With a single, decisive motion, I pulled it up and over my head, letting the soft fabric fall unheeded to the mossy floor. The cool cavern air kissed my bare skin. Then, reaching behind me, my fingers fumbled slightly before finding the clasp of my bra. It came undone easily, gliding down my arms, joining the discarded T-shirt.
I stood before him, bare-chested, vulnerable yet defiant. Kauri’s gaze drifted downward, his transformed eyes widening almost imperceptibly. Curiosity radiated from him, potent and palpable, mixed with something deeper and hotter. That look, that silent acknowledgment of my offering, fanned the flames of my own desire into an inferno.
He moved closer, the silver-blue light surrounding him seeming to intensify, casting us both in its ethereal glow. The luminous vine retracted smoothly back into his arm. His fingers, now free, traced the path the vine had taken, moving with a feather-light touch down the side of my neck, across the delicatecurve of my collarbone. The contrast between his inherent power, the sheer ancientness of him, and the exquisite softness of his touch was dizzying. I hadn’t thought such gentleness was possible from him. Then, his hands, large and warm now, cupped my breasts, thumbs brushing reverently over the sensitive peaks. A soft sigh escaped my lips, a sound of pure, involuntary pleasure echoing slightly in the cavern’s hush.
His face was barely an inch from mine now. I could see the intricate, almost luminous patterns in his pale skin, feel the warmth of his breath mingling with mine. As his thumb teased one nipple into a tight, aching peak, I couldn’t bear the distance any longer. I reached up, tangling my fingers in the dark, moss-soft hair at the nape of his neck, and pulled his mouth down to mine.
The kiss was an explosion. Passion, held back for so long, burst between us. His lips were firm yet surprisingly soft, yielding to the pressure of mine. My tongue flicked out, tasting him, a rough, delightful shock of moisture, clean earth, and something wild, like ozone after a storm. It wasn’t unpleasant, it was elemental, intoxicating, sending a fresh wave of heat rushing straight between my legs.
A low sound rumbled deep in his chest, a vibration I felt against my body. His arms came around me, pulling me flush against his solid form. The sensation of his smooth yet textured skin, radiating that strange, vital energy against mine was overwhelming. I pressed myself closer, instinctively pushing my hips against his, needing the friction, needing the solid proof of his body against mine, wanting the full experience. Could he? Could this transformed state allow for everything? The question pulsed with frantic urgency beneath the all-consuming desire as I lost myself in the raw, earthy magic of his embrace.
My gaze dropped, trying to make sense of the body pressed against mine. He wasn’t naked, not in the human sense. Hislower body was covered in a weaving of what looked like living vines and soft, dark moss, clinging to the powerful lines of his hips and legs. It wasn't clothing, but a part of him, as if the sanctuary itself had dressed him in a primal, modest covering. The living texture shifted with his breath, patterns like smoothed bark flowing over his skin, obscuring and defining him all at once.
The sudden need to be completely bare before him, to meet him skin to skin without hindrance, was overwhelming. I pulled back from our kiss, hating the momentary separation but driven by fierce intent. My fingers fumbled with the button and zipper of my jeans, clumsy in their haste. Kauri watched, his transformed features taut with anticipation, the silver-blue light pulsing softly around him. I kicked off my boots, then wrestled the jeans down my legs, stepping out of them until I stood completely naked on the cool moss.
His gaze, those earthy, ancient eyes now warmed with unmistakable desire, swept over me. Slowly, deliberately, from my bare feet up to my face, lingering on the curve of my hips, the swell of my breasts still flushed from his touch. He didn’t leer. It was a look of profound appreciation, of almost reverent curiosity, yet undeniably hungry. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, loud in the cavern’s hush. Taking a breath, I turned slowly, a full circle, offering myself to his gaze, letting him see all of me—vulnerable, wanting, ready.
When I faced him again, my eyes inevitably dropped lower. His arousal was magnificent, terrifying. Thick and long, imbued with the same pale luminescence as his skin, it pulsed with latent power. A tremor of doubt, of sheer physical impossibility, flickered through me. Could I possibly take all of him? But the wave of heat between my legs, the aching need he had awakened, drowned the fear. I was damn well going to try.
Our eyes met again, a silent question asked and answered in that single, charged look. Before I could draw another breath, his mouth was on mine again, fierce and demanding. The kiss deepened instantly, moving with an urgency that stole my thoughts, leaving only sensation. His hands slid over the skin of my back, learning its contours, then moved lower, cupping my backside firmly, his fingers pressing and squeezing. He pulled me tighter against him, fitting my softness against his hardness, his touch deliberately grazing my most intimate folds, sending jolts of pure desire straight to my core. A moan tore from my throat, swallowed by his kiss.
My own hands weren’t idle. They roamed over him, exploring the impossible reality of his transformed body. Smooth planes met textured ridges, cool surfaces held an underlying warmth. He felt like sculpted hardwood warmed by the sun, like living stone, human and tree and something utterly unique, all blended into the perfect form of the Green Man myths whispered about.
