Inhaling, I tugged magic from the air around us, feeding it like flames into my hands. The bruises began to lighten, but that wasn't enough. After gently turning her to face away from me, and shifting her hair across one shoulder, I kissed each deep purple shadow marring her skin, infusing my touch with healing power.
A hum rumbled in her chest, and her body loosened further.
“Better?” I rasped, my lips grazing her ear as heat surged through me. She nodded, and I pressed another kiss beneath one of her ears, one full of need.
Turning her back around, I trailed kisses along her neck and collarbone, my hands following the journey. Her skin, painted with the marks of battle, responded as I worked, the bruises fading. A swipe of my thumb across an inflamed gash along her arm, and the faint glow of my magic faded the angry red into nothingness. I sealed each wound with a kiss.
When I brushed my thumbs across her arms again, lazily trailing over already-healed skin, she lifted her head to meet mygaze. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, her lips parted, and her cheeks were flushed, and not only from the steam.
“You're thorough.” Her voice came out husky, and there was no mistaking the slight tremor of unspoken need beneath her playful tone.
“Always.” Her warmth, her heartbeat, the feel of her… It was all-consuming. I trailed my fingers up her arms before gliding them down to settle along her ribs. “Where else does it hurt?”
“Here.”
When she pressed her fingertip against her lips, I kissed her, pulling back to give her a crooked smile. “Anywhere else?”
“I think… here.” She slid her fingertips across the tops of her breasts.
I cupped them and ran my thumbs across her nipples.
She tipped her head back and released a soft moan.
I leaned closer, my breath brushing her ear. “Anywhere else?”
“Everywhere, Lore. I ache for you everywhere.”
I settled on the seat beside her and tugged her onto my lap, spreading her legs around my thighs. Holding her ass, I dragged her forward until she was seated flush against my rigid cock.
Her head tipped back, and she clung to my shoulders, grinding her body against mine.
Pride coiled deep in my chest. Not the kind of hollow pride a crown gave a man, but the utter joy of knowing I could bring this woman to the point where she could shed every wall and defense. The thought fanned the fire inside me, spreading heat through my blood.
I slid my hands forward and while rubbing her clit with one hand, I moved the other beneath her and surged my fingers inside.
“Lore,” she gasped, the subtle roll of her hips as she adjusted against me making my cock ache. My body tightened in response, hard and throbbing.
Her breath shuddered, and she clung to me tighter, her nails digging into my shoulders. I welcomed the bite, the proof that she was here, with me, wanting this as much as I did. Her pulse throbbed in her throat, and her gasps echoed around us.
“Lore,” she moaned again, her voice a sweet plea that sent shivers tracking through me. I loved the way she said my name, like it was both a secret and a promise. I wanted to hear it again and again, forever.
I leaned in, capturing her lips with mine. She opened for me, her tongue meeting mine in a fierce dance. I could taste the battle on her, the sweat and blood and fear, but beneath it all, something sweet that was uniquely her. I deepened the kiss, wanting more of this woman. My wife.
Her hips began to move faster, grinding against my hand. Her heat, her desire was intoxicating. I curled my fingers inside her, hitting that spot that made her gasp and her body shudder.
“Right there,” she breathed against my mouth. “Don't stop.”
I had no intention of stopping. I wanted to make her feel good, to make her forget everything but me. I wanted to give her pleasure, to give her love.
I trailed kisses down her neck, her collarbone, her chest. Taking one of her nipples into my mouth, I sucked on it, stroking my tongue across it until she writhed against me. Dragging my mouth to the other, I gave it the same attention. Her cries filled the chamber, echoing off the stone walls.
When her body started to tense, I pulled my fingers out of her hot passage.
Her grip tightened on my shoulders to the point of pinch. “You stopped,” she growled, her eyes wild and feral.
“Take what you need from my body, love. All of me is yours.” I lifted her only far enough to center my cock at her entrance.
Then I let her drop down, seating my body deep inside hers.
