“Please,” she begged, thrashing against the blankets, fisting the linens tightly to keep herself from shoving her hips into the air and offering herself to him like a sacrifice. “It’s the…the wine.”
Caelian swallowed, daring a look up at her husband.
Kjeld stood at the end of the bed, his thick shaft in one hand, his blue eyes swimming with violent desire. “To be clear, you are not in pain?”
She shook her head no and lifted her hips, skirts tumbling around her waist, and bared herself to him. His pupils expanded, swallowing the whole of the blue. He ran his thumb down her slit, and she nearly bucked off the bed.
“Kjeld, I swear to the stars.” Caelian grabbed her breasts, then pinched her nipples for some kind of reprieve. “If you don’t?—”
Without warning, he took hold of her thighs and closed them, pushing her knees toward her chest. Her first thought was to revolt, because how dare he deny her? But then the swollen tip of his length nudged against her slick entrance, and his breathing grew heavy. With his palms spread on the backs of her thighs, Kjeld surged forward, pumping the entirety of his shaft deep inside her.
Stars exploded behind her eyes, the exhilarating effects of the bloomfire wine making it impossible to catch her breath.
Kjeld was not gentle. He speared her, stretching her, forcing himself to fit. It didn’t matter if she was wet for him, she was stillimpossibly tight, and every frantic thrust made her want to find a way to keep him buried inside of her forever. She convulsed around him, squeezing, clenching, unable to hold back the high wave of pleasure she’d been treading all night.
But it wasn’t enough.
Caelian shattered around him, but she barely had time to recover before the pressure started to build again. Her body was on fire. Scorching.
“Don’t stop,” she begged, glancing up at him. “Please.”
His eyes were jaded with lust, and he rolled his shoulders back, slowly pumping his slick shaft as he watched her writhe upon the bed.
The bloomfire wine turned her blood to honey, so it was thick and sluggish. It transformed her bones into pliant clay, ready to be molded and shaped to Kjeld’s liking. She was wanton, absolutely shameless as she rolled onto her stomach and lifted her backside into the air for him. The layers of desire were amplified, making his every touch intense and overpowering. His hands roved over the backs of her thighs, and she bit back a moan, shivered when he grabbed and squeezed her cheeks.
“Are you in need something else, wife?”
“Yes.” Caelian squeezed her eyes shut, backing up on her hands and knees until she felt his erection pulse between her thighs. “Again, Kjeld. Please.”
“Is this what you want?” he asked, slowly pushing into her, sinking deep.
“Yes,” she hissed, her head falling back on a moan. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and held her in place. “Just like this.”
Kjeld took his time with her. His pumps were leisurely and deliberate. He would thrust all the way in, hold for a moment, then slowly withdraw. It was agonizing, the way he made sure she felt every inch of him. He kept one hand splayed on the middle of her back as he dragged her toward the edge, his otherhand reaching around to toy with her clit. When she tried to buck, to rock her hips into him, he urged her onto her stomach, pinning her to the bed. And then he continued his lazy strokes until she was screaming his muffled name into the bedding.
She needed release three more times afterwards, and Kjeld willingly obliged her, but Caelian swore she would never touch another glass of bloomfire wine again.
Three weeks had passedwithout any return letter from Ariesian, and Caelian was struggling to keep calm about the fact that she had yet to hear from her brother. She told herself it was because he was likely busy, that it was the height of the Midsummer Season, and he was sure to be setting the final arrangements for Nyxian’s marriage to Lady Aria Skyhelm. Not only that, but there was also a chance he was trying to marry off Sarelle and Tovian as well. So, while she was out in the Myrkwild with Kjeld and the dragons, she convinced herself that Ariesian was otherwise engaged and simply did not possess the time to write her back.
Caelian’s toes sank into the warm sand, and she lifted her hand to her forehead to shield her face from the sun.
Out over the glittering turquoise waters of the Caelora Bay, Kjeld was high in the sky on the back of Odryss, while the three young whelps circled over the cresting waves below him.
Odryss had taken to an alcove by the water’s edge, and for now, the dragons joined him there. It seemed they preferred the company of their own kind as opposed to Caelian and Kjeld. Which was as it should be. Since then, Odryss hadbecome somewhat of a father to them, teaching them to hunt, leading them by following Kjeld’s orders, and more recently, encouraging them to quite literally spread their wings.
Caelian held her breath as she watched them swoop and soar, while they coasted through wispy clouds and glided above the water’s surface. Brohm was the quickest learner of them so far—he stayed close to Odryss, mimicking the older dragon’s movements like a shadow. Even their mannerisms had become similar. Lunaris was more cautious, but she flew with graceful elegance, so watching her was like witnessing a dance in the sky. She was absolutely captivating to behold. But it was Pyran who gave her heart palpitations. Every so often he would dive into the bay, vanishing for far too long, before reappearing with a fish clamped between his strong jaws and a fireball at the ready. Caelian worried he might drown, for the time he spent underwater was too much for her liking, but Kjeld reassured her the whelps were naturally strong swimmers.
She supposed it made her feel slightly better about the whole situation, but she much preferred being able to see all three of them at once. It was a small comfort, knowing they were safe in Wenfyre instead of at risk against Queen Elowyn’s magic in Aeramere.
“Caelian!”
A soft voice floated down to her from the sloping shoreline, and she turned to see Lira walking toward her.
Caelian waved as Lira padded across the warm beach, dusting bits of sand from her skirts. In her hand she held a navy blue envelope, the wax seal emblazoned with the Faerie Star, the crest of House Celestine.
“A letter has just arrived for you.” Lira handed it to her and smiled. “I believe it’s from your brother.”
Caelian flipped it over in her hands. The sharp, precise script definitely belonged to Ariesian, and when she broke the seal andunfolded the parchment, she was surprised to find a brief, if rather uninteresting, response.
