Chapter 37
CHAPTER 37
K ai lifted his head slowly, brows drawn as he studied her face. “What?”
Isla took in a deep breath. This is it.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
The gentle words settled in the air between them, and now Kai couldn’t seem to stop the slight uptick of the corner of his mouth. Isla could sense his heartbeat pick upandfeel his elation through the bond. “What?”
Isla sighed at the echoed word and then laid her feelings bare. “By accepting this bond, I leave things that I love. The people I love. My family, friends, home. All I’ve ever known and found comfort in. I lose everything that I wanted and worked so hard to become. But I’ve been so wrapped in believing that I was doing exactly what I needed to and being who I was meant to be, so scared of what it meant to have a mate, to give myself to someone and open myself up to losing them, that I was blind to what was actually happening.” She quieted, trying to gauge Kai’s expression. All she could see was him trying to hold back too-wide a grin. That joy on his face made the next words come out smoother, easier because he was easy.
They were.
She caressed his cheek—her fated, her forever—feigning disappointment. “My stupid ass actually fell for you. ”
Kai beamed, and for a moment, it seemed he needed to catch his breath. “Your poor pride.”
“Honestly, I’m shattered over it.”
They shared a laugh between them, something that would’ve seemed unfathomable a few minutes ago. But with each other, there would always be a way to find happiness.
Isla finished her admission, “I’m not sure I can do it, be a queen, I mean, but I’m willing to try if you want me to. I’m terrified, but if that’s what I need to do to be with you, I will. You have me. To and through eternity.”
The following moments ticked by too slow, as Kai just seemed to wonder at her. But then his hand went to the back of her neck as he pulled her back to his mouth. “I’ve got you. Always.”
No matter if she was scared, he’d always be there for her.
Isla secured her legs around his hips as he rose with her in his arms. Her lips met his again and again as he brought them inside to embrace whatever blissful time they had together with the world blown out of existence before it tried to rip them apart, and they fought like hell against it.
“ Kai .”
Back inside the study, Kai had Isla pressed against the wall. Everything was a blur; the only thing she could focus on were his lips,hands, and every solid place they connected. On the words somehow still unspoken that she felt on his tongue as it tangled with hers. Words that she tried to convey in her own kiss.
Isla muttered his name against his lips, and the desperation of her tone had him pulling back. His eyes searched her face, and all she had to do was nod for him to know what she wanted. Needed.
Kai gripped her harder, and Isla moaned as he dropped his head to her neck, licking and nipping his way to that spot at the crook of her collarbone where that primal part of her called out to him. His teeth grazed the spot, sharp and teasing.
She ground down against his hips, already finding him hard, and craned her neck, baring herself to him.
“Isla…”
One last chance to change her mind.
“Yes.” She tightened her grip on his shirt. Yes, yes, yes.
Kai’s canines pierced her skin, and she cried out at the pain, the ecstasy. Flames roared through her in his wake, and she couldn’t breathe as they consumed her being, razing the world as she knew it to ash.
Her arms were tight around him to keep herself steady as she threw her head back against the wall to gasp down air.She swore she could feel the missing fragment of her soul that Kai had held, that he’d kept safe all this time, twining with her once again. “ Kai .”
He answered her call by bringing his mouth back to hers, the tang of her blood on his tongue, and his kisses were as much a claim as his mark.Isla was stripped to nothing but her senses, ravaged by the smell of him, the feel of him, the taste of him.
The kisses that followed weren’t deep enough. She couldn’t get him close enough. Feel enough.
Kai lifted her from the wall, mouth catering to her fresh mark before he lowered her to the carpet, their bodies swathed in the pool of colors from the sun-soaked stained glass. Isla was drowning in him as their tongues tangled again, and all she could think of was her need to remove all barriers between them.
Isla bypassed the buttons of his shirt to go straight for the waistband of his pants. She fiddled with the button and zipper until Kai grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. Beneath his strength, she was powerless to move them.
He hummed his disagreement. “First, I get to have my fun.”
And that was fun she wasn’t opposed to as he made his way down her neck again. He pushed her shirt and breastband over her head, every movement marked by a kiss.
Please, she thought but wouldn’t let it out.If this was torture, she couldn’t imagine how it’d be when he got between her legs.
The sheer thought of his mouth there, of his cock, in time with when he wrapped his lips over her exposed nipple, made her whine louder than she’d intended. She’d bucked her hips towards him, desperate, but he held steady, interlacing their fingers above her.
“Goddess, hurry up.” She wouldn’t plead, but she urged her body forward again.
Kai lifted his head to look at her, amusement dancing with lust in his eyes.
Cold greeted her as he rose to his knees to remove his shirt, and she bit her lip as she took him in. Bathed in the window’s colors, he looked like a god, simply ethereal. Powerful. And she needed to feel every fragment of that power. Now.
