from the Moon Goddess herself.
And he would be damned before he let her go again.
"Autumn," he growled against her lips, his voice rough, frayed at the edges. "You have no idea how long I have waited for this."
She whimpered, her nails biting into his back, and he felt his control slipping. Her hips ground against his, and he groaned, his hands sliding down to grip the curve of her backside, squeezing possessively.
A sharp, pleasured gasp escaped her as he pulled her even tighter against him.
He needed more.
He needed all of her.
"Kieran," she breathed, her voice trembling.
Fuck...that name on her lips was deadlier than any goddamn intoxicant.
"I don’t know what’s happening... I should be hating you...running away from you... but with you, I can not..."
Then she looked up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I hate how we met," she whispered. "I hate everything about how we are now. And I hate myself for loving you when I should loathe you. You said I was yours, and I say I am. But you aren’t even mine..."
The words shattered him.
He opened his mouth to protest...to tell her she was the best thing that had ever happened to him, that she had given him a joy he never thought he deserved...but she pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.
"I am not complaining," she murmured. "I just... needed you to know. No matter how much pain comes with loving you, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Even if you are not mine, I will endure a lifetime of hurt just for the privilege of knowing you.Remembering you. Seeing you safe... it’s the only thing that lets me breathe..."
Her body shook against his, and he held her tighter, as if he could fuse their souls together through sheer will.
"I never had anyone before," she admitted, her voice breaking. "It never mattered... until you. I didn’t want to admit how I felt. I didn’t want to tell you that your happiness is the only thing I care about. But then I thought I lost you, and..." She let out a shaky laugh. "I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But right now, I need you to know... I love you, Kieran. Fuck, I really do."
Autumn felt her babies kick as if in response.
Whatever remained of Kieran’s self control snapped.
He pulled back just enough to yank her shirt over her head, tossing it aside before his mouth found hers again.
She gasped in surprise but didn’t protest, her fingers already working at the buttons of his shirt.
"Let me show you what you mean to me," he growled, his hands roaming her body, memorizing every curve, every dip. She was way too perfect.
His fingers trailed up to her breasts, cupping their full weight as she arched into his touch. He lowered his head, taking one peaked nipple into his mouth, sucking gently before grazing it with his teeth.
A sharp cry tore from her throat.
"You are mine, Autumn," he murmured against her skin, his voice dark with possession. "And I tell you this...I am yours...It killed me when I could not feel you. I still can not outside this mist. Not even our babies. "
Autumn looked up , worried, her brows furrowing... Kieran smiled down, scuffling her hair. "Don’t worry about it. I am working on it. It’s that bitch... Selene... she put some curse on me, probably... though I am not very sure! "
" You can not feel our bond? Me? Our babies???" she gasped, her mind trailing off to that moment when Kieran had been so furious and had slapped her for sneaking in... in front of Velor. "That explains why... "
" Ssshhh! " Kieran quietened her with a fierce kiss. " No more explanations... all that matters is the fact that you are mine..." Autumn nodded. "Say it... say it loud! "
Her hands finally pushed his shirt off his shoulders. "Always yours. Even if you hurt me... even if you kill me... even if..."
He didn’t let her finish, silencing her with another violent kiss...full of want...one that promised everything he couldn’t put into words.
Then he helped her, shrugging out of his shirt before his lips crashed back onto hers. His hands slid to her waist, gripping her hips as he ground against her, letting her feel just how much she affected him.
She whimpered, her legs wrapping around his waist as he lifted her effortlessly, carrying her to the soft grass before lowering her down.
The mist followed them around... as if they were inside their own private cocoon... not that they noticed anything about their surroundings at the moment...and surely Kieran’s feet caught... and he almost tumbled... Autumn, still in his arms...