Amanda Bonilla: Blood Before Sunrise

“Raif,” I said, “you’re going to get your answers right now.”

I reached inside my pocket and pulled out the emerald pendulum. It glowed bright green in my hand, pulsing with warmth and power. It knew what I was going to do, and apparently it didn’t object too much.

“What is that?”

“The Key,” I said, for the first time not hating the weight of the damned thing as I looped it around my neck. The sound of time’s passage left me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you ready, Raif?”

“For what?” he asked, bemused.

“To see your daughter.”

His jaw dropped. I smiled. I couldn’t help it; I’d never seen him thrown like that before, and I was happy it had been me to do it to him. I stepped in, laid my cheek on my friend’s shoulder, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around me. It didn’t matter that we weren’t blood related. Raif was as much my brother as if we’d been born of the same parents.

I held the emerald before me, concentrated on where I needed to be, and lost myself in its depths. Next up: one family reunion.

The darkened landscape melted away, and we appeared right where I’d left Brakae in the center of the ring of stones. Raif let go of me, turning a circle as he took in his surroundings. “I know. What a mindfuck, right?”

“Amazing,” Raif said. “But, Darian, what does this have to do with-”

“Father?” Her voice was younger than when I’d left, that of an adolescent girl, not that of the grown woman.

His eyes widened in disbelief, glistening with tears. I swallowed the baseball-sized lump that had grown in my throat and squeezed his hand before taking a step back. This was his reunion, not mine. And they both deserved this moment of happiness.

One advantage to keeping royal company was the perk of a private jet. Xander happened to own a Gulfstream, and for once I didn’t feel like wringing his neck for flaunting his extravagant possessions. It was damned comfortable too. I’d added another three and a half weeks to my MIA status by returning to O Anel with Raif, and we still had a thirteen-hour flight before we’d be back in Seattle. But if I had to endure the agony of more time away from Tyler, at least I endured it in style.

Knowing he could see Brakae whenever he wanted put Raif at ease. He hadn’t felt as if they were parting forever when he’d left O Anel -just for a while.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Raif said, interrupting my thoughts. He regarded me with his fierce blue eyes, and it reminded me of the first time we met at Xander’s warehouse. Nothing got past him.

“I left him.”

“Yes.”

“He might not forgive me.”

“He’s not worthy of you if he doesn’t.”

Always pragmatic, Raif didn’t know how to mince words.

“I’m afraid to face him.”

“Nonsense.” Raif sat up straight in his chair and leaned forward. “You’re not afraid of anything.”

I didn’t answer him because I didn’t want him to know the truth. I was scared shitless to face Tyler.

Raif leaned back in his chair, and his expression softened. “Sleep, Darian. By gods, you’ve earned it. I’ll wake you when we get home.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I was asleep before my chair fully reclined.

“I missed you, Darian.”

Oh God, I loved the way he said my name-like a prayer or something sacred. The sound of his voice touched every minute part of me, right down to my hair follicles, like sparks of electricity. For the first time in a long, lonely while I felt alive . We were two parts of a whole. Unlike the broken hourglass, my world had been out of balance without my other half. And now he was here-right here next to me-and if I’d wished him here in my sleep, then thank God I was a sleep-talker.

But really, I didn’t care how he’d gotten here. Raif was nowhere to be seen; maybe he was in the cockpit with the pilot. Whatever, it didn’t matter. I had everything I needed now. “Tyler…” There was so much to say. Where should I start? The dim lighting of the private jet’s cabin barely illuminated his face, but I knew every detail. I’d etched a vision of him in my memory. He brought his finger to my lips, effectively silencing anything I’d planned to say. Did words really matter when you loved someone this much?

He replaced his finger with his mouth, his lips so soft, they were nothing more than a light brush against my own. Tyler pulled me out of my seat while he closed the privacy partition around us and settled into the seat I’d been sleeping in. He pulled me down without a word, and I straddled him. I traced my hands up the muscles of his arms, reacquainting myself with the topography of his body. His shoulders were firm in my grip-solid-before I continued my exploration, moving downward over his chest, my fingers tracing the hard, muscled expanse of his stomach.

He thrust his hips, and the hard length of him pressed against me through our clothes, causing a jolt of pleasure that sent my head lolling back on my shoulders. Slowly, and so gently, his fingers laced through my hair like the stirring of a breeze, and he urged my head back while he tasted the flesh just above my collarbone. Tyler’s tongue teased and enticed as it traveled up my neck to just below my ear. His teeth grazed my flesh, and I gasped, wrapping my arms around him to draw him closer. The plane could have gone into a nosedive spiral, engulfed in flames, and I wouldn’t have noticed. All I knew was I wanted more of Tyler. Right. Now .

I threw off my coat and worked at getting Ty’s T-shirt up and over his head while he did the same to me. The possibility of getting caught made it all the more exciting as he pulled the straps of my bra down over my shoulders, shoving the silky fabric away from my breasts. It had been so long since I’d felt his skin against mine, and I reveled in the taste of his cool mouth. Hours in O Anel had been months, but it felt more like years. Every minute away from him had been a century.

He took one breast into his mouth, sucking and biting gently. I arched my back, pushing closer, and he caught the other breast in his hand. God, yes! I missed this- him -so much. He pulled away, and I brought my lips to his, a greedy kiss, a wanton claiming of his mouth. I parted my lips, and Tyler followed suit, our tongues searching, tasting, lingering. I’ve died, I thought as his hands traced down my sides to pull at the waistband of my pants. I’mdead and this is heaven .

I rose up on my knees so Tyler could unfasten the button on my pants. A quick tug and they were down around my thighs, not exposing near enough of me for what I wanted to do. I stretched out one leg, and then the other, and kicked my pants and underwear to the floor. I looked down to the bulge in Ty’s jeans, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth before meeting his heated hazel gaze. It was all the encouragement he needed before his pants and underwear joined mine. I smiled as I took in the impressive sight of his naked body. He’d put a Greek god to shame with his perfection.

Tyler pulled my head down, kissing me fiercely. No time for sweet whispered words and foreplay. I needed him inside me. Now.

I positioned myself above him and guided him in. My breath caught as he invaded every inch of me, and it was a sweet torture that made me only want more. He kissed me again, leaving a blazing trail from my lips to my chin, neck, and collarbone, ending again at my breasts. His hands settled at my hips, and I began to move, slow at first, rocking back and forth at a measured pace. Tyler groaned, the sound vibrating across my flesh, and I sped up, unable to control the frenzy he’d created in me. His breath came heavy-or was it my own rasping in my ears?-as my pleasure mounted to unbearable degrees. More . I needed more of him. I could never get enough. I vowed silently as he brought his lips to mine that I would never leave him again.