“I wish Caelian Starstorm was my wife.”
Her magic soared, pumping through her veins with wild abandon. She gasped, her lungs expanding as the rush of wishes and starlight flooded her with power. Clutching his vest between her fingers, she held on as the stars bestowed their gift upon her once more. Her blood sang an ancient hymn, one destined only for her. A thousand voices echoed in her mind, the hushed pleas and hopeful prayers of those who had been left unanswered. Caelian squeezed her hands into tight fists as her magic stirred,gathering in the center of her palm, promising the release of a wish.
“Make it true,” Kjeld demanded, daring her to obey. Then a quieter, desperate murmur. “Make it true.”
A tear slipped down her cheek as he cupped her hands between them. With her eyes focused on his face, on the unwavering devotion haunting his expression, Caelian opened her right palm and unleashed the shooting star. Beams of incandescent light rippled around her as it launched through the willow’s swaying branches, its prismatic tail leaving a trail of stardust in its wake as it fell across the sky.
“Granted,” she whispered.
“So beautiful.” But Kjeld wasn’t watching the falling star, he was looking at her.
Grabbing her left hand with his own, he laced their fingers together as a vine of earthy brown and emerald wove around their joined hands, fasting them together.
“Through all the veils of Valorahan, I pledge my life to you.” Kjeld pressed a feathery kiss to the tips of her fingers, and Caelian started to cry.
“Through all the wonder of wishes, I pledge my life to you.”
Tiny blossoms of ivory and blush pink bloomed from its coiled length, sealing their marriage. And Kjeld smiled.
A real, genuine, brilliant smile. His dimples came out to play. It illuminated the whole of his face, vanquishing the lines of scorn and torment lingering there.
“Now what?” Caelian asked with a choking laugh as he wiped away the happy tears tumbling down her cheeks.
“Now, I’m going to claim you.” His grin turned hungry, and his eyes expanded with desire. “Wife.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Here?” Caelian yelped, glancing around as though she half expected someone to jump out of the bushes and catch them unaware. “Now?”
Kjeld winked. “I can think of no better time nor place.”
“But…” Nervous energy crackled around her. “What if someone sees?”
He kept her locked in his hold, already imagining all the ways he planned to unravel her within the security of the enchanted forest. “I doubt we are the first to bless the Myrkwild with our natural forms.”
Caelian’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink, and Kjeld slowly removed the vine binding their hands. He wrapped it into a small coil and set it aside, reminding himself to grab it later when they returned to the Eldergrove because he was certain it would make itself useful again.
“I don’t know what to do.” She wrung her hands together, uncertainty flitting over her lovely features. “This is my first time.”
“We’ll go slow.” It might kill him in the process, but he’d dreamt of this moment for months. He wanted to memorize every second of her undoing, to watch her face when he finallyburied himself deep inside her. “For now, let’s explore, shall we?”
It didn’t matter if he already knew what she looked like naked, he was going to kiss every inch of her skin. He would learn what she liked, what made her squirm, what made her shatter. And then he would do it all again. Repeatedly.
Kjeld removed his vest, pulling it over his head, pleased when Caelian didn’t hesitate to touch him. Her hands were dainty and delicate, the pads of her fingers gently roving over his shoulders, tracing the tattoos that marked him. She ventured to his chest next, nails lightly scraping his cut abdomen, following the hard lines of his stomach. Her dark blue eyes trekked over him, her tongue darting out to swipe across her plump bottom lip, and when she ventured toward the waistband of his pants, his cock swelled.
“Not yet.” He snatched her wrist and tugged her hand away, knowing that if she dared to touch him there right now, he wouldn’t be able to control himself.
Restraint was difficult enough with her, and the last thing he wanted was to move too quickly and hurt her in the process.
Reaching around behind her, he expertly untied the laces of her corset until the leather bindings fell away. The blouse she wore tumbled off her shoulders, swooping dangerously low across her ample breasts until he could just see the rosy pink hue of her nipples. Blood surged to his cock as currents of lust raced through him, fogging his mind. Wisps of silver, light pink, lavender, and frosty blue hair slipped free from her bun. Her skirts fluttered around her legs, the tempting slit revealing a swath of smooth skin each time the breeze ruffled the flowing fabric. With her flower crown perched atop her head, Caelian looked like an ethereal woodland sprite, and he wanted to fuck her senseless.
He gripped her hips, his rough palms skimming up her waist and over her ribs, until his thumbs stroked the perfect buds of her breasts. She arched into him, his thick length nudging against her navel as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips peppered his bearded jaw, leaving pillowy kisses in their wake, and when the tip of her tongue glided along the scar marring his bottom lip, he groaned.
Dropping his hands, he cupped her ass, hoisting her up. Caelian was weightless in his arms, and she locked her legs around his waist as he positioned her against the willow’s trunk, pinning her in place.
“I fear”—he bit the words out, giving her ass a good squeeze—“that I will not be able to go as slow with you as I ought.”
Caelian tangled her hands into the long strands of his hair, grabbing fistfuls, dragging his head to her bosom. “Then don’t.”