My fingers brushed against his erection, then, emboldened, wrapped around the thick, throbbing length. He groaned into my mouth, a deep, guttural sound that vibrated through me. Feeling the sheer size and heat of him in my hand, knowing he was as ready and as desperate as I was, only made my desire surge higher, becoming an unbearable ache.
With effortless strength, he broke the kiss only to shift his grip, sliding one arm beneath my thighs, the other supporting my back. He lifted me as if I weighed nothing. My legs wrapped around his waist automatically, seeking purchase and closeness. For a heart-stopping second, the blunt, hard tip of him pressed against my wet entrance, a promise and a threat. Then he shifted slightly, deliberately gliding the length of his erection along the slick folds, drawing more moisture from me, coating himself inmy readiness as if it were vital nectar, much-needed nutrients for his ancient roots.
I tilted my hips instinctively, seeking, guiding him back to my opening. He understood. Slowly, powerfully, he eased into me. I gasped aloud, my head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut against the overwhelming sensation of him filling me. His width stretched me, pushing my muscles apart, threatening to overwhelm. But then my body adjusted, yielding to him, accepting him as heat bloomed, giving him full, deep entry. A shockwave of shattering pleasure radiated outward from my core.
His lips found mine again, a soft, reassuring pressure as he held himself still within me, giving me a moment. I felt the tension in his arms, saw the concern flicker in those incredible eyes despite the desire blazing there. I managed a shaky smile, trying to convey what words couldn’t.This is good. This is right.Understanding dawned in his gaze.
He rocked back, withdrawing almost completely, and my muscles screamed in protest, a paradoxical blend of pure pleasure and desperate need. Then he plunged back into me, filling me completely once more.
A raw scream of ecstasy escaped my lips this time, echoing in the vastness of the cavern. Our hips found a rhythm then, slow and deep at first, then building, gaining urgency. I clung to him, meeting his thrusts, lost in the friction, the fullness, the impossible intimacy. I could feel him hardening further inside me, impossibly, driving me higher and higher.
The pleasure built, coiling tight in my belly, until it shattered. My climax crashed over me, intense and consuming, my body arching against his. A heartbeat later, I felt the deep, shuddering pulses of his release, a raw, elemental power flooding into me. It felt as if our very souls had entwined, reaching up, beyond thestone roof, breaking through into starlight, like trees reaching above the canopy.
The explosive tension drained away, leaving a profound sense of connection, a deep, thrumming pleasure humming between us in the sudden quiet. I held him tight, burying my face against the unique texture of his shoulder, pressing soft kisses to his luminous skin. Exhaustion washed over me, sudden and complete, a blissful heaviness in my limbs.
He held me securely, his breathing gradually evening out. Then, without a word, he adjusted his grip, cradling me against his chest. He started walking, carrying me away from the site of our union. I didn’t know where he was taking me, and in that moment, nestled against his strength, feeling the residual thrum of pleasure and the profound weight of our connection, I didn’t care. I was safe in his arms.
ROOTED HEART
Sienna
Two weeks. Fourteen cycles of the soft, pearlescent light that filtered down through the high canopy, marking the days in this timeless sanctuary. Two weeks since the binding, since the darkness had imploded, leaving behind a silence that had slowly blossomed into vibrant life. The rhythm of the grove had settled into my bones, becoming as natural as my own heartbeat. The initial shock, the lingering questions about the world I’d left behind hadn’t vanished, but they’d softened, finding their place within the larger reality ofthislife, the one I had chosen.
I ran my hand over the trunk of a young sapling near the waterfall, its bark smooth and cool beneath my touch. A faint warmth bloomed in my palm, a gentle echo of the Vow, and I felt a responsive tremor from the sapling, a tiny surge of life answering mine.
It wasn’t Kauri’s immense power, but something smaller, quieter. A connection, an understanding that flowed both ways. I wasn’t just livinginthe grove, I was becomingpartof it, finding a purpose that resonated deeper than any career path or city apartment ever could. This wasn’t captivity, it was belonging.
The air hummed, thick with the scent of damp earth, exotic blossoms, and the clean tang of ozone left over from potent magic. Luminescent mosses pulsed with soft light along the winding paths, and the waterfall, once sluggish, now cascaded into the pool with a clear, resonant song. Life here wasn’t just present, it was amplified, thriving under the renewed strength of the Vow, more vibrant, perhaps, than it had been in centuries.
A familiar presence approached, his steps quiet on the mossy ground. I turned, a smile blooming effortlessly on my face. Kauri. The transformation in him was breathtaking. The crushing weight of millennia, the profound loneliness that had clung to him like a shadow was gone, replaced by a warmth that radiated from him, softening the ancient lines around his eyes, eyes that now met mine with open affection and a deep, settled peace. He was still the guardian, his power a tangible presence, but the burden was shared now, the duty lightened by partnership.
He carried a woven basket filled with glowing fungi we’d gathered earlier, their light casting shifting patterns on his face. “The northern ridge feels strong today,” he said, his voice holding a low rumble of contentment I’d come to cherish. “The blight’s retreat is holding.”
“I felt it too,” I replied, falling into step beside him. “There’s a new cluster of moonpetal ferns near the whispering falls. They weren’t there yesterday.”
