His lips tugged up. "I do have feelings for her, but only as a friend." Then he pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed her closer to his chest. "But with you, it is different."

Satisfied, Anastasia grinned against his skin as her thighs clenched. "Darla is so important for all of you. Can you tell me why?" She wasn't feeling jealous of her anymore. His woodsy, spicy scent surrounded her and she closed her eyes.

"Darla is the adopted daughter of Liam and Fleur who are close to my parents. Her parents died... were killed... and Fleur adopted her. She has been with me for a long time. We played together when we were kids, then I was sent to different schools and when I came back, we bonded again. She keeps coming with me on my missions. To be fair, she is an excellent warrior and is a fantastic strategist. I don't know what has gotten over her lately and it makes me feel uncomfortable." He looked towards her to say something, but found that his little fae princess was already sleeping in his arms. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes as satisfaction filled in his chest.

He shuddered when he remembered how frantically he had searched for her when she had gone missing. The fear made him pull her over his chest. When she curled up over his body, her weight calmed his nerves and he drifted off into deep sleep.

Anastasia woke up to loud popping sounds feeling wet as hell. She opened her eyes. The room was lit faintly by the embers in the fireplace and Ileus-he was suckling her breasts. Flicking and licking and sucking them. He was latched onto it, squeezing the soft globe as he sucked the entire nipple and areola into his mouth.

"Al," Anastasia gasped, as bursts of pleasure rippled through her body. It was the first time she had called him Al in throes of pleasure.

His fingers trailed her thighs and then to her core. He inserted one finger inside and growled in appreciation. "So tight!" He removed his finger and then went back inside with two. She clenched her muscles around them immediately. "Ah! Ride on my fingers as you would ride me!" he said and then latched on to her breast again.

Shamelessly, she chased her orgasm. Her fingers wrapped around his thick soft hair and her body arched as he finger-fucked her.

"Come for me Ana," he said and the tension inside her belly exploded. She clenched on his fingers as he stifled her moans with his mouth on hers. Once he was done, he took his fingers to his mouth and sucked them.

His erection was throbbing hard between them. She took her hand there and he covered them with his. In exactly three strokes, he marked her belly with his color. "I can never get enough of you." He felt better. She felt better.

Anastasia woke up in the morning groggily only to find that he was missing. She didn't like the empty feeling and brushed her hand over the crinkled bed sheet. She tied her hair in a messy bun as she rose up and was startled to find Kaizan sitting in their room. Instantly she covered herself with a blanket, realizing that her thighs were uncovered and she was not even wearing panties. "What are you doing here?" she asked, drawing her brows together.

Kaizan was bent on the table, reading a map. He whipped his head towards her and said in deadpan tone, "Good morning Anastasia." He rolled the map. "I am here because Ileus had asked me to take a look at you. Are you fine?"

"I am," she said. "And you can leave."

He sighed. "I could have left but I waited for you to wake up."

"Why?" She was amused, not shocked.

"I wanted to talk to you about Darla." He narrowed his eyes slightly to gauge her reaction. A muscle in her jaw feathered. "And also Ileus..."

She frowned and glanced at the window. There was no fur and she could see the gray skies through which a solitary sunray peeked. "Where is Ileus?" she enquired, already missing the warmth of his body.

"He has gone to arrange... things, and to find out about the letter."

"Okay..." she rubbed her neck. "Give me some time to get dressed."

Kaizan stood and walked to the door. He opened it and said, "I am standing right outside. Call me when you are ready."

"I will."

Though she wanted to talk about Darla, her stomach knotted. Could she avoid the talk? She removed the blanket and got up to get dressed. Since yesterday she had thought a lot about whether to tell Ileus about Iona or not. Her mind bounced with several pros and cons of telling him. In the end she had made up her mind. And right now she was in a hurry to reach Adrianna. It was a surprise that Ileus was her son. She chuckled. Never had she been so keen to meet Adrianna. But a doubt crept in her mind. She shoved it aside.

As soon as she was dressed, she opened the door. "I am very hungry!"

Kaizan walked in. "I have asked them to serve us breakfast here."

"You did plan it nicely, didn't you?" she remarked.

"Had to," he replied in the same deadpan voice. He went to sit on the chair he had occupied previously.

Anastasia sat on the edge of the bed with her ankles spread out. She leaned her body behind and supported them on her arms. She had braided her hair and was wearing a black sweater over gray slacks. "Tell me," she said with a gleam in her eyes. "What is it you want to talk about Ileus?"

He crossed his arms across his chest and tilted his head. "Are you avoiding the conversation about Darla?"

"I am!"

"In that case we will talk about her first."

She rolled her eyes and looked away.