“Mmm. Love you,” she breathes.
My chest tightens. “I love you too. More than anything.”
Her breathing evens out within moments, and I hold her as the night settles around us. Two marks. Two mysteries. Two souls intertwined so deeply that even our bodies bear witness.
I don't understand what they mean, but I know this: she's mine. I'm hers. And whatever these marks represent—they’re ours.
I press my nose to her hair, breathing in her scent mixed with mine.
For the first time in 3000 years, I fall asleep with my bonded mate in my arms. The glowing mark on her belly is the last thing I see before I follow her into our dreams.
50
Chapter 51-
Andrik POV cont
Day 2
The sound of her breathing wakes me. We’re tangled together in the furs Saevel brought us—her back pressed to my chest, my arm wrapped around her waist. The Godfire has dimmed to embers, casting the clearing in soft blue light.
Her heat hasn’t broken. If anything, what we did last night has kicked it into full gear. I can smell it on her skin—that sweet floral scent that makes my kaevûn ache.
But she’s deeply asleep. ThethraevûnI gave her last night is still working through her system, combined with the sheer exhaustion of everything her body has been through. She won’t wake for hours.
I should let her rest. I ghost a kiss over her shoulder, careful not to disturb her.
Her hand twitches in her sleep and falls to the snow beside us, fingers curling into the freshly fallen powder. Andsomehow... I feel it. A phantom sensation that races down my spine—cold and electric, like fingers trailing across my skin.
I freeze.
What in thalûn’s name?
She does it again, fingers dragging lazily through the snow, and this time the sensation is stronger. It wraps around me, tightening like a fist around my shaft.
I bite back a groan, hips jerking involuntarily against her. Every time she touches a piece of the forest. I can feel it.
My breath comes faster as I stare at her hand. She’s completely unaware, lost in dreams, but every unconscious movement sends pleasure shooting through me.
Is this... the bond?
My heart pounds as I reach over and guide her hand to a patch of frostvine nearby. The moment her fingers brush the delicate tendrils, pleasure explodes through me.
“Gods—” I choke out, pressing my face into her shoulder to muffle the sound,
She doesn’t stir. I must have given her more venom than I realized, or now that we’re fully bonded, it has more of an effect on her.
Which means...
I move her hand again—this time to the god-fire warmed moss. The sensation shifts immediately. Warmth seeps into my chest, spreading lower, sinking into my skin like her palms dragging down my torso.
My cock throbs, already painfully hard.
One more. Just one more test.
I guide her hand back to the snow and nearly come undone. The cold wraps around me, ghost pressure that feels exactly like her hand stroking me from base to tip.
“Lumi—” I breathe her name, hand trembling as I pull hers away from the snow before I lose control completely.