Isla rose onto her knees, wrapping her arms around Kai’s neck, pressing her bare chest against his, knotting her fingers in his hair. Kai nodded his brows at her as she smiled at him, his calloused fingers brushing up and down her bare waist, lowering to grab her ass.
“So impatient,” he chastised but his actions, his appreciation, spoke louder as he reached between them to brush his fingers softly and teasingly over where she ached for him most. They lifted to drop beneath her waistband, and they both groaned as he ran his touch over the slickness there—all for him. Isla dug her nails into his shoulders, his tattoo, gasping and jerking as he flicked over her clit.
Now, she leaned down into the crook of his neck and breathed his name. He shuddered at the caress on his skin, and that carnal part of her rose again. Isla pressed her lips to the spot just above his collarbone, nipping at the skin until she finally drew her teeth.
She’d never felt as animal as she did then. Never so powerful and in control as her mate’s pulse—an alpha’s pulse—thundered beneath her lips.
“ Isla. ”
Commanding yet desperate.
Kai leaned into her, offering, ready, his power ebbing through the room laid bare in her presence, there for her to take.
Isla traced her tongue over his skin, a final tease that had him growling and making the bond pull in a way that stole her breath.
Mine.
Isla braced herself and, running on nothing but primal instinct, bared down with her teeth and claimed her mate.
Kai cursed, arching into her as she bit deeper, the tang of his blood filling her mouth, something like a current flowing between them. His fingers dug into her sides, pulling her closer as if to merge their souls into one.
When Isla lifted her head just inches from his, their chests heaving in the same heavy cadence, all they could do was stare at each other. Neither spoke as the threads coiled around them and burned at their feet, entanglements of gold and shadow nearly tangible in the air. Singing. Sighing. Isla could smell the bond as it forged between them. Taste it.
The sun through the window seemed to burn brighter, hotter .
It had been a few heartbeats of only their echoing breaths before both of them…laughed.
They actually laughed.
Unbridled joy shone on both of their flushed faces as the sounds flittered through the room. Because all of this, already, had felt too good— too raw, real, and euphoric.
Kai tugged Isla back to him and kissed her with a ferocity that had her melting. Isla embraced the warmth of his body against hers and brushed her nose against his. Then she dragged her hand lazily down his chest, scratching the skin until she reached his cock. She palmed along the hard length of him, holding in a moan that would’ve echoed his. “I need you inside me.”
Kai’s eyes flashed, and he gently guided her back to the carpet, laying before her. “Patience.”
Isla didn’t even have a chance to settle before he hooked her legs and tugged her towards his mouth.
Resting on her elbows, she gazed down at her mate between her legs, and she was an eager mess by the time he’d finally stripped her bare. She was grateful Kai didn’t feel the need to tease. Well, not badly.
With her legs over his shoulders, he parted her with a single hand, then traced his tongue over her bundle of nerves, featherlight and maddening. It spurred a mix of pleasure and ache within her, sending her gasping and bowing off the floor. She wanted more, but the edge as he passed over and over and around was intoxicating. He continued until she was pantingandsquirming, and she took hold of his hand that had gone on to explore other parts of her skin. “More.”
She heard him chuckle, and he kissed her inner thigh again before finally leaning down to draw his tongue over her core in a long, luxurious slide. He groaned as he tasted her, and Isla arched with her own whimper. Kai did it again, holding her hips in place as he dipped his tongue in her center.
Isla swore, twisting a hand in Kai’s hair. He expertly worked her clit, her core, worshiping her with his tongue, his lips, his teeth. Once he added his fingers—driving not one but two into her—she was gone, her hips undulating without abandon as he pumped them in and out of her. “Kai!”
Isla didn’t know what he’d said next, her mind swimming as her release shone just out of reach. It was something about how beautiful she was like this, something about fucking her, something that even blurred by her daze had her coming undone on his tongue at the mere implication.
As Isla descended from her high, Kai stood and removed the last of his garments. Her mouth went dry at the sight of his cock, and she watched as he fisted the thick length, stroking and using the moisture already beading at the head to coat himself. He leaned down, settling between her legs, chest pressed to hers, forearms braced on either side of her head as he placed a kiss on her mouth. “You wanted me to make love to you first, right? Slow and deep.”
Isla shivered as she felt his cock brush over her clit, her legs trembling in anticipation. “Yes.” She tried to settle her breathing as Kai reached between them, guiding himself to her center. But any bliss she’d felt when he finally nudged into her entrance had quickly turned to anger.
He’d only gone in an inch and held.
“Kai,” Isla growled at him, trying to push forward, aware of the emptiness she was left with.
“You know, you’ve been taunting me since I met you.” Only he could turn what was supposed to be a grand moment into a game and way to torment, but his words were strained. He wanted nothing more than to drive into her. To make good on his promises.
