The Dark God regained himself enough to move. He slid inside of her again, and this time he did not draw it out. He set a punishing rhythm. Koryn took it all so beautifully, and still cried out, “More!”
His hand returned to her clit. I slid my own down to cup my balls while the other stroked my cock in time to the Dark God’s relentless pace. I would not be able to hold off much longer. Thankfully, neither would Koryn. We’d only been together a few times, but every sound she’d ever made in my arms was tattooed in my mind as permanently as the Lifebind on my wrist.
The Dark God stopped, suddenly. He spread his palm out wide on the rounded cheek of Koryn’s bottom. His chest heaved mightily. I recognized the feeling, the way he grappled forcontrol. I couldn’t see his face now; it was bent close to his chest. Then Koryn whimpered and the moment fractured.
He thrust into her a final time, and that was all it took. Koryn screamed her climax to the world, unfettered and unconcerned about who heard. I devoured it the same way I wished to devour her. My own release exploded out of me, coating my hand, fist, and the front of my trousers. The Dark God threw his head back again, the only sound a low, inhuman groan as he found his completion.
My body did not want to move, but it had to. I eased myself back from the door. The hand that was not coated in my own release curled around the handle and closed it silently. I got it closed just in time to press my forehead against it. The door was thick, but I kept my breaths shallow so that they would not be heard on the other side.
My breathing had almost returned to normal. I was tucking myself back inside my trousers, wiping my hand on the ruined pantleg, when he appeared.
“Did you enjoy the show, halfling?” the Dark God crooned.
This time, he did not appear on the opposite wall. He stood right next to me, one shoulder resting against the wall, arms folded. His leathers were back in place, but he hadn’t bothered with a shirt or vest. I could see all of that without lifting my head from where it was still pressed against the door.
“I have a name. So does she,” I growled, keeping my voice low. Koryn was on the other side of that door.
Of everything I’d just witnessed, that was what haunted me. I’d hold the image of them in my mind, forever. Even now, my cock stirred at the memory. But the name.Sweetling. Koryn hated nicknames; she’d told me so. Yet he’d called hersweetling, and she’d let him. And he called mehalfling.
The Dark God hummed, as if considering. “Names are intimate,” he said.
“And this wasn’t?” I turned to face him, still supporting my weight on the door. “You knew I was watching.”
He did not confirm it. But he did not deny it, either. He just lifted his dark brows, then narrowed them as he considered my expression.
“You could have joined us,” he finally said. “She misses you. Terribly.”
It was the first pain the interaction had caused, and he wielded it like a knife—straight to my chest.
“She wanted you,” I said. My voice was gruffer than I wanted, but what did it matter? This was the Dark God. The most powerful of the pantheon. The creator of the witches. The bonded of my bonded.
His blue-black eyes bore into mine. He was the one missing clothes, yet I felt exposed.
“It does not have to be one or the other,” he said. His gaze dropped to my mouth. “But I am more interested in knowing what you want.”
My spent cock twitched again as the Dark God swiped his tongue over his bottom lip. But it was my heart that answered. Her heart might not beat any longer, but mine did—for her.
“She is the only thing I have let myself want since…” I paused long enough to shove down the pain. If I let the past pile on top of the present, I’d never dig myself out. “In a very long time.”
The Dark God seemed to consider that. He leaned his own head to the side until it rested against the brick wall, parallel now with mine. We stood there in silence for several long heartbeats, staring at one another.
“Do you want to know my name, Garrick?” he asked, his voice as quiet as mine, holding the moment close, keeping it between the two of us.
Hoping was how I got hurt. But wanting… I could not stop it. Not now. Koryn had shoved her way into my heart, and now it was wide open. I should have said no. Instead, I told the truth.
“Yes.”
I expected him to disappear. I’d blink, and he’d be gone, leaving me with a half-hardened cock and the irritation of knowing he had the upper hand. But instead, the Dark God of Velora leaned in. He pressed his cheek against mine and inhaled deeply. Then he brushed his lips over the stubble just below my ear.
“Syleris,” he breathed.
Intensity built in my chest. My eyes closed.Syleris.
For one inhale, one exhale, our breaths mingled. Then I opened my eyes, and he was gone. Syleris was gone. But I was not alone.
CHAPTER 29
KORYN
