“I love you too, Dusk Arlohaim.” She gasped, still feeling their energies pounding through each other, though quieter now. Nuzzling her nose into Dusk’s neck, she breathed him in. Reaching up, Dusk lifted her so he could kiss her as she lay atop him, breasts to his chest, skin to skin. He held her close as they kissed, a chill wind sweeping in from the desert as he finally pulled away and they snuggled close. Their magics were spent, everything exhausted, but Layla felt mellow and warm in his arms as she breathed his clear scent, her lips at his chest. Glancing down as he cuddled her, Dusk smiled softly, kissing her temple as he watched the millions of flicking fire-diamonds they’d shed into the night gardens. Nuzzling her nose, he moved his lips to hers and Layla obliged, lifting up to kiss him again – sliding into each other deliciously with tongues and lips.
Layla’s Dragon gave a sleepy purr, as one last curl of gold-diamond light flowed through her.
“I could kiss you forever,” Dusk rumbled as he pulled back.
“Then do it.” Layla breathed with sass, smiling beneath his lips.
“Well, kissing is nice, but what I really want is to fuck you again,” Dusk growled temptingly.
“Then do that.”
Something viciously intrigued flashed in Dusk’s sapphire eyes, heating them all over again. Gripping her close, he changed the angle of his hips, sliding back in deep between her legs and making his rumbles pull hard at her loins once more. Layla’s breath hitched; his rumbles and her exhaustion made her deliciously weak and flooded with pleasure. His strong hands held her as he pushed up from the bed, gripping her to his tall, muscled body. Wrapping her legs around him, he used his hands to tear her dress completely away now, ripping it like his jeans.
Pressing up deliciously inside everything that was so sore between Layla’s legs, Dusk heaved them both up from the bed with his hands beneath her thighs. Not letting her leave his body, he turned Layla’s back to the nearest ebony bedpost. She wrapped her legs around him as he kissed her, as he pressed her to the stout bedpost. It pushed him all the way inside her, so deep, and they both gasped, pausing as they breathed together.
Holding her up with his incredible strength, Dusk began to rock inside her with a slow gripping of muscles, as the fire-diamonds flickered more brightly on the veranda, etheric flames trapped inside their facets. Supported by Dusk’s strong hands, Layla arched, pressing his firm length deeper inside her, matching his rhythm. As he set his forehead against hers, a soft wind breathed through the leaves, flaring the light of the fire-diamonds in slow waves like an endless tide at the end of the world.
Rocking with him, Layla closed her eyes as she wound her arms around his neck. She could see the garden, the stars, and the fire-diamonds all around them, even with her eyes closed. As Dusk filled her over and over, deep and slow, Layla could hear the wind sigh through the palms and the wings of moths flutter. Her breath was the breeze, her undulations like fountains pouring deep into the earth. As they moved together, Layla became the forest and ground, the water and wind, the diamonds and fire. She dissolved into the earth, feeling slow currents move through Dusk also.
Emptying them both into the elements even as they were filled by each other.
Breathing at her lips, Dusk thrust so slow it was only a shiver of his muscles now, deep. Opening her eyes, Layla watched him as they moved and he watched her back, awe radiating from his beautiful eyes. Time and light swirled in his gaze, his eyes shifting through every color like faceted diamonds as they sighed with each other’s breath, as they beat with each other’s hearts. Dusk moved his lips gently over hers as he thrust again, and Layla arched for him, feeling like she pulled him up deep inside her from within. Dusk gasped, almost a sob as his head fell back in ecstasy – Layla drawing his energy up and in, deep into her body from the Bind.
“My god…!” Dusk breathed, arrested by ecstasy, his dark eyelashes fluttering.
“Mygod.” Layla breathed back, watching him succumb with pleasure. She gripped him again, drawing him in and up, and he shuddered; shivering, undone. She drew him in one last time and he climaxed, crying out and hauling her onto himself hard with his hands.
