from hers and slid back down in the bed. Ania’s hand stayed on him, lightly stroking as he sighed beneath her touch. Synar felt the first sense of rightness he’d had in a long time. His mate was with him again. Whatever the future held, Synar would make himself live for the moments Ania gave him before she sought her end.
“Stay with me tonight,” Synar begged, knowing he would not stop her if she chose to leave, could not force her to stay. But he wanted to—by the creators of all, he wanted to—even knowing the damage a warrior with her training could cause him.
Ania rose quietly from her seat beside Synar, walked a short distance away to stand near the door.
“I desire you only because of Gwen and Dorian. You know it is uncommon for me to feel as I do. I could bond with you Liam, but to what end? In my mind we are no longer mates,” she said.
“Pick whatever reason suits your logic, but please stay with a male who has wanted you and only you since the first time he saw you,” Synar implored, holding out a hand. “I will make our bonding sacred, or make it fast, or make it whatever you wish. If all you wish is sleep, I can do that as well. Just let me hold you again. Being with you will restore me more than any amount of rest without you beside me.”
To test her resolve, Ania stepped to Synar’s door and put her hand on it to leave.
A profound feeling of wrongness rose up inside her. It wasn’t Malachi because it was the same feeling she’d had the first time she’d bonded with Liam Synar. For reasons Ania had never been able to fathom, she simply hadn’t been able to tell him no. Evidently that was still the case, even though Synar had firmly refused to come back to her when she had asked.
Ania closed her eyes, seeking inside herself to find more resolve, but all she found was her own need to be with him.
Sighing in rare defeat, she let go of the door as she accepted her inability to leave him.
Chapter 6
“Curse you, Liam Synar. This is as bad as the first time. Why can I not leave you as you did me?” she demanded.
“Fine—curse me for leaving you, just come back over here. Whisper your curses in my ears while I fill you. Then maybe my end will come with yours and I will no longer have to worry about losing you or failing to meet my family obligations,” Synar said sadly. “All I care about in this moment is touching you again and knowing you want me to.”
Synar’s comment about family obligations reminded Ania of what Malachi had said about Conor Synar killing their father. She found herself filled with compassion for Synar’s burdens. She found herself once again wanting to soothe him.
“Very well—but staying tonight will not change my future decisions,” Ania warned, removing her shoes.
Keeping her back to Synar, she pulled her shirt from her pants and unfastened it until the only clothing left was the set of hygiene straps criss-crossing her chest. Synar used to like to rip them from her so she left them in place. Her body suddenly quivered at the memory of him destroying them.
Where had that memory been hiding?
Tomorrow she would have a long talk with Malachi about restoring everything to her. She would command him to give it all back.
Ania turned and walked to the bed, surprised to find her skin tingling with her own arousal as she looked at Synar lying on the bed waiting on her to join him. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so excited before or actually desiring him so much.
“Remove your pants,” Synar demanded, running a hand over the hardness of his own body while he watched her undress. “I have no energy and no patience. I do not wish to destroy all your clothes. My need is great.”
Ania lifted her chin, reluctantly doing as he asked, pushing her pants free of her trembling legs.
His gaze moved over her and Ania could swear she felt the heat of him reaching out to her.
“Ania, chasec loqar ,” he said roughly, studying her face intently.
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