Veils of Storm

11. Ballad of the Witch King

Despite how confusing everything was, Kat enjoyed walking across the deck hand in hand with Cage. She wasn't sure she'd ever done it before, and the way he interlocked their fingers sent butterflies into her stomach.

The prospect of seeing the others and being stuck in a room with all of them was not inviting, but she really was hungry. She couldn't really remember the last time she'd eaten, but the day seemed never ending. It was hard to entertain the fact that they'd only entered Valona that morning and they were now leaving it behind.

The thought brought a knot to her throat, and her eyes instinctively searched where she supposed the shoreline was. She couldn't see anything anymore, and she realized that, come the morning, land would be gone for good.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Cage stopped right before the door leading into the ship and turned to face her, a small worry crease between his eyes.

All she wanted was to smooth it out, so she reached out her hand. The moment her fingers touched his skin, they stayed there. How could it still be so intense, as if it were the first time she got to touch him?

His expression smoothed out as his midnight-blue eyes searched her face, stopping on her lips. She parted them slightly, inviting him to seize them. When he didn't, she moved her free hand to the back of his head and pulled him lower towards her.

"Kat..." he whispered.

"Don't you want this?" she whispered back.

He groaned, but didn't fight it when she pulled him even lower, when her mouth covered his. It was like an explosion. His kiss was like a tornado, taking her in and spinning her around until she could no longer tell up from down. Her fingers grasped his hair as she molded her body to his. In a moment, his hands moved to her thighs and he swept her off her feat, pressing her back against the door.

Yes, this was what she wanted, to see him so raw and passionate. To feel his hands on her. For a moment, she regretted changing out of her dress. At least that way, his hands would be on her bare skin. It would have to do. It had been so long since they'd been like this, it would definitely have to do. Life seemed to be pouring into her.

Yes, this is it. He belongs to you. He is your. Yours, yours. Ours.

Ours. Ours. Mine.

The last bit had Kat jerking back, her breath gasping and desperate. It had sounded like her. The voices were usually something she could push back because she could recognize them as foreign, but this time...

"Are you okay?" Cage asked, letting her down.

The moment her feet hit the deck, her entire body swayed and she had to grab hold of him to remain vertical. It was hard to tell since her heart still pounded painfully against her rib cage.

"Bit off more than you can chew, Kit Kat?"

She forced herself to focus on him, on the incredibly attractive smirk curving his lips. No, she hadn't, but she really didn't want to get into the matter of her own voice overtaking her mind in questionable ways. Her skin tingled and she still felt the burning need to have him, make sure she was hers.

Mine.

"Do you love me?"

His smirk faded and his head tilted in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Do you?"

"Of course. Kat, what's--"

"Say it!"

He squinted at her and it only made her tremble because she felt like she would die if he didn't humor her. Fortunately, he did.

"I love you." It was stated as a fact.