“I already drew you a bath.”
He left for the bathing chamber. I wrapped a fur around my shoulders, crossed to the window, and pulled back the thick curtain keeping the sunlight at bay. If I laid down, I might pass out.
Outside, the day was bright. Rebels moved in and out of view. Many were talking to others animatedly. Most of the rebels had been present during our assembly, but those few who had been absent were likely now learning what had transpired.
I wondered if Astril, Freyia, and Livia were already on the King’s Road. Racing for Myrr to meet us there in time. Thank the dead gods, they had retained their fae wings after their transition to becoming vampires. Wings meant the sisters would alternate between flying and running. And according to Livia, their wings were less sensitive than they had been when they were fae, so they also could fly for longer than I would be able to.
I wasn’t sure how long I stayed at the window, mulling things over, but it seemed like no time at all before the door opened again. Vale slipped inside, a towel wrapped around him, showing off his powerful Vs and plethora of tattoos.
My heart rate kicked up. No matter how many times I had him in our bed, no matter how long we were together, I doubted the sight of Vale would ever cease to affect me.
“Force, why are you not snuggled beneath the furs and quilts?”
When he reached me, I tilted my chin up, sighing as his dark brown eyes met mine. “Didn’t want to fall asleep after all that talk of seducing.”
“Ah.” Hands gripped my hips. “There’ll be no more worrying about that.” He lifted me easily, and I smiled, relishing that he could do so as I wrapped my legs around his middle. “Are you ready to make me forget?”
Forget what his brother, the fae he’d shared a womb with, had done. Forget that cavern filled with spiders and an ancient king who wanted to command me. Forget all the bad that had befallen us in our short time together. If only for a little while.
“Give me a night to remember.”
“As you wish.” Vale settled me on the edge of the mattress, and his hands found the hem of my nightgown, teasing the fabric up until my thighs saw the light. His hands ran along the soft skin of my thighs, and heat seared at the apex of my legs.
Stars, I needed him more than I’d allowed myself to believe. Needed his pulse pounding against mine. His body finding pleasure in me.In us.
My mate eased my legs apart. The motion effectively tugged the nightgown up the rest of the way, exposing me. A low, masculine sound left his throat as he stared down, then dragged his gaze up to meet mine.
“Sometimes, I still find it difficult to believe that you’re mine.” His left hand, the hand that bore our soulmate mark, caught my chin as he dipped so that our lips hovered just above each other’s.
“Every piece of me is yours,” I replied, recognizing that while I’d been the one to initiate tonight, my mate wanted something different. Tonight, he desired control, and I was happy to oblige. “Now take your pleasure, love.”
His lips crashed into mine, and a sense of home, of him being that place for a fae like me who had not had a true home in so very long, skittered through me, like frost forming across a window covering each surface and crevice. I whimpered as one of his hands climbed up my dress and caressed my nipple. My hands settled on his hips and eased him closer before I tore his towel clean off.
He smiled into a kiss. “In a hurry?”
“I need to feelmore.” To prove my point, I slid one hand between us and grasped his malehood, already hard and proud.
“By all means, I’m your plaything.”
I laughed, and he caught the sound on his lips again, swallowing it as though it were the most decadent dessert. Or perhaps that was just how he tasted to me. Like something I could never get enough of.
I almost lost him.At the reminder, my heart seemed to seize.
But no, I did not lose the person most precious to me. He was before me. His tongue dancing with mine. His hands dropping lower, tickling me as he went, his scent of sandalwood and fallen snow assuring me. He was here. Alive. We werealive. As if to drive the point home, Vale’s fingers found their way to my center, and he rubbed the sensitive spot that both sent shivers up my spine and curled my toes.
“Wet for me already,” he murmured.
I shuddered as he varied the pressure and speed. All the while, his lips trailed down my neck. My fantasy of seducing him had been turned on its head, but I didn’t mind in the slightest. Not when he seemed to relish in my pleasure as much as his own.
Vale’s lips explored my own, my face, my neck, as his clever fingers continued to rub and tease and ratchet the tension in my hips ever higher. My legs tightened around his waist.
“Ah, my queen is nearly there.”
His queen.By the dead gods, this male. The topic of queenhood had been testy between Thyra and me, but to my mate, I’d always be his. And he would always be my king. The male who, when I needed a protector most, stepped up. The person who helped me grow into the force I’d become. He’d never been hesitant or jealous as I grew. As my power strengthened and changed. As I stepped into the shoes of a leader. A princess of the realm. And yes, a potential queen.
“Come for me,” he whispered, his tone raspy, wanting, just as two fingers slipped inside me and the heel of his palm pressed into my core, I did just that.
My eyelids fell and stars exploded behind them as Vale wrung pleasure from my body. When I opened my eyes again, it was to find him watching me, smug as could be. I smiled, my body feeling wrung out, even if I wanted more. Vale and I were here together, but I wished to feel him within me. To carry him within me.
