Page 197 of Dare
The question crept from a crevice inside me, a place that still worried this would end. “Only in this forest?”
Taking the hint, Jeryn moved without hesitation. My hand fell from his cock as he straightened, twisted, and hefted me in front of him.
Planting me on his lap, he framed my cheeks. “Come with me,” he said. “Come to Winter.”
I blinked, my heart skipping a beat. I had expected us to meet here, in the ruins on a lasting basis. A safe haven where no one could judge or condemn us.
Yet Jeryn’s face reflected a greater ambition. One replete with determination and devotion.
I knew this man better than to assume. He didn’t mean to divert my mission or change my purpose. He would never ask that of me. Yet this went beyond a compromise. It was a risk and a chance and a dare. It offered more than a secluded realm. This promised everything, from danger to happiness.
Mistaking my silence, he rushed ahead. “I don’t mean … I would never ask …”
My eyes prickled as I set my fingers on his mouth. “I know what you meant.”
Relief cemented his voice. “Let Winter be your home, as Summer has become mine.”
“Split our time.”
“Yes,” he urged. “But not apart.”
Not apart. Together.
I would travel through Summer, and he would rule his nation, and we would meet every month, alternating between my Season and his. Although Jeryn had claimed I’d vanished in the rainforest and likely perished from predators or an illness, that tale would be easy to reverse, thus painting me in an impressive light regarding my resourcefulness and survival skills. He vowed to keep me safe in Winter, which would be possible now that our kingdoms were shifting, the people changing. I would stay in his court for however long I wished, whenever I wished.
We would show the world that even hate could turn into love. This would be our key. Our new mission.
After three years, we’d earned this.
First, we would spend time here, reuniting with the rainforest and each other. Then we would set out for a world of needle forests and blustering winds.
“Winter is yours.” Jeryn’s throat constricted. “If you’ll have me.”
Through my tears, I grinned and knotted myself around him. “I warn you, I might set your kingdom on fire.”
“I’m counting on it.” My villain king hauled me forward, his thick crown poised at my entrance. “And if you’d like, we can stop somewhere on the way.”
I sighed in pleasure, lowering myself on his cock, my pussy taking him deeply. “Where?”
As Jeryn rocked me on top of him, his lips quirked. “Where we began.”
58
Jeryn
Two weeks later, Flare nestled into my chest as we sat in a private courtyard with our clan. Distant maple trees rose into the sky, and copper foxes skulked across the pasture. My little beast marveled, pointing at every detail with excitement. Each time she did this, someone in the group explained what she was seeing.
I would have assisted, but the sight of her awed face and the gold dress hugging her curves distracted me. I tilted my head, watching those eyes glow in wonder at the colorful leaves, the harvest fields, the library-style castle, everything. We’d been in Autumn for three days, yet her amazement had not waned.
Wrapping my arms tighter around Flare’s waist, my mouth tipped sideways. Then my grin flattened into a glower when I noticed Poet from across the blaze. Lined in smudges of kohl, his green eyes glinted with amusement. The fucker enjoyed my besotted expression and was deciding how best to antagonize me about it.
His wife rested in the same position as Flare. Wearing a cerulean gown with a short standing collar across the back of her neck, Briar lounged into the jester’s torso, her husband’s muscles visible beneath a fitted jacket.
Briar’s ladies—Cadence, Posy, and Vale—engrossed themselves in conversation with Flare, who wrote her responses down for them. The women talked over each other, eager to hear about our year in the rainforest. More than once, they murmured suggestive comments that included terms such as survival smut and jungle porn, then gestured at me when they thought I wasn’t paying attention. Whatever else they said made Flare chuckle, because she’d never been shy.
Eliot joined us. Flames illuminated the minstrel’s scruff jaw, the blond bun tethering his hair, and the lute tattoo extending down the side of his throat. He indulged Flare’s music requests, a stringed tune from his instrument filling the air.
As for my unexpected metamorphosis, it had taken a while for the minstrel and ladies to believe it. Flare’s presence, as well as Poet and Briar’s endorsement, had swayed them more than I had. Despite my attempts at congeniality, their expressions had made it clear: I knew shit about how to be friendly. Only after watching me with Flare had they accepted my change of heart.