“I love you, too.”
Then he kisses her softly, and she doesn’t hold back. When his hand finds its way inside her robe, she sighs against his lips.
He’s all sparks and smoke and berries again, and she doesn’t even flinch when one of his vines wraps around her ankle beneath the covers.
Then he pulls away, and she holds back a whimper.
“Forgive me. My fire magic...” He sighs and rolls to his back.
“It’s all right. Do you...want to help me wash my hair?” She looks at him as his eyes widen. She’s not ready for any of this to end.
“Yes.” He doesn’t even hesitate.
“And the rest of—”
“Yes.”
A smile threatens her at his eagerness. His vine is already turning on the water.
She reaches out to play with a tendril of his dark hair, mussed from his sleep. “We could wash your—”
“Yes. Yes to everything.”
She does laugh at that, and he steals another kiss. His lips are so warm.
“Do you wish to get your dress wet again?” he asks softly when he pulls away.
But she shakes her head. “I’ll need it for later. I probably shouldn’t get it wet. Don’t you think?”
She gazes tentatively into his eyes, and both their hearts race.
“Keeping it dry sounds like a good idea.” He can’t hide a smile as he speaks, and laughter fills her again.
When her laughter fades, she runs a hand down his very warm cheek. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For having no expectations. For being my safe place. For always waiting until I’m ready.”
“It’s not a hardship to love you.”
“I just...I had so many fears for so long about what it would mean to marry a stranger, and I was so wrong. About you. About everything.”
“I would kiss you, but my fire magic is growing difficult to control.”
“Then let’s be done talking.” She recalls his words from last night and the night before as his face hovers so near hers, making her ache for him to close the distance between them, but he’s so hot. She can feel the heat radiating from his skin. “No more thinking. Just feeling.”
“No more walls,” he whispers.
“Nothing between us.”
And as she follows him from the bed to the tub in the corner, it all feels right, the way it did in the darkness of the heartlanding the night she gave him everything. There’s nothing to hide. Nothing to fear.
Just Cerian and his heat. His magic. His love.
“I love you, Cerian Westaria,” she whispers as their bodies entwine once more. “Until my end of days.”
Made for This
