Lore's gaze dropped to where my hand was, his eyes darkening. “That's it, love. Such a good girl.”
My breath hitched, my body tensing as the tension built. I didn't want to go alone. I wanted him with me, wanted to feel him lose control at the same time.
“Take all of me,” I groaned. “Now, love. Now.”
I wasn’t begging for the orgasm. I was pleading for the promise that this was real, that he was real, that the burn between us meant I was no longer trying to survive a nightmare alone.
He groaned, his hips moving faster, his cock driving into me with enough force to send me all the way up to the headboard. Every thrust stripped away another layer between us. I let him have all of it. All of me. Every secret, every scar, even the ones carved in silence. I gave them to him. We were chasing the same joy, the same release, the same profound connection we'd found so many times before.
“Close,” he grunted. “So fucking close, Reyla. Tell me you want this life with me.”
“Yes,” I gasped, meeting his eyes. “I want this life. I want you. I want our children and our home and a future growing old together.”
His eyes flashed with pure joy and possession. “All of it. We'll have all of it.”
My fingers moved faster, my orgasm within reach.
With a deep, powerful thrust, Lore pushed me over the edge.
My orgasm hit like a storm, waves of it crashing over me. I cried out, my body convulsing, my inner walls clenching around his cock. He groaned, his body stiffening, and then he was coming too, his cock pulsing inside me, filling me with his heat.
We rode it out together, our bodies trembling, our hearts pounding. The world narrowed to this. The growl in his throat. The way our pulses jumped at the same beat. This was us, stripped bare, a promise neither death nor time could steal away.
His forehead rested against mine, and our eyes locked.
As the last of the tremors subsided, Lore kissed me, his lips lingering on mine. He rolled us over, pulling me onto his chest, his arms wrapping around me like a protective cocoon.
“Love you, Wildfire. No one will ever keep us apart. They’ll try. Spells, war, time—all of it. But I’ll outlast them all for you.”
I smiled, gliding my fingertips across his face, the curve of his lips. “Love you too, Lore. I'm so glad you came for me.”
Lore had always been a storm. Searing. Brilliant. Dangerous. Now I felt the calm eye of him, the peace I could live in.
Moving up his body, I kissed his jaw. “You found me. I’ll never stop finding you.”
I'd gladly die for him, and he knew that.
But I also wanted the chance to live.
Chapter 10
Reyla
We'd made love through the night, neither of us able to get enough. I woke to sunlight streaming through the curtains and Farris bouncing on the bed, covering my face with enthusiastic licks.
“Someone missed you,” Lore said against my neck, his morning voice rough with sleep and satisfaction.
“Just someone?” I threaded my fingers through his hair.
“Well, I did tear the shadow realm apart to get you back.” His lips found that sensitive spot below my ear. “So perhaps I missed you a little too.”
A knock rang out on the door, and Farris yipped and bounded back toward the sitting area.
“My king? My queen?” Lord Briscalar called from beyond the door. “I'm terribly sorry to disturb you. But something unusual and quite unexpected has occurred, and I felt it prudent to come to you right away about it.”
Lore gave me a lazy, satisfied grin. “We couldsend him away. Nothing is as important as this.” His fingertips traced across my belly, and heat coiled deep.
“My queen?” the lord called out again. “My king? Are you…alright?”
