Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Pink cheeks, flushed chests, they both looked at her with dazed expressions.
“Can’t I stay?” Gabriel said. His voice was hoarse.
Tem glanced up at Caspen, who was watching their interaction from a step away. “Can he?” she whispered.
Caspen pursed his lips. His eyes slid to Damon’s, and Tem saw their unspoken conversation. Tem knew Caspen was asking, tacitly, whether he was safe with Damon.
Damon nodded. Only then did Caspen nod too.
“He can stay.”
Relief swept through Tem. All she cared about was that Gabriel survived the night unharmed. If this experience had taught her anything, it was that he could handle himself among the basilisks.
“I will come find you in the morning,” Tem said. “We can leave together.”
Gabriel nodded, his eyes bright. Tem had never seen him like this. His joy was indisputable; he was glowing from the inside out. It was a distinctly basilisk trait to gain energy from sex, and Gabriel had that in spades. Perhaps he was more suited for this life than Tem was.
“See you tomorrow, dearest,” Gabriel said, pulling her in for a kiss.
His lips had barely touched her cheek when a horrible cry pierced the air.
Everyone in the courtyard froze.
Tem followed Caspen’s gaze to the far wall, where something had been scrawled on the stone. Four words, indisputably written in blood.
Give her to us.
There was a single, hair-raising moment of silence. Then, pandemonium.
The courtyard erupted into chaos as Caspen grabbed Tem by the waist and yanked her toward the passageway. The last thing she saw before the crowd swallowed them was Damon doing the same with Gabriel.
“Where are we going?” Tem cried.
“Our chambers. We will be safe there.”
“But Gabriel-“
“Damon will protect him.”
Somehow, Tem knew he was right. If the way they’d bonded tonight was any indication, there was no safer person for Gabriel to be with.
“I don’t understand,” Tem stammered. “What happened?”
“They are warning us,” Caspen replied, his voice low. He was still steering her quickly through the passageway.
“Who is?”
“The Senecas.”
Tem couldn’t help but think of the message on the church steps:
Feed us. The similarities were striking-both demands, both desperate.
“If we don’t give you to them,” Caspen continued, “they will take you.”
She remembered what Caspen had told her on the first night of mating season:
They feel they are owed your allegiance.
“How can they take me?”
Caspen didn’t answer. They had reached their chambers, and he nearly pushed Tem onto the bed.
“Caspen,” she cried as he wrapped his arms around her, crushing her protectively against his chest. He only held her tighter. Their minds were still intertwined, and a torrent of fear and possession raged inside his head.
“Caspen.” She touched his face, looking him in the eye. “I’m fine. I’m right here. And I’m not going anywhere.”
They held eye contact, and Tem saw just how truly worried he was for her. Up until tonight, she’d taken his stoicism for granted. But now she understood how deeply this affected him. Their relationship was constantly under threat-from the Senecas, from Leo, from his own brother. It was a daily battle simply to hold on to each other when everything around them was tearing them apart.
“I cannot lose you, Tem,” Caspen whispered.
“You won’t. I promise.”
He looked her in the eyes.
Everything was always fast and brutal between them-passion in favor of rationality. But now, Tem savored the time between when they locked eyes and Caspen’s lips finally touched hers. They kissed like it was the first time: slow and sensual and intimate. Tem missed this side of Caspen. His rough edges were even rougher under the mountain, almost as if his proximity to his people hardened him. She didn’t begrudge him his true nature, but sometimes she missed the side of him that was soft with her-she was happy to see that side again now.
He kissed her tenderly, his mind cradling hers. Smoke rose from his shoulders, but he didn’t begin to transition. Instead, he moved without hurry, sliding his fingers gently inside her, exploring every inch of her center as if it were brand-new to him. Tem unwound beneath his touch, allowing him to see her as she was seeing him: vulnerable and defenseless.
When she was ready for his cock, he gave it to her.
He was nestled between her legs, his face in front of hers. They both knew they would remain this way, that they would see it through together.
I will not let them take you.
I know. She believed him. She always believed him.
You are mine.
And you’re mine.
Tem would not let anyone take Caspen away either. Spending time around the basilisks had changed her too. She was stronger now. Surer. Tem once thought that the ritual was the biggest gesture she could give to Caspen. But now their bond was deeper, and she knew there was no limit to what she would do for him. No height was too high, no distance too vast. Caspen was willing to cross lines for her. Tem was willing too.
Caspen’s eyes had long since turned black. His hands were everywhere-skimming over her breasts, brushing down her hips, massaging her clitoris in time with his thrusts. Tem knew they would come together. She knew it as surely as she knew the sun would rise in the morning. When it finally happened, she kept her eyes open so she could see him come too. Tem noticed every detail: the way his neck tensed in the moment just before climax, the way his grip tightened on the back of her head, the sounds he made as he watched her come too.
Everything about it felt right…but something about it felt final.
When they awoke the next morning, Caspen kissed every inch of her body as if he wanted to memorize it. Tem felt his reverence in the way his lips brushed against her skin, reminding her with each gentle stroke that she was loved, that she was treasured, that she was home.
“Caspen,” she whispered eventually. “I need to take Gabriel home.”
“He is with Damon. He is safe.”
But Tem was still worried. The night had ended in disaster. This was supposed to be their opportunity to bring the humans and the basilisks together, to establish some common ground. Instead, Gabriel had seen dissent within ranks-he had been put in danger. It was unacceptable to Tem.
“He could have gotten hurt.”
“But he did not. He spent the night with a basilisk on the final day of mating season,” Caspen said. “That has implications.”
Tem sat up. “What implications, exactly?”