I vowed to him through song that I would defy everyone and everything who stood against us or between us. I sang that he was everything I needed now—my entire world in one man—and if that made me wicked, so be it. He was my path to heaven—the only way I could touch the stars. Maybe this had started as a mistake and maybe it was wrong, but it didn't matter anymore because what we found was real. It was worth the fight and any amount of pain. It was worth the risk of death and the possibility of scorn. Let them cast their stones and their spears; our love would shield us.
I continued to sing as Verin rose to his knees, then covered my body with his. I crooned softly to him as he set himself at my entrance and my voice rose along with his passionate groan as he merged with me for the first time. His body pressed mine down into the mattress and his lips went to my throat, kissing the vibration of my song as it emerged. He began to move, slowly and deeply. I clutched him closer, my entire body coming alive with the feeling of him. That hard shaft moving within the grip of my sex, those tender lips sliding up my throat, and those powerful muscles bunching and releasing under my hands.
Verin brushed his lips over mine as I continued to sing. He drew back but I slid my hand into his hair to hold him there, just inches away, so I could stare into his eyes as music and sex and magic united us. Power pulsed around and inside us. I could feel it shivering through his chest, responding to his love for me—love that equaled mine for him. To feel the certainty of that—toknowthat the man I loved, loved me just as completely—broke the last of my resistance to the love spell.
As my song softened into its conclusion, my words took on weight. They settled like armor beneath our skin and became one final vow that merged with Vivian's spell, magnifying it while obliterating all of the obstacles that had held it at bay—mainly my love for any man who wasn't Verin. Freed from restriction, the spell took control but I didn't notice. I was too busy helping it. Too busy rejoicing in its victory. Instead, I perceived that burst of power as something else entirely.
As the music faded, Verin covered my mouth with his and sealed our fate with a kiss.
Chapter Sixteen
After that initial interlude, things got spicier. We had broken a dam that had held back an ocean. The ocean came for us, swept us along, and cradled us within its currents for hours. The next morning, I laid beside Verin and watched him sleep. A soft smile played about my lips as I recalled the night before. He'd made love to me in every way that a man could and in a few positions that I hadn't known were possible. He'd gone from tender to savage and back again, making my head spin and my body weep with desire. I had screamed and laughed and went silent in wondrous awe.
Flashes of our lovemaking kept playing in my head. Verin above me, his body glistening with sweat as he pounded into me barbarically. Him below me as I straddled his waist and then his face. Those glowing eyes full of love and arousal as he sucked at my breast or lay sprawled between my legs. Verin spread out before me, face twisted with ecstasy as I took him into my mouth and his hand fisted in my hair. It went on and on. My body trembled just thinking about it.
There are other men you should be thinking about,Kyanite said gently.
I frowned.I don't think I love them anymore, Ky.
The silence was thick with horror.Elaria, this isn't you. I think your song has somehow increased the potency of Vivian's spell.
Ky, I'm tired of defending this,I grumbled.I love Verin. It's not the spell anymore. I felt something burst last night when I sang to him. I think it was Vivian's spell; I think I destroyed it. This is real now, Ky. What we feel for each other is real and Verin is who I'm supposed to be with.
What about your husbands? Your fiancé?
I'll tell them I want a divorce and the wedding is off.
What?! Elaria, you can't.
Ky, if you're going to be like this, I'm putting you back in time-out.
Elaria, my love, don't do that. I can't bear to be alone again. Please.
I won't if you stop hounding me about my husbands,I said petulantly.
Very well,he said in resignation.I will hold my tongue.
You don't have a tongue,I teased him.
Kyanite didn't laugh.
Verin stirred and I instantly focused on him. He opened his eyes, met my gaze, and smiled in satisfaction.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he rumbled.
“Good morning, Dragon. Sleep well?”
“Better than I have in many years.” Verin stretched and rolled onto his side, propping himself on an elbow. “Even though I didn't get much sleep.”
“Maybe we should tone it down tonight,” I suggested innocently.
Verin growled, grabbed my waist, and pulled me beneath him. He was inside me in three seconds flat, my body so wet with wanting that it gave him no resistance. I groaned in pleasure and wrapped my arms and legs around him. My hips lifted to meet his every languorous thrust.
Verin sighed and nestled his face against my throat. “I want to make love to you forever.”
“That might prove difficult.” I smiled against his temple.
He rose onto his forearms to smirk down at me. “Challenge accepted.”