Isla didn’t have the patience to see how long he could last.
“Kai, I swear to the— fuck .” Another inch, and he retreated. “You son of a bitch.”
Kai laughed and leaned down, kissing the corner of her mouth. “What do you want, Isla?”
If he wanted to play, she would, too. She knew what his weakness was.
Her.
She reached up, pulling him down into a harsher kiss, her tongue clashing with his as she tugged at his hair in way she knew drove him crazy. When she pulled back, she made sure to hold his stare as she demanded, “I want you to leave your mark in me.”
At the implication, Kai’s eyes blazed, and Isla yelped as he shifted their position, lifting her hips.
One needy thrust, and he was buried in her.
She might’ve screamed. She wasn’t sure. But Goddess , she was going to explode.
Kai went still, allowing her time to adjust. Him time to settle. He swore at the tightness and feel of her wrapped around him. “Fucking finally .”
He could say that again.
“So…impatient,” Isla panted, struggling to keep it together. Goddess above, he felt incredible. Perfect.
A dark, dangerous lust shone in Kai’s eyes, but there was also that adoration as he drew back nearly to the tip. And then he kissed her, meeting her tongue with his as he thrust into her again. So, so slow.
Perfect .
Isla broke the embrace, throwing her head back, savoring the moment until she felt Kai grab her face. Rough but not enough to hurt. He forced her back up, to look in his eyes, not saying a word as he moved in her again, and again.
Oh, Goddess.
Isla held his stare, just as he wanted, and bit her bottom lip so hard it nearly bled as waves of pleasure crashed over her. As Kai filled and stretched her. As she lifted her hips to meet him until she swore she’d die from how amazing it felt. From how overwhelming it was. She’d never experienced anything like this.
And she needed more. More .
Isla tightened her legs around Kai’s waist and wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging at his hair as she pulled him closer, deeper, moaning his name into his mouth when she kissed him again. Kai picked up his pace.
Her nails dug into his shoulders as they built a rhythm. “Harder.”
Kai obeyed, each heady thrust sending her body buzzing as they rocked against each other.
“Fuck, Isla.” Her name had never sounded so good. A mix of desperation, relief, and demand against her lips. Isla clenched around him, and Kai cursed again.
Isla swore she saw stars with each pounding stroke, and the obscene sounds of his balls slapping against her, of the slide of him inside her, only spurred her on. Release built at the base of her spine. “Goddess, don’t stop.”
Kai seemed to relish in the sight of her losing herself, letting go. He pressed his mouth to hers. “You going to come for me again?”
So damn smug. He knew. He could feel it. Her spasming around him.
Goddess, she was so close.
Kai rested his forehead against hers, and she couldn’t even utter a yes, only hum and nod and moan her answer. She grabbed onto what she could, the muscles of his back, his ass. And then she felt him, too, growing thicker, harder, throbbing. His movements lost some of their control.
“Come with me,” she forced breathlessly over his mouth, squeezing him between her legs, taking his face in her hands. “I’m yours.”
“Fuck.” Kai’s fingers dug into the carpet, the words hitting a carnal part of him. He rose from her, and Isla watched in a haze as he unleashed himself, tracking the way his stomach muscles, glistening with a light sheen of sweat and colored sunlight, contracted with each heavy breath, every flex of his hips. “ Isla .”
Her name from him was her undoing.
Release tore through her, shattered her , and Kai kept his vicious pace until she was trembling. Until another wave crashed, and then, he tumbled, too.
He fell forward, letting out a deep groan as he came, bracing himself as he spilled and spilled and spilled himself inside her. Marking her, claiming her. Isla dragged her nails down his back, breathing hard as her inner muscles worked along him, drawing out his pleasure as she rode out hers.
Then, they were laughing again, grinning madly at each other as ecstasy and exhaustion racked their damp bodies. With the bond alight between them, their breathing slowed, and heartrates steadied as one.
Isla tugged Kai down until they were flush against each other, bearing his weight, his heat, reveling in their closeness and how safe she felt in his arms.
Kai lowered to kiss her neck, her mark, already healing. Isla smiled up at him when he pulled back and reached to trace the lines of his face, the beads of sweat off his brow and jaw coating her fingertips. Now it felt surreal. Him. This comfort. This happiness.
Hers.
His.
A promise forged in one of the greatest pleasures to endure, and in time, the greatest pain.
But it would be worth it. Whatever life they had before them, together, would be worth it. If only for these small moments of peace, of maybe…love.
When nothing else mattered—nothing else needed to—but the universe between their souls.
Isla woke up to a kiss. Not from her mate, but one of incandescence.
Against the backdrop of soft, rhythmic breathing, she peeled open her eyes to be greeted by softer sunbeams spilling through the window, casting gentler colors along the floor, over the edges of the makeshift bed made of blankets, her body.