Dusk’s climax brought her again in a deep, blissful wave. Layla arched, crying out with a smile. She fell back as his hands held her, one sliding up her back so her head hung, her throat open as she breathed; bound in his arms yet so free. Pulling her in, Dusk’s lips smoothed over her throat, kissing her and thundering her with the deepest growl, his voice so low it was almost not his own. Pulling her back up, he cradled her close. Sharing a moment still bound, they listened to the wind. And then with a soft kiss, he let her slide down, slipping out with a shudder and holding her as they stood together, breathing with the glimmer of stars and diamond-fire all around.
“Wow.” Layla spoke at last. “Holy shit.”
“Thatwas cosmic.” Dusk agreed by her ear, kissing her neck beneath her curls. Obliterated, Layla couldn’t even hold herself upright as he wrapped one arm around her waist. She was putty in his hands as he stroked his fingertips over her bare back.
“I would give it all up for you, you know,” he spoke suddenly. “Re-building my clan. Going after my King. The Paris Hotel – even Adrian. Just say the word and I would abandon it all. Go live somewhere in the Bahamas with you, drinking rum on the beach…”
Pulling back, Layla gazed up into Dusk’s eyes. Something complex moved through them, settled into their usual sapphire blue once more. Something inside Layla leapt at his simple dream, imagining them sailing off to the Caribbean and living happily ever after on some remote island. But Layla knew better. Life wasn’t some fairyland, even in the Twilight Realm; Dusk had promises to uphold – and Layla had them, too.
“You know I would never ask you to abandon yourself.” She spoke quietly.
“I know. I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me.” His sapphire gaze was deep as he looked down, somber.
“I know. Because you mean that much to me, too.” Layla breathed, lifting up to kiss him. He wrapped her in his arms, kissing her back. As he kissed her, she suddenly felt him smile. Layla smiled also, and she felt him smile more. Her lips split into a grin, and he grinned also, chuckling.
And then they were both laughing, spent and whole in each other’s arms at last.
CHAPTER 10 – LUXOR
In the rear of Adrian’s Learjet where the bed was, Layla didn’t even know she’d slept until Adrian sat down on the bed with her, stroking her cheek and murmuring softly for her to wake up. The muted sounds of the engines hummed all around as her eyelashes flickered open. Blinking to clear her mind as she pushed up to sitting on Adrian’s black silk bed, Layla yawned, covering it with the back of one hand. She had been having strange dreams about crystal monoliths and shadowy dunes with Hunter standing out in them, watching her. Combing out her curls, Layla shivered the dream off as Adrian smiled at her, tucking one of her curls behind her ear.
“Good morning.” Adrian spoke sweetly, kissing her lips. “We land at the Luxor International Airport in twenty minutes. Might want to freshen up. We’ve got a room in Luxor overnight, but we’ll be lighting out early tomorrow to travel to the Crystal Plateau, Dusk’s home.”
“Are we really almost there already? God, that was fast.” Layla spoke, pushing up off the bed and heading for the bathroom in the back of Adrian’s jet. Leaving the door open, she flicked on the lights and started the faucet in the sink, splashing her face.
The last three days had been a whirlwind since the decision to escort Dusk to Egypt had been made. Palace clean-up had been organized by Adrian, with Rachida and Emir to supervise the re-build. Dusk had made calls to the Paris Hotel to get Rikyava to pack up some of his things and ship them to Luxor, though he was traveling light for his first excursion home. Adrian had set Rachida to take over the clan during his absence and had been constantly on the phone with his Associate Hotel Head Quindici DaPonti back at the Red Letter Hotel Paris to make certain everything was running smoothly. Quindici had assured them there had been no retaliation from the last three unknown Crimson Circle members, and everything on the Hunter front was exceptionally quiet. Layla had made calls to both Rhennic at Chambord and Reginald at his clan home in the North Sea, and had been encouraged by both to go support Dusk, though Reginald had been strangely quiet.
The last three nights she’d barely slept, two with Dusk as he caught a few hours in his old room, and one with Adrian when Dusk was on the phone all night with allies from the Hotel. They’d gotten up before sunrise to get on the jet this morning, and now, Layla stared blearily at the mirror as she re-applied some blush, cover-up, and eyeliner to be at least mildly presentable when they arrived.
“So we’re landing in Luxor, Luxor, right?” Layla spoke to Adrian as she did her makeup. “Not some Twilight Realm version of the city?”
