CHAPTER 69 Torj
CHAPTER 69
Torj
‘The lasting impact of magical injuries is a study wherein scholars have only scratched the surface’
– Alchemy of Afflictions
T HIS WOMAN . TORJ sent his thanks up to the Furies for her. Gods, the taste of her, the shudder of her release under his touch...He was done for, well and truly done for.
With her, he could forget it all – his father, the war, the wound in his chest threatening to send him mad. None of it mattered when he was with Wren.
Still on his knees, he looked up at her, at the fire he saw in her stormy gaze, at the gasp still on her lips. A queen he’d gladly bow to. A queen he’d serve.
‘You’re addictive,’ he told her, untucking her skirts from her belt and letting them fall about her legs. ‘I could taste you a thousand times and it would never be enough.’
Wren’s eyes were dark, her face flushed as she pulled him to his feet, breathless. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
‘Where to, Embers?’
‘Your room. Now.’
He laughed, but her hand was already in his, pulling him towards the exit. Who was he to argue?
They took the halls at a run, laughter spilling from their lips. Torj had never felt so light, so free. He stole glances at the beautiful woman running alongside him, her hair coming loose from her bun, a wide grin on her face.
‘Do you think people heard me?’ she asked.
‘I hope so.’
‘What? Why?’
‘So everyone knows you’re mine.’
‘Just like that?’ she said, fighting to catch her breath.
‘Just like that, Embers,’ he told her recklessly as they reached the door to his room. ‘No games. No secrets. You’re what has been missing all my life. And I intend to keep you. Consequences be damned.’
Wren reached into his pocket, pulling out his key and fitting it to the lock. In seconds, she was dragging him across the threshold, slamming the door closed behind them.
‘Good,’ she said fiercely.
He laughed at that, joy spilling through his chest. ‘You’re it for me. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.’
She kissed him then, hot and demanding, fierce and claiming, shoving him against the wall. His words seemed to unleash something in her, her hands clawing desperately at the buttons of his shirt.
‘Take it off,’ she panted, gesturing not only to his shirt, but his armour and leathers as well. ‘Take it all off. I want to see you.’
‘Far be it from me to disobey a princess’s orders...’
He reached for his shoulder armour, unbuckling each piece and tossing them to the floor carelessly, before dragging the back of his shirt over his head. The fabric fluttered to the floor.
‘And the rest,’ Wren told him.
‘As you command,’ he said, kicking his boots off, his hands already moving to do her bidding. Her stare was like fire on his skin as he pushed his leathers down, his hard length springing free as he slid the material past his thighs and down his calves.
Wren stared at him, and Torj let her, enjoying the flare of her nostrils, the way her tongue darted from her mouth to wet her lips. His cock pulsed with need at the sight. He wanted to say something clever, something to spark that fire inside her, but...what he saw in her eyes silenced him. There was something so raw, so beautiful there, as though she were committing every scar, every faint line to memory.
She reached for him, like a bloom turning towards the sun, her fingertips tracing his storm magic scars first, following the jagged lightning bolts across his naked flesh.
Torj could hear her shallow breaths as she mapped his tattoo next, her nails trailing the whorls of ink across the expanse of his chest, down his abdomen. He swore he could feel the flicker of electricity in their wake.
He didn’t move, didn’t break the spell she was weaving across them both – not even as her gaze dropped to his cock, thick and hard between his legs. He’d been hard for days, thinking of her. And now? He was hanging onto his self-control by a thread.
And then she wrapped her hand around him.
‘ Fuck... ’ The word came out shocked and guttural, and he nearly bucked into her touch then and there. Her grip was warm and firm, and it took every ounce of willpower not to thrust—
‘I haven’t done this many times before,’ she said slowly.
He blinked. ‘Done what?’
Wren took a breath. ‘This.’
She lowered herself to her knees.
‘Wren,’ he panted. ‘You don’t have to—’
He stumbled over his words as Wren licked him from base to crown, and his knees threatened to give way.
‘ Holy shit... ’ he moaned.
She licked him again, pausing at the top to curl her tongue around the tip. Gods, he was going to lose it. No better than a teenager, no control...
‘Wren,’ he bit out as her hand worked the base of his shaft. ‘You don’t have to do this. It’s not a quid pro quo situation, I—’
She pulled away and stared up at him. ‘I appreciate the clarification,’ she said. ‘But I want to suck your cock, Bear Slayer. Be a good Warsword and let me, will you?’
He was speechless. Completely lost for words.
