His kiss crashes over me, and my skin rubs against the delicate fabric of his clothes. I unlace his shirt and slip him out of it, revealing his bare chest.
“Come with me.” I press my lips to his collarbone. “Kel and I will protect you in Winter.”
Sadness flickers across his features like the twinkle of starlightbefore he lowers his head to my neck. “The bargain will only send you. I belong here.”
“No,” I say, but my words cut off in a desperate cry as his mouth works my breast. Desire curls deep inside of me, like a caged animal thrashing to break free. “You belong with me.”
“I wish it were so, Flower.”
Desperately, I unbuckle his belt, and he kicks, breaking free of his pants entirely. He rises above me, dark hair falling over his eyes. “Of every wicked thing I’ve done in my life, this might just top them all.”
“Wicked?” I gasp.
He smiles, and it’s so soft and dazzling, a part of me melts inside. Caspian runs a rough hand along my body, gripping my thigh.
“This will save you, and the cost is only my greatest desire,” he whispers. “Tell me, Princess, is that not wicked?”
I draw him toward me, capturing his lips. “Then let us descend into the shadows together.”
He enters me then, slowly, swallowing me with his desperate kisses. His hands slide beneath my hips, raising them as he plunges deeper and deeper.
I’ve waited for this moment for so long. He’s always been under my skin, but now, I finally have him inside of me. Stars crest at the edges of my vision, and Caspian weaves his hands in my hair.
“Rosalina, I would betray every god in every universe just to feel like this with you.” His voice lowers to a growl as he slides to the hilt, and the sensation is otherworldly.
We find a rhythm, and my fingers dig into his back, feeling every rippled scar. Pleasure streaks hot down my spine like the strike of lightning, and I arch my back, meeting his thrusts.
“Caspian,” I moan, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut as I cling to him for support.
He kisses me sweetly at first but with an intensity that grows. His motions becoming more desperate. I wrap my legs around his waist, binding us closer still. There is no going back now. This has sealed our fates.
Magic prickles in the air, and my heart wars with itself, desperate to climb this peak with him, but knowing that the moment it’s over …
“I have dreamed of this, Princess,” he whispers against myneck as he kisses a path to my collarbone. “In the deepest dark of the Below, when I thought I would never see light again, all I could think of was you.”
His words inflame me further, and I kiss him deeply. His breathing becomes more ragged, and a coil of desire tightens inside me.
“Caspian,” I moan, my voice a mix of pleasure and need. “I have dreamed of you too.”
Our movements become wild, eyes locked, hearts beating in sync. Magic swirls around us like a tempest. It crackles in the air, electric and alive, flooding our every touch, our every breath. A soft glow emits from my chest, and then his.
Like the crystals in this cavern, we are glowing.
Caspian gasps, “What is this?”
I lean up to kiss him deeply. “It’s our mate bond,” I whisper against his lips. “We’re completing it.”
Caspian’s breath hitches and I can see the emotion painting his face. The happiness, the guilt, the fear. It’s all there in his lavender eyes.
“Don’t be afraid, Cas. This is right.”
Caspian doesn’t have a curse to break, but it’s like he’s shattering all the same, washing away the layers as light blooms across his skin. Long dark hair falls across his shining eyes.
“Call me your mate,” I say.
He lets out a guttural cry, lifting my hips as he drives his cock deeper, then collapsing his weight on top of me. He grabs a fistful of my hair, and his lips move to my ear as he whispers desperately, “You are my mate, Rosalina. I do not know how you are bound to me, by the stars or by fate. But I know you belong to me, and I to you. Mate. My mate.”
I tilt my head toward him, heart bursting with joy. “Caspian, I’ll never doubt you again. I’ll never doubt my heart again. It’s been calling to you for so long.”
