Her vibrancy is what I cling to every minute of every season we’re apart. I hate that it’ll happen, that spring will come, but there’s also beauty in the seasons. They’re constantly changing. Some may break us, but then they’ll make way for the next. Eventually, winter will return, just as I’ll always return to Jolie.
I want to fill her, coat her in my scent, cover her in my frost. Ingrain myself so deeply into every inch of her that every harbinger who crosses her path knows that this mortal is fierce and perfect andmine.
Jolie arches, taking me deeper. Then she reaches behind her, stretching her neck before me. Her fingers thread through my hair, and I graze my teeth along her throat. She smells so goddamn good. I arc one hand over her hip and find her clit, and her pussy pulses violently around me as she comes.
Pleasure spears down my spine, and I growl before sinking my teeth into her neck. Copper coats my tongue.Her.It’s a rush nothing compares to. My mate mark glows with silver luminescence along with the one between her ribs. They flare as one, pulsing with the beat of her heart. The one that beats for the both of us.
Our hips move in unison, seeking more, locked together. My fingers work expertly over Jolie’s clit, and her pussy draws out every ounce from my knot. I come, and come, and come. Minutes turn into hours. Moonlight spins into dawn. There’s only my mate, our bond, and this inescapable pleasure. I clutch each moment with her. They’re the lifelines I’ll cling to through the coming seasons.
“Jax?” Jolie asks when morning is in full swing, the other campers making their way out of their dens. “What happens next?”
“Now that the bond is accepted, you’ll be able to sense me just as I sense you. I don’t know how you being mortal will impact things, but you should be able to at least sense my emotions.” I press a kiss into her hair.“You’ll be able to contact me through our mind connection.”
Her head cranes back to look at me, brows lifted in surprise. “How—”
“Place a hand on your mark and think what you want to say.”
I guide her hand to her sternum, its faint glow reflecting into her palm before I press it against her skin. “Now try.”
There’s silence for a moment. Then I hear her voice faintly in the back of my mind. A sound I’ll treasure forever.“Jax?”
“Tempest.”
“I did it!”
Giddy bubbles fill her words, and pressure builds behind my eyes. I blink away the tears and bring my hand to my own mark, certain if I try to say the words aloud, my voice will crack under the weight of my joy.“You’re a natural.”
“It’s easy to be when I’m yours.”
Yours.
I was someone’s. A belonging I’ve craved for as long as I could remember. I loved my Frost family. They embraced mewhen I’d been lost to the mortal world, lost to my mother, father, and brother. But once I was old enough, I watched each season as everyone paired off, finding their mates, building a life beyond their lifetime.
And I was alone.
Well, not completely.
Hope’s been my constant companion, beating within me along with each glorious thud of Jolie’s heart. And while I still don’t know what our future will bring beyond her mortal years, our mate bond is real and whole.
“I love the way that sounds on your lips, Tempest.”
“Want me to say it again?”
“Always.”
She stretches and wriggles her hips, shifting so I come out of her. The moment the air kisses my sensitive skin, I miss being engulfed in her warmth. Pearly streaks coat her inner thighs, dripping down as she rolls me over to straddle me. I swipe some up with my finger and bring it to her clit, circling it in a wreath of pleasure. In a fluid motion, she wraps her fingers around me, then sinks down onto my cock. I watch our bodies join fully, my knot spreading her lips wide so I can see her taking in every inch of me.
Her voice pulls my attention to her icy-blue eyes. “I’m yours, Jax. And you are mine. My mate. My love. Mylife.”
40
JOLIE
We finish out the trip abroad, and while Delilah hits the slopes, Lark and I hang out. Jax joins us off and on between his Frost duties. It’s so odd to have her see him, but I’m grateful not to have to keep the secret any longer. To share the blessing and burden of being mated to an immortal. It’s also nice to be with someone who doesn’t earn an eye roll or glare from her every time he’s around.
Jax seems to enjoy the company too. He and Lark goof off together like they didn’t meet days ago. She asks to see his magic, and he proudly shows off for her, making snow fall over our heads, drawing obscene pictures with ice on the lodge’s windows, sculpting ballerinas in elegant poses on my balcony. They’re so detailed, eerily capturing our likeness. I recognize the flare of my chiffon skirt and the stiff tulle of Lark’s emerald ensemble. He really was there that night. Not that I didn’t believe him, but the icy proof makes my heart melt even more. If that’s possible.
Joy radiates off of him with an otherworldly glow. I know he has a family of sorts within the Frosts, but it must be lonely being surrounded by mortals who can’t see you. A world thatdoesn’t know you exist. The lightness to his tone, in his gait, it’s something I want to freeze and carry with me long after this trip.
