Chapter 269

Chapter 269

CASSANDRA

I stopped struggling and widened my eyes as my heart stopped in my

chest.

Asher’s voice sounded coarse and more tense than I’d ever heard it, but I knew at once that it was him.

It was almost impossible to believe, but it was true.

Asher was here in Yurene.

My mate was here in this cold, terrible country.

He turned around to face me, and though we couldn’t see each other in this darkness, the scent, the warmth of his b*dy… everything was so familiar it couldn’t be ignored.

After a moment of silence, I felt Asher’s finger brush across my cheeks. I hadn’t realized I was crying until I felt the wetness of my tears against my skin.

When he pulled me into a tight hug, he whispered in my ear.

and k*ssed my n*eck “I’ve missed you so much, Cassandra,” he said, and then he pulled away and then my l*ps. Then he reached for my hand and began to k*ss each of my fingers devoutly.

“I couldn’t bear not seeing you,” he whispered in between k*sses. “I’ve missed you so much.”

As his l*ps danced against my skin, I managed to stop the steady stream of tears and calm down. I wanted to let him k*ss me forever, but I remembered that we were in the middle of the stairs and couldn’t afford to get caught.

“It isn’t safe here,” I said as my eyes darted around. “The maids could appear at any time. We need to find somewhere to go-”

“I have a room on the fourth floor,” he interrupted, and without another word, he grabbed my hand and led the way.

We walked in darkness, our hands clenched together tightly. I remember when we were young, we had always been like this. We would take each other’s hands and walk together when we were deep in the forest and felt afraid. We were each other’s solace, and tonight

was no exception.

He led me to the end of the corridor and then rooted around and retrieved a key. He unlocked the door, and much to my surprise, the room was nearly pitch–black.

When we entered and he locked the door behind us, he explained that he had turned off the light before he’d left to wander the corridors, pretending to be asleep so no one could disturb him.

Before I could say anything more,, Asher cornered me against the door and began to k*ss me. My heart pounded as surprise overtook me. I hadn’t expected this by any means, but I wasn’t protesting at all. As his b*dy pressed against mine with carnal need, his warm, masculine scent filled my nose,

and my b*dy erupted into shivers.

Our k*sses went from sweet to utterly passionate, and as his hands wrapped around me, I couldn’t help but whimper and moan. My entire b*dy ached and yearned for him. I needed Asher as much as I needed oxygen, and I vowed to show him just how much I desired him.

While the darkness made my eyes ache a little as they strained to make sense of our surroundings, it made my other senses clearer. As his hands traveled down my sides and then rested on my hips, I began to tremble. His large hands grasped onto me firmly, and after a moment, his fingers darted underneath my blouse and then eased it up over my head. It dropped to the floor, leaving me standing there in just my bra.

The rest of my clothes soon followed, and I shivered in anticipation as he undressed me. He took his time and care, and with every garment removed, my heart raced faster and faster. His fingertips danced over every inch of my skin, and when his hands raised to cup my breasts, a moan of delight escaped me.

“Oh, Asher,” I breathed, and when he gently squeezed, I gasped. I hadn’t been touched this way in so long. It was all I’d dreamed of since our last encounter together, only this moment felt even more intense than it had in my dreams. Asher had always been a generous lover and tonight was no exception.

His clothes fell away soon after, and once they were gone, Asher led me to the bed and we coupled the way we had when we were young. Our lovemaking was tender and passionate, and once we had reached the height of our pleasure, we took a moment to catch our breath, and then cuddled up against each other.

la E.

a little, but after we started to talk, Asher leaned over and turned on the bedside The light was so dim that only our faces were illuminated, and when I finally got to see the familiar beauty of his gray eyes, my l*ps curled into a smile. I traced his jaw with my fingers.

“Asher,” I sighed. “Oh, Asher, how did you even get here in the first place?”

He smiled at me and then k*ssed my knuckles. “I used a disguise, my love. I was only able to be here because I used someone else’s name. Most people here have never seen me before, so all I had to do was don some dark clothes, and a cape… they could tell I was Southern from my accent, but other than that, I wasn’t detected.”

“Whose name did you use?” I wondered.

“T

got help from the Sky Pride Pack,” he explained. “I used the name of their hand of the Alpha.”

“How did you manage to do that?” I wondered as I tried to understand. “I’ve been so worried, Asher. When I heard you were missing and that Oliver Moses took control of Wegalla in your absence… I’ve been so frightened.”

“I’m so sorry about that,” he said, and he rubbed my cheek. “It’s a long story, and I don’t want to waste our precious time on this. I want to know how you’re doing. I’ve been missing you every day since you’ve been gone. Have you been okay?”

My eyes dropped from his as a sigh escaped me. “It’s complicated. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Try,” he urged me.

I took a moment to gather myself and then told him about what Kaleb was planning. I shared the cruel traditions of the country, and what I’d seen in the prison tower, and speculated that Kaleb wanted to use sorcery to control people’s minds and form a huge army. I told him I had wanted to find someone who could bring this message back to Rayden and Becky because they needed to know how horrible the disease was so they could take precautions.

Asher listened in silence as I spoke, but after a while, he seemed distracted. As I talked about the disease, he played with my long hair and stroked my bare shoulder. I could tell that something was on his mind, but I wasn’t sure what was going on.

I stopped speaking and drew the blanket up higher so we couldn’t be too distracted.

“Asher, is something wrong?” I wondered. “You seem a million miles away.”

He stared at me for a moment and then placed another k*ss on my l*ps. He didn’t answer my question and asked one of his own instead.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me?” he asked quietly.