I slam against his chest and think about how it felt to lower onto him the night before. It was… powerful.
There were few times I was so in control of what I wanted.
His mouth moves forward to kiss my throat from behind. Kisses slowly trail up the column of my neck until he reaches my ear.
“Do you love me?”
I nod.
“Then whatever you want, my star, is yours. When you are tired, rest your head on my lap. I will give you my strength when you feel weak, my courage when you are afraid, but most of all—I give you every piece of my body and soul.Use me.”
My whole body quivers at the lush sound of his deep voice. It is fine that he enjoys speaking to me through our minds,but there's something about the vibrations of his throat against my tender skin that is… home.
I feel it from the tip of my scalp to my toes.
It’s natural to turn around once more, to wrap my legs around his hips for a change and press onto him. It isn’t the same as the water, but I like seeing him pushed against the cold stone wall. It makes my frantic movements against his hips feel like peace.
His eyes flutter closed as we rock together again and again.
I take his hands, interlocking our fingers and pushing them against the wall to gain more traction.
He presses his hips up to meet mine with every stroke until the heightened awareness comes, and he breaks free from my hands to wrap his arms around me. Each contraction, every jerk, every explosion of warmth is amplified by the tight clasp of his arms.
We fall so hard and so utterly together that the crash has us slumping back against the wall. He doesn’t speak, but his hand is almost reverent as it rubs absentminded circles along my back.
When I look up, I find his hair sticking out around his head. It’s wild and untamed, like the first wildflowers that blossom in spring. I’ve never seen the silver locks so messy before. Reaching out, I try to smooth down one of the strands, only for it to pop back up. I laugh.
He looks down at me, his strong jaw tipping toward that glowing mark on his neck as he mocks anger.
“Don’t you know that a man doesn’t like to be laughed at after lovemaking,” he growls.
One hand lightly smacks my bare ass, and I shiver.
“I’m laughing at your hair,” I say, reaching up to twist one of the tangled silver strands around my fingers.
He purseshis lips.
“I like it like this,” he says. I pause, grinning, all the pain from earlier washed away in the fire between us. “I think I will wear it like this every day. Let the others look at their king, thoroughly ravaged by his queen. Let them be jealous.”
My eyes go wide, and my cheeks turn red. “Absolutely not. Let me braid it.”
His hand stops tracing lazy, branding circles over the scars on my back, and he looks down at me.
“You would braid my hair?” he asks softly, trying not to reveal just how much he enjoys the idea.
I nod.
He grins. “Very well, my queen. As you command.”
He pushes up.
I marvel at the way we feel together. Time apart hasn’t ruined the way we fit. My mind doesn’t show me a ruined memory. Instead I see his eyes as he listened to me ramble about my dream, how he promised me safety.
Gods, I’m trying so hard to make sure that I don’t fuck things up again. I don’t want the giants destroying any more houses. I can’t be careless like I was after Mikal was first taken. During those weeks, loneliness was a cruel thing, and it made me cruel in turn.
When Teo returns, he holds a rag to clean the sticky seed between my legs before leading me back into the room. He hands me the stone comb he used the night before, sets me on the bed, and then sits in front of me.
The naked intimacy between the two of us is enough to fill an eternity of spaces.
