I pulled the dagger from my belt.
He slid it through in one precise slice, the very tip of the blade skimming my skin. I inhaled sharply, eyes flying up, only to find Arran’s eyes glowing. “I shall make you pay for that.”
“And every harsh word I have said.” Guilt flashed in his eyes. No, I would not allow that.
I began undressing him, tugging loose the buttons across his chest, shoving the leather vest over his shoulders. I raked my fingernails along the tawny skin as it emerged.
“How?” he murmured. “Why now?”
It took me a moment to realize what he was asking.
When I did, I rocked back onto my heels. Not releasing him entirely. I doubted I would stop touching him anytime in the next month, at least.
“I—” I scraped my teeth across my lower lip. “I hunted down the witch in the Spine. I asked her what I had to do—how to get your memories back.” There was my heart—wild and frantic in my chest. “But she said—she said it might never happen, there was no way…”
Realization spread through me like ice over the lake.
Arran was in my space immediately, stroking my cheek, gripping my waist. Unwilling to let me retreat back into myself. “What is it?”
I closed my eyes, too afraid to look at his perfect face as I confessed. “It is because I decided I would go on without you.”
“Oh, Ancestors. You are going to hate me.” His hands were going to withdraw any second. A betrayal—that is what it was. Elayne had told me once, that I could love them both, my kingdom and my mate. But it was a lie—a foolish fallacy. “I decided that no matter what happened between us, whether you chose me or not… I would go on. I would keep fighting—for Annwyn, I would—"
Arran grabbed my hands. He lifted them to his mouth, pressing his lips to each knuckle. “I could never hate you, Veyka.” Then my palm, the inside of my wrist. “You are the other half of my soul. I… I do not think I could have survived, if our fates had been reversed.”
He dragged his tongue over the thrumming pulse just above my wrist. “I am proud of you, Veyka.” Scraped his canines over the vein. “I love you. I will love you for a thousand years.”
“And a thousand more.”
I had no more words. They were too hard, there had been too many. I needed my mate. All of my mate—the male who’d fallen in love with me in Baylaur, who’d taught me to love him as we crossed a continent, who’d declared his allegiance and chosen me again here at Eilean Gayl, even in the face of pain and loss.
I realized then—this bond between us was something else. A mating bond, yes. The primal connection of our souls. But it was a bond we’d chosen, both of us, again and again. It was not destiny that made our love strong. It was the fact that we were willing to give ourselves to one another, to choose each other day after brutal day.
I stood only long enough to shimmy out of my leggings. Arran, bless him, did the same. Slower—because his eyes were fixed upon me. His gaze traced the lines of my body as I exposed them to the cold, layer by layer. Gooseflesh spread across my skin, my nipples pebbling into tight buds.
I knew that when I spread my legs, the wetness on the insides of my thighs would be gilded with moonlight.
“Veyka.” Arran’s voice was hoarse. Desperate. A prayer, but not to the Ancestors. No, this male belonged entirely to me.
I cupped one breast, letting its weight fill my palm before pinching my nipple. The other dipped to my pussy. I was so wet, so ready for him. Beyond ready. Needy. But I savored the feral longing on his face as I dipped my fingertips between my folds. When I drew them out, they glistened withme.
For a second, I contemplated licking them clean myself. But I was much too impatient. I needed Arran inside me.
His hands were ready, digging into the soft folds of flesh at my waist and lowering me down. Ancestors, his cock was magnificent. Had it only been a week since it was buried inside of me? It felt like a lifetime. As I angled myself above him, the moonlight caught the bead of come on his tip. I longed to lick it off. Later, I promised myself.
When Arrran nudged at my entrance, all thoughts of later disappeared from my mind. There was only now—us, this, together. Forever. I shoved my wet fingers into his mouth at the same moment that he thrust up into me. I did not know which of us moaned louder, but we moaned in unison.
The entire castle would be awake by the time we were through. But a thousand eyes could not have stopped me. Not with Arran sucking on my fingers, licking away my wetness as if it was the sweetest nectar. Not with his cock buried inside of me, stroking up and up and deeper and…
“Arran,” I pleaded. “Arran, oh fucking… Arran.”
He grabbed my hips, trying to control the pace. To slow me down. But it was impossible. I was certain that if I slowed even a fraction, I would die. I rode him, driving my hips forward, my knees into the stones of the training ring, the scent of lilac all around us. I felt all of it, all at once, a glorious cacophony of sensations. Rising. Higher and higher.
My pussy began to clench. I was so close. The stars began to swim before my eyes. Arran grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand from his mouth. He laced his fingers with mine, pulling me back. My eyes met his and stayed, the demand in those blazing black orbs impossible to escape.
Mine.
The word was a growl through the bond.
