I couldn’t stop it.

I didn’t want to stop it.

He followed me.

A guttural groan tore from his lips as his fire roared in answer. He convulsed as he came, spilling deep, deep inside me as his inferno swallowed my snow with a violent heatwave.

Steam detonated between us with a thunderous crack. The room vanished behind a wall of white-hot vapor—a marriage of heat and cold.

We clung to each other, twitching and trembling. Only once we could catch a proper breath did we look away from each other, cringing in preparation for the mess we’d caused.

Incredibly, his room was mostly unscathed.

Instead of annihilating each other...our elemental power seemed to have fused. Steam drifted lazily toward the ceiling, and the ice that’d trapped his fire dripped and thawed.

Kissing the tip of my nose, Lucien stayed deep inside me. His chest rose against mine, brushing my nipples as the furnace inside him turned into a gentle sauna instead. “I keep losing control around you, yet you’re the only one who can bring me back. Whatever happens, you need to stay close to me, alright? You need to stop me if I go too far.”

“I promise.” I stroked his back, making him shiver. “You have my word, I’ll help you. Just like you help me.”

“Being inside you is the only time I’m completely free of the fire.” Nuzzling into my neck, he added quietly, “I’m not afraid of what they’ve made me, Rook...but I am afraid of what I could become without you.”

I didn’t know how to reply, so I just hugged him close instead.

Chapter Fifty-One

I’D NEVER SLEPT SO DEEPLY OR SO WELL.

No pain. No burning. No captivity.

I’d dreamed of taking her again. Of being free and far, far away from Cinderkeep—

Rook mumbled in her sleep, pulling me from my drowsy thoughts.

I just gathered her closer and drifted back into a doze.

With a contented yawn, she relaxed into my embrace, her hair strewn all over me and my arm thrown over her waist, exactly how I’d held her when we first went to sleep.

My skin was deliciously cold where I embraced her but my back...that was burning.

Not because I would always be naturally hotter than everyone else, but because of a sulking predator who’d decided we were hosting a slumber party and missed his invitation.

His purr-snoring vibrated through my spine, reminding me of all the nights we’d shared together. Most of them spent with me hugging him instead of Rook, begging him to take away my pain.

The giant housecat kneaded my back in his dreams, making me wince thanks to his sharp claws.

“Quit it,” I hissed.

He stretched, pushing me against Rook.

Not that I minded.

I grew hard.

I wanted her again.

Would the urge ever fade?

It was all I could think about.

All I needed.

As long as I had her, I could stay human.

She mumbled something and rolled onto her back. I let her go, opening my eyes to—

Moonlight.

Wait. Hadn’t it been daylight when we’d climbed into bed?

We’d woken late in the afternoon to eat the tray of food Auntie Mei had left by the door but the exhaustion from escaping, travelling, and conjuring powers that allowed us to cheat death meant we’d fallen back asleep almost instantly.

Fuck, what time is it?

Rook mumbled again, making adorable little noises that would’ve driven me to murder if it was anyone else.

Arching my back against Whisper, I ordered, “Get off the bed. Three’s a crowd with what I plan on doing.”

The damn creature flatly ignored me, rolling onto his other side and promptly going back to sleep.

Fine.

He could watch. See if I cared.

I kissed her shoulder, her collarbone, slowly easing my way up her neck until she shivered with a soft gasp. “Is that a sword you’re stabbing me with, Prince Charming, or are you just happy to see me?”

“Ha ha.” Nuzzling my way along her jaw, I murmured, “Good evening.”

“Good evening?” Her eyes whipped open. “Oh my God, did we sleep all day?”

“Looks that way.”

She blushed and ducked her head. “What on earth will your aunt and uncle think of us? We’ve been here two days, and they think we’ve spent all of them in bed.”

“You’re welcome to tell them that I have a pretty big problem”—I pressed my throbbing erection against her hip like an idiotic teenager— “where you’re concerned and if I don’t have you regularly, I have a habit of setting the mountain on fire.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Why thank you.” I went to kiss her, but she slapped her hand over my mouth.

“Wait.” She pressed her lips together, mumbling like a ventriloquist. “I haven’t cleaned my teeth.”

“So?” I asked behind her hand, sucking in her glorious scent. Sweet and velvety, instead of sharp and icy, almost as if sleep had softened her.

“So?” Her eyebrows shot up. “Do you really need me to spell it out? I know you’re not used to being a boyfriend but—”

“A what?” Tearing her hand off my lips, I rolled on top of her and pinned her wrists on either side of her head. “Boyfriend?”

She turned her head as if to avoid the morning breath she seemed so afraid of...only to pause. Arching up, she ran her nose along my jaw and shivered. “Okay...what the hell is going on with you smelling so good? Last night you smelled of cedar and caramel and now you smell like the most delicious cinnamon chocolate cake.”

“Same with you.” I pressed a kiss to her mouth. “You smell like sweet summer snow...and yes, I’m aware that’s not logically possible.”

“Then what...?”

“Maybe it’s just fate.”

“Yeah, okay.” She rolled her eyes. “Next thing I know, you’ll be calling me your mate.”

“It’s better than boyfriend.”

“You have a vendetta against that word?” She frowned. “I mean...you do need a label. I can’t keep calling you my kidnapper.”

“Technically, I did kidnap you.” Arching my chin at the round window across the room where the moon was framed by stars, I smirked. “Can you escape without my help? Do you have any idea how to get out of these mountains?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Exactly.” Shifting my hands higher up her wrists until our palms connected, I weaved our fingers together. Settling deeper between her legs, I lowered my head to kiss her again. “Calling me your boyfriend makes me feel like I’m ten years old. So don’t.”

“What should I call you then?” she asked breathlessly, her chin tipping up to accept my kiss.

The world dropped away as our lips brushed and my heart squeezed so tightly it felt as if she’d reached inside me and stamped her ownership all over it. “Call me what I am.”

“And what’s that?” She sounded drunk again.

“The other half of you.” I collapsed over her, giving her all my weight.

Plunging my tongue into her mouth, I let one of her hands go to grab her thigh, hook her leg over my hip, and slid inside her in one hot, wet glide.

She cried out, arching beneath me.

Fuck, I would never get enough of this. Never stop thanking her for finding me, saving me, being the key I—

“Eh, Xiao Lu?” A knock rapped on the door.

Rook froze beneath me, her inner muscles clenching so tight, I hissed with lust. “Do that again, and I’ll come without even moving.”

Her hand once again planted over my mouth, eyeing the door. “Have you no shame?”

I just shook my head and licked her palm.

She squirmed and let me go.

“Luxin?” Uncle Wen’s gruff voice came again. “I’m so sorry to disturb you but—”

“I’ll join you for dinner soon, Uncle Wen,” I cut him off, withdrawing from Rook before pushing back in.

“Dinner? It’s way past dinner, I’m afraid.”

Rook shuddered with pleasure even while glowering at me. “You’re going to hell.”