Baddie Alina and slightly better Darkling?
What if Alina and stayed the night of the winter fete instead of running away? What if she had chosen the Darkling over Mal? What if the Malina ship sank fast and the Darklina ship sailed?
All these charact...
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After I changed, I was left with two unfamiliar guards as I made my way to dinner. Assuming the Darkling had ordered them to escort me, I didn't ask any questions. They hovered right behind me as I walked, never saying anything.
I looked down to check my kefta, and when I looked up I saw the Darkling. Smiling, he gave me a bouquet. And not just any flowers. Irises. The most beautiful hazy blue I had ever seen. Wondering how he knew that blue irises were my favorite, I grinned and said gratefully, "Thanks."
He offered me an arm and I accepted, looking up into his dark eyes. As we walked, I took a moment to look at his face. His strong jawline, dark, piercing eyes, and high cheekbones. His lips, which I had kissed only hours before. His hair was dark and perfect, and I longed to run my hands through it.
He caught me looking at him and smirked. He put an arm around my waist as we walked, and I soon found that we were not going to dinner. We were in the hall leading to the war room, where I had kissed him only hours before.
He opened the door, letting me go in first. I walked to the round table in the center of the room, and he went to turn on a light.
Putting the flowers to my nose, I told him, "I don't recall this being part of the schedule."
"It isn't." He turned the light on, looking at me, and unless I was blind, there was something hungry in his eyes. "Perhaps you'd prefer to attend the dinner?"
"Marie can manage," I responded playfully, leaning against the table.
He came closer. "All by herself?"
"She has Genya." I knew where this was going, and I was very aware that his bedroom was in the next room.
Stopping a few feet away, he said, "Ah. Well... then, um..." He came closer. "I suppose she'll be all right." He stepped even closer so that our faces were only inches apart. "Don't you think?" I smiled briefly in response, unable to take my eyes off his lips.
As he leaned toward me, my heart fluttered.
Not hesitating, he pressed his lips to mine. My hand immediately went to the back of his neck to press him closer. His hands went to my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks almost reverently. As I kissed him back, the kiss became heated, and he flicked his tongue across my lip, asking me to open them. I complied, and our tongues moved in synchronization. I weaved my hands through his hair, something low in my gut jolting with each stroke of his tongue against mine, the heat picking up between my legs.
His hands went around my waist and under my legs, picking me up and setting me on the table behind us, not pausing for a breath. He moved in between my legs, and I hooked them around the backs of his legs, pressing myself closer, desperate for any friction. His hands were all over me, going from my back to my face to my shoulders. He leaned forward as I leaned back, with him almost on top of me. I felt his hand on my thigh, inching my kefta up toward my hip. Groaning into my mouth, he slid his hand up my leg and under my kefta, and I felt his hands on my bare skin.