Which seemed to satisfy Wren, because she licked the length of him again, and then swallowed him down.
A carnal moan escaped Torj then, and his fingers shot into her silken hair, gripping it at the roots. ‘Furies fucking save me, Wren ...’
She hummed around him, the sound sending vibrations right to his balls, and he had to fight every possessive urge that rose up to the surface, screaming at him to take her then and there. Instead, he watched her, mesmerized by the way her lips stretched around him, at how her hand pumped him at the base. He was too big for her, he realized, and it pleased him more than it should have.
Her other hand grabbed his arse, drawing him closer to her, encouraging him to move with her. And he did. At her encouragement, he fucked her mouth with long, deep strokes, gripping her by the hair.
Ripples pulsed through his whole body, and he clenched, trying to hold back the desperate urge to come. It felt too good. Too intoxicating.
And then he hit the back of her throat.
He nearly lost all semblance of control.
Wren spluttered for a moment before she caught herself, and he tried to pull away instantly. But she was having none of it. She took him deep again and again, in a luscious glide over his cock that had his eyes rolling back in his head. There was a storm gathering around them, the energy palpable as passion blurred his senses and tethered him completely and utterly to Wren.
A princess was on her knees for him.
His whole body shook with the effort of restraint. Her tongue flicked over the crown of him, and as though she could sense him holding back, she hollowed her cheeks and sucked harder.
A desperate sound slipped from Torj’s lips as he neared breaking point. But he wanted to give her the choice. ‘Wren...I’m going to—’
In answer, she doubled her efforts.
And he lost control.
‘Wren,’ he half-shouted, curling over her as his climax hit. He came with a moan, spilling into her mouth with slow, deliberate thrusts. Wren moved with him, dragging out the last ripples of pleasure and swallowing his release.
The orgasm was so intense that he thought he might have blacked out for a moment. When he blinked the room back into focus, Wren was staring up at him, swiping a thumb across her lower lip.
‘You...’ was all he could manage as he looked upon the storm wielder in wonder.
She smiled, getting to her feet. ‘Me.’
Her gaze mapped him again, and shock registered on her face. He glanced down and gasped.
Tiny bolts of lightning were dancing across his chest.
‘What the fuck...’ he muttered. ‘How...?’
Magic rumbled beneath that web of scars, and Torj flinched at the strange sensation, struggling to comprehend what was happening and how the fuck it was possible. It didn’t hurt. The whisper of a storm skittered along his skin, uninhibited and yet familiar.
Wren trailed her fingers through the electrical current. ‘You look good in lightning...’
Torj surged for her, bringing her face to his. He didn’t care that she tasted of him; he kissed her deeply, picking her up in his arms and carrying her to the bed, the sound of her laughter hitting something deep in his chest.
‘Wait!’ she cried out as he went to throw her on the bed. ‘My belt.’
More laughter as he set her down again and helped her out of her belt of horrors.
‘I’m suddenly very aware of how naked I am, and how clothed you are,’ he ventured, carefully placing the contraption on his desk.
‘Hmm...’ Wren said, surveying him appreciatively, his cock already hardening again beneath her stare. ‘I like it.’
She didn’t move to undress further, though, and he didn’t mention it. He didn’t want to pressure her. So, he got onto the bed, still nude, and held out his arms.
‘Come here.’
Biting her lip, Wren did as he bid, the mattress dipping beneath her weight as she climbed up beside him, her skirts brushing over his bare legs. She paused, reaching for something on the windowsill.
She twirled the bushel of dried purple florets between her fingers. ‘What’s this?’
Heat crept up Torj’s neck as he closed his hand over hers. ‘The lavender, from the gardens...’
Her brows shot up, her eyes meeting his. ‘You kept it?’
Torj swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘I did.’
Biting her lower lip, Wren gently placed the flowers back on the windowsill before she leaned down and kissed him, slowly, thoroughly.
He didn’t know how it had happened. He had a Princess of Delmira, a future queen, in his bed, and this time, he couldn’t push her away, couldn’t let her go. It felt right, having Elwren Embervale in his arms.
She toyed with a lock of his silver hair, curling it around her fingers, and for the first time, he felt self-conscious. ‘Not quite as golden as it once was, is it?’
The golden-haired Bear Slayer ...That was what they’d called him before the war, his hair once a mane befitting a lion. Now it was the silver of an old man’s.
A strange expression crossed Wren’s face, but she gripped him by the chin and forced his gaze to hers. ‘You’re beautiful.’