His eyes flicked to mine, but he didn’t vie for control. He merely guided me, hands gripping my hips to keep me balanced while I slowly lowered myself down on top of him. A soft groan escaped his lips as I sunk onto his cock inch by inch lower and lower, adjusting to his length until I could take all of him. I wished I could ingrain the way he looked at me—once I was fully settled atop him—into my memory. Like I was everything. Like I was forever. And he didn’t need to pretend because he was going to ensure it stayed that way.
I rocked my hips slowly, my own pleasure melding with his. His hands cupped my ass, pulling me deeper and deeper with every stroke until I could barely hold myself up. With my legs and arms shaking, he took the opportunity to flip me onto my back. He pressed back into me, bringing his fingers to my clit once more.
The combined sensation was too much and not enough all at once. I closed my eyes, gasping for air as a moan tore through my throat.
“Eyes on me, love,” he said, gently grabbing my jaw and turning me towards him. “I want to see your face when I send you over the edge.”
Fuck.
He raised my leg over his shoulder, angling himself to hit deeper than I thought possible. I wasn’t going to last another minute like this. I could already feel that familiar pressure coiling in my core. And he was taking me relentlessly, hard and fast.
“Alandris—I can’t—I’m going to...”
He leaned down to kiss me. “Let go, Nairu. You and me.”
Stars burst behind my eyes at the same time both of us cried out.
Alandris collapsed down on top of me, careful not to put his full weight down on me, and I shifted us to our sides. I curled up against his heaving chest, and he wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. I was utterly spent, and I could have, would have, passed out right then, just like that. Only Alandris’s voice kept me conscious.
“Let me clean you up. I’ll be right back.”
He wasn’t gone long, but I was still wavering in and out of sleep when he returned and pressed a warm rag between my thighs. “Mm, Alandris?”
“Yes, love?”
“Will you stay here?”
He hummed a laugh. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”
Sun was pouring in through the paper-thin, translucent screen doors leading out to the veranda. A ray of light hit my eye in just the right spot to stir me from my sleep. In a half-asleep haze, I curled deeper into the fur covers, pulling them up to my chin. I was far too warm and cozy to even consider waking up, especially knowing that another rough training session was awaiting me. A soft chuckle from in front of me elicited a grumble of protest from my lips.
I begrudgingly opened one eye to find the source of the noise propped up on his elbow, blanket scrunched up at his waist, the rest of him drenched in the soft morning glow. I opened my other eye only to get a closer look at the way it highlighted the curves of his muscles, brought out the blueish tones in his black hair. His appearance in the moonlight had been stunning, but the sun loved him equally.
Voice deep and groggy with sleep, he said, “Nairu, it’s time to wake up.” He dragged his fingertips along my shoulder, down my arm, and tracing along the curve of my waist and hip. “Trustme when I say I’d love to stay here with you all day long, but there will be many more mornings we can indulge. After.”
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to spend the day in bed?” I mumbled, trying to burrow myself deeper into the covers.
His hand stopped at my hip and gripped me there. “You probably could. That’s the problem.”
“I don’t see a problem with it. You can still teach me… maybe something other than magic.”
He groaned as though it were physically paining him to deny me. “Don’t be difficult.”
“My mistake.” I snickered.
Yielding to his wishes at last, I sat up, clutching the furs to my chest. Realization dawned on me too late, and my mouth dropped open. “We left our clothes in the snow overnight!”
“Jyuri has spare clothes for the two of us here. Your coming here was always a contingency plan we knew may need to happen.” He motioned to the wooden wardrobe in the far corner of the room. “I’ll let you get dressed. When you’re done, meet me in the kitchen. We’ll eat before we begin.”
I waited for him to slip on his clothes and exit before making my way to the wardrobe and pulling out black leathers and a maroon linen blouse. With any luck, my boots had made their way inside on their own because, if not, they’d be soaked through and freezing. I certainly hadn’t had the forethought last night to grab them before…. My cheeks heated at the thought.
Sheltered as I’d been, I’d never been intimate with anyone before. Not in this life, nor in any before it. The extent of my explorations came in the form of kissing strangers when my Keepers weren’t watching me like a hawk. A stable boy here, a drunken patron of an inn there. It’d meant nothing beyond satiating my curiosity. Even in this life, after obtaining some freedom on the Phoenix Heart, I’d never wanted more than a kiss—until Alandris.
That inescapable draw to him was something beyond normal. It was as he’d said before—it is your soul I am in love with. Devoid of my memories, maybe deep down, I somehow knew it was my Alandris. His soul would always call to mine.
“What is there to eat?” I called out, exiting the room. My voice trailed off with the realization that the two of us were no longer alone. There in the middle of the kitchen were Jyuri and Zorinna, far earlier to arrive than the one week we’d been informed of.
Jyuri crinkled his nose at the sight of me, exhaling a sigh. “Remind me to burn this place to the ground later.”
