Chapter 282: Relax. I’m Not Here To Take Her From You

She broke.

It hit her in a bright, shuddering wave. She came with her head thrown back against the glass and a cry torn out of her throat, her pussy clamping down on him in long, greedy pulses. He swore, a low harsh stream of words, and thrust through it, driving her through every second of the pleasure.

She was still shuddering when the door opened.

It didn’t open politely.

It swung inward with a bang and hit the wall, and the sound cut through her haze like a blade. She jerked, her head turning. She saw the door standing wide, and the dim corridor beyond it, and the tall figure leaning in the frame with his arms folded and his shoulder against the wood.

Kaelen.

He was unshaven. His shirt was half buttoned and hung open at the throat, and his pale hair stood up in a wild golden mess. There were shadows under his eyes. He looked as though he had not slept for a week and had dressed in the dark. And he was grinning, wide and wicked and utterly unrepentant.

"Don’t stop on my account," he said.

Morgana made a strangled noise.

Draeven went rigid.

He did not pull out. She felt that, mortified, painfully aware that he was still deep inside her, still pinning her against the window. But his body turned, shielding her, his broad back between her and the door. His arms tightened around her. A low growl rose in his chest, rolling and dangerous, and the temperature in the room spiked.

"Kaelen...."

"Brother."

"Get out."

"No, I don’t think I will." Kaelen strolled into the room. He closed the door behind him with one boot and leaned back against it, still smiling, but his eyes had gone sharp and bright. "Relax. I’m not here to take her from you. I’m not going to touch her unless she says so."

"Then why are you...."

"Because I felt it."

The word fell into the room like a stone.

Draeven’s growl cut off.

"I felt it last night," Kaelen said. His voice had lost its teasing edge. "At three in the morning. I was dead asleep, drunk as a sailor, and something went through me like a bell. The bond. Yours and hers. It didn’t just fire, Draeven. It rang. Through all of us. I woke up on the floor." He rubbed the back of his neck. "GLACIUS hasn’t stopped purring since."

"Purring?"

"I’m not joking. He’s been a nervous wreck for weeks. Pacing. Snarling. Hungry. Since the Sanctum. Since Auryn said what he said." Kaelen’s gaze flicked to Morgana, quick and almost shy, then back to his brother. "And last night he went quiet. For the first time since I can remember. I lay in the dark and listened to him breathe, and I thought, what did Draeven do?"

"What did I do?"

"You gave her a choice," Kaelen said. "And she chose. And that’s what steadies him. I think it’s what steadies all of us."

Silence passed over the room.

Draeven’s jaw worked.

"I came to your door twice," Kaelen said. "At four. At five. I stood outside and I didn’t knock. I don’t know what I wanted. I just...." He dragged a hand through his hair. "I needed to be close. I’m sorry. I should have gone away."

"You should have."

"Yes."

"But you didn’t."

"No." He gave a short helpless laugh. "I came in. And I walked into...." He gestured vaguely at the window. "This."

Morgana’s face burned. She tucked it against Draeven’s shoulder.

Draeven shifted.

She felt it in his chest first, a long slow breath, and then his hand came up to cup the back of her head. His voice, when it came, was low and calm, and it was turned toward her.

"Morgana."

"Mm."

"Look at me."

She lifted her head. His eyes were steady, dark gold and quiet, and she saw nothing in them but patience.

"I’m going to ask you something," he said. "And I want the truth. Not what you think I want to hear. Not what you think will be kind."

"All right."

"Do you want him here?"

Her heart stuttered.

"If you say no, he leaves. Now. He walks out that door, and neither of us thinks less of you for it." His thumb stroked her temple. "If you say yes, he stays. He may watch. He may not touch. That is for you to say. Everything is for you to say."

"I’ll go," Kaelen said quietly. He hadn’t moved from the door. "One word. I’m in the corridor."

She looked over Draeven’s shoulder.

Kaelen stood against the wood, tall and tousled and unusually still. The grin was gone. In its place was something she had only seen in glimpses, a raw, open wanting that he did not try to hide. His blue eyes were fixed on her face. His hands were curled loosely at his sides. He looked like a man waiting on a verdict.

She thought of the night in his chambers, the cold fire of his mouth. She thought of Thorne’s hands in the water. She thought of Draeven’s heartbeat under her palm in the dark.

She thought, I am not afraid.

It was a strange, bright discovery, like finding a coin in an old coat.

"Stay," she said.

Kaelen’s breath went out of him.

"Are you sure?" Draeven asked.

"Yes." Her voice was shaking but clear. "I want him to stay. I want...." She swallowed. "I want him to watch."

Something dark and delighted lit Kaelen’s face.

"Little ward," he said softly. "You have no idea what you’ve just done."

"Sit down, Kaelen," Draeven said.

"With pleasure."

He crossed to the big chair by the desk. He dragged it, with a scrape of wood on stone, until it faced the window, and dropped into it with his legs sprawled wide and his elbows on the arms. He looked, she thought, like a king on a throne. He looked like the cat that had found the cream.

"Go on," he said. "Don’t mind me."

Morgana buried her face in Draeven’s neck.

"I can’t," she mumbled. "Not with him looking."

"You said you wanted him to watch."

"I know what I said."

"Do you want him to stop?"