She tried to close her eyes, but he stopped. “Look at me.” When her gaze met his, he rolled his hips into hers, and she lifted, meeting him halfway. Every stroke was ethereal, and the sounds they made were primal.
No thoughts ran through his mind other than his need for her. Taking her once wasn’t enough, but for now, it was all he had. They stared into each other’s eyes, refusing to look away as their skin came together again and again.
Releasing one of her hands, he moved his own to her neck,feeling her pulse beat wildly. “Never have I seen anything more beautiful,” he murmured and pushed his cock as deep as possible, wanting to touch every inch of her.
She gasped, and the look in her eyes would have brought him to his knees had he been standing. “I love you,” she whispered, lifting her hips faster.
“Fuck.” He grunted between pants as his cock grew at her words.
Their movements grew frantic as they chased the high only the other could give. Squeezing his cock almost to the point of pain, she came, and he welcomed the ache, slamming into her harder. He finished, calling her name like a prayer.
Nothing would ever compare to making love to his mate, hiswife. The room shimmered, and she propped herself up on her elbow, tugging him to her. “I love you, husband.”
He sighed, happier than he’d ever been in his long existence becausethey were the sweetest words he’d ever heard.
“And I love you, wife.”
The first thingCaius did when he opened his eyes was check the palm of his right hand. He stared disbelieving at the UmbraAeternumsigil.It worked. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t think it would because they possessed none of their abilities in the soulscape.
His head tilted toward the aether, and he whispered, “Thank you, Lora.”
He was a married man, and his wife had one more layer of protection against his brother.
The elation he felt made the marks on his arms recede. When Sam returned, they’d figure out what Caius needed tocreateto get through the barrier.
Sam’s arrival couldn’t come soon enough.
43
ERDIKOA
Gedeon woke with a start,rubbing his chest at the burning there. It didn’t hurt, per se, but it wasn’t comfortable either, and unease prickled down his spine.
As a child, their nanny would complain about indigestion, and how she explained it made it sound similar to Gedeon’s current ailment.
Sighing, he left his bed and padded to the bathroom to relieve himself, ignoring the cries coming from the woman on the floor. He finished his business and crouched down next to her.
“Why do you cry?” Tears streamed down her face, and he smirked. “It’s not as though I’ve beaten you. I keep you fed, I give you water, and I even give your chains enough slack to reach the toilet when I leave,” he crooned, reaching out to rub her face, but she yanked her head away. “Yet here you sit, an ungrateful little bitch.” His voice was smooth, masking the pleasure he felt at the suffering little lamb in front of him.
“Fuck you,” she spat as she lunged toward him.
He laughed, thoroughly enjoying the show. “You’re lucky I haven’t killed you, and if I didn’t need you alive, you’d lose your head for your tone alone.”
“If I could, I’d kill myself to stop you.” Her chest heaved as she hurled her hate at him. “You’re a fucking monster.”
“And you’re a means to an end.” He left her and entered the bedroom to get dressed for the day. Grabbing the phone on the nightstand, he sent a quick text, setting up a meetup for later that afternoon.
He’d have Aurora Raven in his clutches soon. When he did, Caius would suffer as he watched every bit of the torture inflicted upon his mate. And when Gedeon killed her, his brother would follow. The anguish would leave him unable to live with himself for failing to protect her.
Two birds. One stone.
44
Roryand her father pulled on their rented shoes at the rollerball alley while Sam stood in his socks. They didn’t have shoes big enough to fit his feet, and when he said he wasn’t playing, Rory wore him down until he reluctantly agreed.
He deserved more fun, and she was determined to give it to him. When she and Cora were younger, their father would bring them to the rollerball alley on the weekends he had off. Even though he owned his own veterinarian clinic, he and the other doctors that worked for him rotated out weekends to be on call.
It was the perfect activity for today.