For a moment, she struggled to recall where she was or the reason for it. The reason for the comforting warmth at her back. For the intoxicating scent flooding her nose. For the delicious ache in her muscles.
But then she lowered her gaze, noticing the solid arm she’d been using as a pillow. Her bare breasts. Her torso.
Her breath hitched.
Everything came crashing back.
Isla twisted her body, careful not to disturb the man beside her. She would’ve been devastated if she did. If only she had something other than her memory to capture the image before her.There was a softness, a peacefulness, to Kai’s face as he slept that she’d never seen before, even in those moments she’d considered him at ease. It made her heart swell and an overwhelming sense of adoration flood her body.
Her mate.
Her mate.
For sure. Forever.
This picture was one she’d wake up to for the rest of her life.
Isla bit her bottom lip as if smiling would rouse him.
The man who’d cared for her enough to let her go. Saw her, understood her enough to let her do what she’d wanted. Who knew how important it was for her to become a warrior, if only for a fraction of time. Words whispered in prayer that day in the ash lily fields. He was exactly what she’d hoped and dreamed and wanted.
Isla scooted in closer, placing her hand on Kai’s chest, pressing her body against the heat of his.As much as she wanted to stay in this room forever—this void, their void, where they could be safe—they had to return to the world out there.
Kai had to deal with the rogues. With the challenge.And Isla had to face her family. Had to tell them she’d never be home again—if she could even call Io home anymore.
She needed to officially resign from the warriors…to go through, she imagined, some process to become luna, and then prove herself worthy to the people of Deimos, who’d likely want nothing to do with her. And how could she forget the murderer, the bak, the messages, the marker, and—
Not now.
Maybe they could remain in this chasm for a few more minutes.
Kai stirred, breath catching before it settled. His arm moved from around her back to tug her even closer, and Isla became so comfortable that she could’ve fallen asleep again.
She wouldn’t look up at him as she absently traced the tattoo over his chest, even as Kai lifted his other arm to run a hand over his face and push the hair from his eyes.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
Goddess above—his voice .
Lazy and deep and gravelly with sleep. Forget the endearment.
Isla squeezed her legs together, faintly remembering every wicked thing he’d done and said to her only hours before.
She cleared her throat. “We’re actually approaching evening,” she said, stopping her ministrations to lift her eyes to his. “We fell asleep.”
The corner of Kai’s mouth lifted as he stretched himself out over the blankets. Isla wasn’t sure if he was doing it on purpose—so the thinner covering would slide dangerously low on his hips—or if he’d placed his hand behind his head, only to give his muscles an opportunity to flex.
His voice was still dizzyingly alluring as he prided, “I wonder why.”
Isla’s toes curled as the recollections hit her full force.
They’d lost their war with Fate—but she had never been so happy to lose. Never been happier to be proven so wrong. Kai had said he’d be the best sex of her life, and she’d challenged him on it.
Then he’d taken her bent over the desk.
Let her take him in her mouth before she rode him until she collapsed on his chest.
And then he’d rolled her over to edge her until she swore tears pricked her eyes. Until she begged him— begged him—to let her finish, unsure if she could handle anymore.Only for him to enter her again, so they could go together.
Goddess.
Yes, she could certainly think of worse ways to be incorrect. And she would graciously take this loss and whatever ones the future held.
As she replayed the moments, she couldn’t help the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, and lower.
And she just had to laugh.
As the cheerful sounds left her mouth, Kai couldn’t help himself either. He ran his fingers up and down her back as he shook his head. “I knew you’d be great in bed, but…fuck.”
Isla lifted herself on her elbow to look down at him, teasing, “What a vocabulary.”
Kai scoffed and reached a hand up to brush her face and the wild blonde waves from near her eyes. When his thumb dragged lazily over her lips, she nipped it with her teeth. He grinned. “I’m going to have my hands full with you, aren’t I?”
Isla kissed the heel of his hand and lowered her head to peck his lips. “No going back now.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Kai said against her mouth before tightening his grip on her waist to pull her on top of him .
Isla braced her hands on either side of his head, dropping her widened eyes to where he was hard beneath her. “Already?”
Kai guided her hips to grind on him and appeared to brace himself as she moaned. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
Isla smiled as he pulled her down to kiss her…and kiss her…and kiss her. Anywhere his lips and tongue could reach and tease. He was developing a quick mastery of her body, becoming aware of all the spots that melted and invigorated her all at once.
Her hand drifted between their bodies, taking hold of him and teasing her slick entrance before sinking down, down. The stretch and pressure as he filled her, inch by inch, nearly had her eyes rolling back, and as they built a rhythm, smooth, slow, and deep, she sighed.
She could get used to this.
Quickly. Easily. Happily.
If only everything could be this simple.