“If we try not to think about it too much, we can almost pretend that we’re on our honeymoon,” Iannis said, and Ilaughed.
“I’d envisioned white beaches rather than camping in the woods, but this will do in a pinch,” I said, skimming my hand through his long hair. It felt so good to have him back, and as he stroked a hand gently down my side, my skin began to heat. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t celebrate,” I purred, movingcloser.
Iannis slipped his arm around me, and our mouths met in a deep, passionate kiss. We took it slow, with soft, loving kisses, and I let myself melt into him, forgetting about the worries of the world. His strong muscles flexed beneath my hands as I rubbed slow circles around his back, and then he rolled me over, trailing more kisses along the edge of my jaw, then down myneck.
“It feels like an age since I’ve last made love to you,” he murmured against my collarbone. I felt a tingle of magic, and then suddenly our clothes were gone and we were skin to skin. I arched my hips into his hard length, and he pressed me back down with a growl, biting down. I moaned as his hand slid between my legs, where I was already wet and aching, and I opened readily forhim.
“Yes,” I moaned as his thumb found my sweet spot. He slid two fingers inside me as he stroked my clit, and I came almost immediately, arching off the ground again as pleasure speared through me. I scored my nails down his back as he kept going, using those talented fingers to drive me wild as he sucked one of my nipples into his mouth. I was on fire, a deep hunger clawing me from the inside, and I wanted to wrap myself up in him until I didn’t know where he began and Iended.
“Please,” I panted after he’d sent me over the edge again. I reached for his cock, and he hissed as I gently began to stroke him. “I want you insideme.”
“More,” he said, wrapping his hand around mine and urging me faster. I kissed him hard as he did, loving the feel of him in my hand as I tasted him. He groaned into my mouth, and I took advantage of the distraction, rising up to flip him onto hisback.
“Gotcha,” I said with a grin as I slowly lowered myself onto him. We both moaned as he filled me completely, stretching me until I was both satisfied and aching for more. Bracing my hands on his rock-solid chest, I began to rock up and down, gently at first, then faster as the pleasure began to build inside me. Iannis’s eyes blazed, his violet irises taking on a warm glow from the flickering fire, and he gripped my hips, pushing me faster as hethrust.
I leaned down for a kiss, and he grabbed my ass and ground my hips against his hardness, triggering another climax. I groaned into his mouth as I shook with pleasure, holding on for dear life as he continued to pound into me. Warmth filled me as he came inside me with a rush, and his body stiffened beneath mine in joyfulrelease.
Sighing, I collapsed against him, and we lay there in silence, panting as we worked to catch our breath. His heart hammered against my ear as I traced patterns through the light dusting of hair on his chest, and as his heartbeat evened out, it became a comforting sound lulling me tosleep.
“I love you,” Iannis said softly as he stroked my hair. I mumbled that I loved him too, then fell asleep to the sound of the fire crackling and his slow, steady breathing. There would be time enough to worry about our circumstances tomorrow—for now, just being here with him wasenough.
18
The next morning,I awoke to the sensation of something warm and heavy sliding along my leg. At first, I thought it was simply Iannis rubbing his foot against my calf, but thesomethingbegan to wrap around my leg in a way that a human legdefinitelywasn’t capableof.
“What the…” I mumbled blearily as I pulled the blanket aside. My eyes widened as a bright yellow snake lifted his massive triangular head and flicked his forked tongue at me. “Fuck!” I yelled, trying to leap to my feet, but the snake squeezed harder, preventing me from gettingup.
“What is it?” Iannis shouted, jolting upright. He swore at the sight of the boa, who was rapidly winding itself around my body, though luckily my arms were still free. The giant reptile was halfway up my torso when my brain finally kicked in, and I pulled one of my crescent knives, then grabbed the snake by the throat and impaled him with the long end of theweapon.
“Eww,” I groaned as black blood splashed all over my face. I gagged as I accidentally got some in my mouth, and turned my head to spit itout.
“Well, that was quite a scare,” Iannis said as he pulled the now limp snake off my body. The reptile was very heavy, a good twelve feet long and six inches around, and I shuddered in disgust as I watched Iannis drag the carcass out of the tent. “Do you think we should have it for breakfast?” he called over hisshoulder.
“Ha. Ha.” I rolled my eyes, then got to my feet and took stock of myself. Thankfully I hadn’t been wearing my clothes, but the snake blood had gotten all over our sleeping bags. I used a cleaning spell to take care of the stains, then pulled on my clothes as Iannis came back into thetent.
“Is that really necessary?” he asked, still buck-naked himself. “It isn’t as if there’s anyone around to seeus.”
I laughed. “We can’t spend all day having sex,” I said. “And besides, I’d rather not be naked when the next predator comes by to eatme.”
“True,” Iannis agreed as he donned his robe. “It seems the fire wasn’t enough to warn them off. I’ll have to put a protection spell around theperimeter.”
We cut off some of the leftover deer and broke our fast as we watched the quasi-bison graze in the distance—Iannis and I decided to call them “quasis” forshort.
“How were you able to get away from Solantha at a time like this?” I asked. “I know you’ve got Chen to run things in your absence, but with the Convention about to start, and you gone, she must be pulling her hairout.”
“Yes, and I feel bad about leaving her alone to deal with that mess,” Iannis said. “But without you, there can be no wedding, and the Convention is of little import to me. Of course I had to come afteryou.”
“How did you know that I was in Manuc?” I asked. “Were you able to sense me? The serapha charms weren’t working before. Ta’sradala must have done something tothem.”
Iannis shook his head. “They didn’t work for me either, and I was terrified that meant you were dead. Luckily, Liu saw you being pulled into the pool—she was hiding in a cherry tree nearby. From the way she described the scene, I gathered someone with incredible power had to have taken you, and the list of suspects was short enough. No living mage could have doneit.”
“Not evenyou?”
“Not even me. Coupled with the recent letter from my mother, Manuc seemed like the most likely place to start looking. In fact, Aunt Deryna sent a message warning me of what had happened that found me just as I was embarking on the east coast.” He looked grave. “She warned me to prepare for the worst—that it was unlikely I’d still find you alive. It is a good thing she underestimated you, as so many have donebefore.”
I grimaced. “No, her prognosis was pretty spot-on. I’m very lucky to be alive. Your grandmother definitely didn’t intend for me to survive those awful tests. And now that she sent you off to that horrible desert with me, I can’t imagine she cares for anyone at all. All that bluster about you being part of the family…I have to wonder how she treats her enemies, if this is how she acts toward her loved ones.” I shook my head indisgust.
Iannis laughed sharply. “At least now you know why I don’t like to speak of my Tua heritage. I’ve often wished my mother were an ordinary mage or even human. My greatest ambition is to be as unlike Ta’sradala and her ilk aspossible.”
