Maybe I could wait a little longer. Lying my head back againstthe flowers, I closed my eyes in bliss, knitting my fingers through his hair. The pleasure ascended into an uncomfortable fire. My hips squirmed in his grip, and I heard him chuckle.
Pulling away from him, I grabbed his collar, trying to guide him back on top of me. He effortlessly ripped from my grip, tutting with disapproval.
He planted a kiss on my thigh, murmuring against my skin. “Did I not say I wanted to take my time?”
“I don’t want to,” I gasped.
“You’ve spent the last few weeks thinking your time was up. I’m trying to teach you that it isn’t.” He pressed a kiss on my inner thigh. “Relax.”
I did no such thing. Sitting up, back arched, I gritted my teeth as his tongue started dancing between my legs again. This wasn’t pleasure. It wastorment. I’d never felt such a burning need to have a man inside me before.
Biting my lip, I stared at his stupid pile of gorgeous hair and forced an emotion on him. The spell took effect with ease—the lust Seth was experiencing increased tenfold as I brought him to the brink of desire.
Desperately tearing his mouth from my entrance, Seth climbed atop me and plunged himself inside me.
“Gods.” He shuddered as he began thrusting, hard and fast. “You feel incredible.”
I laid back with relief, grabbing his hips to guide him, to prevent him from stopping. I found the laces of his tunic and untied them until the bare skin of our chests touched.
Overcome by the pleasure blooming at my core, I lost concentration on my spell. Seth smirked when he regained his mind, but his pace didn’t slow. “How dare you?” He growled, kissing me. His tongue intertwined with mine, and his teeth grazed my lips as they parted.
I giggled, pressing my hips to his sides.
Maybe I’d been a little too eager. Already, I could feel the soaring bliss of release coming.
Seth buried himself inside me and stopped abruptly. My eyes flew open, staring at him in confusion. He ran his hand through my hair, tangling his fingers in my curls. “I’m not done with you,yet.”
I squirmed beneath him, but it was too late. Dissatisfaction arrived where contentment should have been.
Seth’s eyes flicked over me, watching my breathing steady and my body fall limp. Smiling with satisfaction, he pulled out of me before sheathing himself inside me again.
“I swear to the gods,” I gasped. “If you do that again . . .”
“I’ll do whatever I like to you,” he breathed. “You belong to me.”
He had the audacity to kiss me, and I folded like a spineless maiden beneath his touch. The moment his lips broke from mine, I panted out a rebuttal. “I’m going to stab you.”
Seth’s face broke as he chuckled. Holding me tightly in his arms, he pressed his lips to mine and made love to me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
He didn’t stop this time. I felt his grip on me tighten, and his kiss deepened. I pressed myself against him, wanting to be as close as physically possible.
Burying his face in my neck, Seth whispered three words. “I love you.”
I grabbed the back of his neck, letting our emotions intertwine, feeling his thoughts as mine. Depths of passion I hardly understood underlined his words, and rushing light traced through my chest, almost painful.
For years, I’d dreamed of falling in love. But not until now did I understand how it felt.
Wrapping my arms around him, I held him tightly until he slowed, my hips relaxed, and we fell still.
Breathing heavily, Seth kissed my forehead and braced himself on his elbow. His hand wandered down my side, seeking mine. Interlacing his fingers with mine, he stared at our knitted hands before meeting my eyes.
“Marry me,” he said.
I blinked. “What?”
He twisted his fingers around mine, staring at our wrists as though something was there. My heart flipped.
When I’d thumbed through Seraphim’s journal to find his new tattoo, I’d glimpsed a design meant for couples in love. When their hands met, the images would conjoin into one.
