“Hart,” I whispered. The only word I seemed capable of.
He growled low in response. I assumed he could taste my desire as potently as I did his. He pulled me from my seat on the stump slowly as he lay back on the ground, and I straddled him. His hands roamed as we moved, along my spine, my hips, but always over the layer of my clothing, which I was desperate to remove.
I pulled his shirt from his trousers and let my hands skim the hard lines of his chest. His smirk was immediate, and he urged me forward to bring our lips together in a scorching kiss. I rocked against him, unwilling to deny us this moment. He hummed his approval as his tongue plunged into my mouth. I groaned with each stroke. His teeth against my bottom lip sent my hands searching for a way to free him from the trappings of his clothing.
Hart jerked as my hand slipped beneath the waist of his trousers. In a single, fluid motion, he flipped us over. My back rested on the soft grass, and he hovered above me. “What am I going to do with you, Chaos?”
I hoped my smirk matched the one he usually wore. “Remind me about your fantastic stamina, I’m sure.”
He nipped my ear, and his mouth worked its way down the column of my neck as he promised to do just that. Deft fingers removed my blouse and his tunic, bringing me the skin-to-skin contact I’d so desperately craved. Heat built everywhere, but still I wanted more. The inferno of our connection stoked my already present desire. His trousers and my skirt were next,baring us to each other in the secluded patch of trees where we’d decided to spend our day.
His piercing gaze saw too much as he found my entrance. While his fingers moved in slow, teasing strokes, his mouth found my breast.
“Hart,” I whined. He thrust a finger inside me like hearing his name on my lips was worth rewarding. I tried again. “Hart.”
His laugh was low, but he followed my lead, granting me a second finger as he bit down on my peaked nipple. “You’re not playing fair,” he hissed as his forehead dropped to mine.
“You never play fair.” I arched into him, urging more. A whine escaped as I rode his hand. He was there, kissing, nipping, sucking. The tangle of our tongues grew frantic as everything inside me heated.
“That’s it, Chaos. Take what you need.”
But he didn’t make me take. He gave. His frenzy matched my own. His thick length strained between us, but his focus remained solely on me.
“Hart,” I whispered again. It was all I could find—my solid ground when everything around us shook. I didn’t know how to voice his place in my life. Words escaped me. Reason fled. My gut said I knew the exact words to use, but Hart didn’t require me to. He pressed against my clit, and that fiery inferno flamed even hotter as I shattered.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered against my forehead as I rode the wave of molten lava cascading through my body. It had barely crashed through my limbs when I reached for him. I could bask in the afterglow of that orgasm for hours, or I could chase another one—with him. I could ensure his pleasure matched my own, that we were together in this, like the future we fought for.
The words I so desperately wanted to say danced on the tipof my tongue. I stroked his length as he hovered above me, and hoped that somehow he knew. I hoped he knew that I dreamed of days like this—days with no agenda. He read, and I worked. We sat and talked. He told me about his life, and we made plans for the future where the future was subject to change, but the one thing that wasn’t was that we’d face it together.
But I didn’t need to wait for that, either.
We had that day now. We had that moment here, in the woods. I’d steal the moments with him where I could. I’d fight tooth and nail for the future I wanted, but I wouldn’t wait for perfect circumstances to afford it.
There were a million words competing in my head to express these sentiments, but I finally brought to the surface the four I required. “I love you, Hart.”
He froze with my words. His eyes widened, and too many emotions flickered across his face to catalog.
Then his forehead met mine as he pressed into me. His lip curled, but it wasn’t his usual smirk. It was a grin. “Say it again.” His voice was rough, but something bubbly and sweet danced across my tongue, mixing with the smoke of his lust. Hart was nothing if not full of demands.
“I love?—”
His lips found mine before I could finish his request. His kiss was bruising, claiming. If there was any doubt in my mind that he felt the same, he erased the thoughts with his tongue. Each thrust took him deeper and responded to my declaration in his own way. His hands were everywhere, all at once. His intensity brought me right back to my edge.
“Love doesn’t begin to cover my feelings for you, but it’s a start.” His words were a whisper.
I dug my fingers into his back and wrapped my leg around his hip. I sought closeness, I sought the fireof our connection. He seemed to agree, urging me higher with his hands, his cock, his tongue.
“I wouldn’t change a moment I’ve had with you. I treasure every single one, whether the weight of the kingdom bears down on us or we’ve run away to the mountains and left it all to burn.” His lips found mine. “So long as you’re with me, the shape of the future matters little. My heart is yours. It has been since the day we met.”
The rebuilding fire inside me erupted without warning. Hart followed with my name on his lips and his head buried in the curtain of my hair.
In the stillness, our heartbeats found a pattern. A call and response, like our curses, like our designations in this game of goddesses. Except this one was ours. Not one demanded of us. One chosen by us both.
“I love you, Ember.” The simple truth didn’t need to be stated after everything else he’d said, but it sent my heart racing all the same.
My lips curled into a smile as he held me, and I knew that a thousand days like this wouldn’t be enough. That was why striving for perfection wouldn’t suit. I’d seize every moment of joy I could—starting with this. These stolen moments were mine without remorse, because the perfect day may never arrive, but a collection of perfect moments was more than enough for me.
The magic—which had become more physical between us with each trial—shifted.
