King's Throne(65)

She knew they had questions—probably more than she and Mitch could handle right now. He was still covered in blood and the sweat of the battle and she’d never seen anything sexier. Still, he needed to get cleaned up, and even with the power of the volcano running through him, it had been a long day.
“We should find one of the guest rooms and clean up a bit,” she whispered to him and he looked over and nodded slightly in agreement.
He might be the all-powerful volcano whisperer, but she was starting to drag. The intense anxiety of the past hours had definitely taken a toll on her. All she wanted was a warm bath and then to lie in Mitch’s arms for a few hours. To reassure herself that he was all right and with her. To be held in the security of her mate’s embrace.
“Forgive me, love,” Mitch rumbled near her ear as he bent to place a small kiss on her cheek.
She smiled up at him as he retreated. “There’s nothing to forgive. Let’s leave them to mull over the changes and face this fresh in a few hours. Five a.m. is going to come quickly, and before it does I want to ravish you at least a few times.”
“You’ve just made me an offer I cannot refuse,” he quipped with a grin. He turned without explaining anything further to the crowed and, still holding her hand, left the massive chamber and its tigers behind. “Where are these guest rooms you’re so proud of?” he demanded in a teasing tone once they were out of the main chamber and back in the series of smaller hallways and antechambers that had characterized the majority of the stronghold.
“If I remember correctly, they’re down the next corridor.”
The Old Guard had followed them, she saw, stationing one of Gisli’s Guards at the door to the audience chamber to keep curious cats from following them. The guest quarters were just where she remembered and they picked a suite at random.
 
Mitch tried not to become impatient when Paul insisted on searching the guest suite for any dangers before he’d allow them inside. Mitch understood the sense of it and silently approved of Paul’s caution, but it felt distinctly odd to be on the other end of such precautions. Usually, it was Mitch clearing the way for the Nyx.
Finally, they were alone. Paul and some of his brethren would be guarding outside the chamber, but inside, it was just the two of them. As it should be.
As the door closed behind them, Gina turned into his arms and just held him for a long, long moment. He could feel her trembling and he hugged her tighter.
“It’s okay. It’s all over and we both made it through,” he whispered, trying to reassure her.
“Praise the Mother of All for that,” she whispered against his chest, her head tucked tightly below his chin.
He was still grimy and bloodstained from battle, but she didn’t seem to care. Now that they were finally alone, they were both free to cling to each other and be grateful that they had both lived to fight another day. Mitch just hoped that the rest of his battles for the foreseeable future would be in the boardroom and not on the challenge field. Even with the volcano backing him up, it had still taken a lot out of him to fight Gisli.
“Whatever power that mage had—” he thought aloud, “—it kept Gisli white—or off-white at least. Did you notice, after the mage was swallowed by the fog Gisli turned gold again?”
“He looked awful,” Gina agreed in a small voice. “I thought that mage was going to kill you and then you pulled that shield out of nowhere.”
“Strictly the Lady’s doing. Whatever Her divine intentions are by linking me to the Grim, She gave me incredible amounts of power and abilities I don’t even fully understand. Perhaps I never will. But when I saw the fireball coming, I somehow knew what to do.”
“Thank the Goddess,” she whispered.
“Indeed,” Mitch agreed. So much had happened to them both in such a short time. It was all a little hard to take in. “And then the mage turned on you and my heart nearly stopped in my chest, Gina.” His hands shook as he remembered the terror of those moments when he realized the attack had turned on her and the small group of supporters standing on his side of the challenge field.
“It turned out okay. I’m pretty good at evasion.” She stretched her neck upward and moved back just far enough that she could look into his eyes. “I’m so glad that’s over and that you lived to tell the tale.”
“Me too.” He couldn’t resist. He lowered his lips to hers and gave her the sweet kiss he’d been dreaming of for the past hour.
He hadn’t enjoyed being the center of attention since the challenge, but he knew his duty and he knew the Clan needed him to be strong and serve them in whatever capacity made the most sense. For now, it was as figurehead and leader. He’d start tomorrow, sorting out the business problems that had nearly bankrupted the Clan and thrown an entire country into economic turmoil. That couldn’t wait.