40. MARK ME UP
Chapter forty
MARK ME UP
Ornella
S age hesitated in surprise at my offer to mark up my neck before he uttered a groan and leaned forward. He lowered his hand so he could kiss my neck, using his lips, tongue, and teeth on my skin until my breaths became short. Soon enough, I was fighting the urge to grind against him again, but then his bites grew a little harder. Alternating between soft and rough until every sudden pinch of his teeth was shooting through my body with heightened anticipation. He also used his hands to pinch and tweak my nipples until I couldn’t help it anymore. I arched up against him to purposefully rub my belly against his cock. He bit down on my neck with a growl and flicked my nipple harder as if in discipline.
I hissed in surprise, and then sighed in sudden ecstasy when he released the pressure on my neck, and it caused a rushing sensation to fill my veins.
“Sage,” I gasped, “I can’t see them on my neck.”
He hesitated, his mouth lingering on my skin, but then he raised his head again, and I saw pure, feral intensity in his eyes. I realized I’d been right; he wanted me to be as proud of what he was doing as he was. The confirmation that I wanted to be able to see them too seemed to send him to all new heights.
He picked me up abruptly, a gasp of surprise tearing out of me before he had placed me on a rock under the water which put him on level with my chest.
“Sweet Elements, Summer, you are beautiful,” he said, his eyes on my exposed torso before his mouth descended on my breasts. My back arched, and I choked out a cry, clenching my fingers in his hair as he lavished my breasts with attention. They already felt fuller, heavier from the arousal pumping through my body, so the sensation of his mouth on them resounded through my whole body.
I watched, rubbing my thighs together to try and create the friction that I was craving as he used his teeth and his mouth on me. He began to create a myriad of love bites and bruises across my chest, and I really did find them rather beautiful. Orlaith evidently thought they appeared too violent, but I didn’t know how she could think that with the tender way he made them. The careful attention he unleashed upon me, the satisfaction he took from every new mark. He added a couple more on my neck and jaw where others would be able to see them before he seemed pleased with how it looked.
Sage drifted back to look at me, and I glanced down to take in his work. I knew every time I looked at them for the next couple days that I would think of how he looked giving them to me. I would think of how much he wanted everyone to know that I belonged to him. I had never had that reaction to love bites before, usually the remnants of my trysts could not heal fast enough, but I found myself hoping these ones lasted a while.
“They look so good,” I murmured in astonishment.
Sage pulled my face down toward him and kissed my mouth unexpectedly rough but brief, his teeth catching on my lower lip as if to keep me near.
“Mine,” he stated, our mouths still brushing together, and a groan of consensus erupted from me before I kissed him again even harder.
“Yes,” I assured him wholeheartedly once our mouths had parted, and he released an exhale of relief, resting his forehead against mine for a moment.
“We have to go,” he admitted reluctantly. “Rian needs us to help move Aes Mirr soon.”
I huffed but nodded in understanding and allowed him to pull me back down into the water. He gave me one last kiss, this one sweeter and more tender before he took my hand to guide me back to the edge of the pool.
It felt strange to be putting our clothing on. I did not think I’d ever had an encounter like this with a male who had not followed it through to conclusion. It was almost like leaving something very unfinished, and I knew that males hated to be left unsatisfied after such an interaction. So I couldn’t help glancing worriedly over at Sage while we were getting dressed, but he didn’t seem discontented in the least. He was looking back at me, not with any hint of resentment for denying him, but in admiration of both me and the marks he left upon my body.
“Are you not going to be uncomfortable?” I asked him, unable to help watching while he adjusted his cock in his riding pants once he pulled them up.
“Immensely, but I will live,” he assured me with a grin and a wink that set me immediately at ease.
Gods, he was gorgeous. I’d known it from the moment I first laid eyes on him when he removed his mask while Rian relinquished Aodhan’s essence back to the Tithriall. He’d become a haven of safety for me, and now I sensed he was about to become something new again.
“So Rian is not the only one who prefers relationships that your father might call… unusual,” I mused while we walked back to the entrance of the hot springs.
“Oh, Summer, please do not mention my father now,” Sage begged, and I laughed.
“That is why you are not nearly as concerned as he is about your cousin’s involvement with the witch.”
“Do not pretend that I am the only one,” Sage teased right back. “I believe you called it sexy.”
He stopped at the opening of the tunnel and turned to raise his eyebrows at me with a smug grin that made a flustered heat rise into my cheeks.
“And I stand by what I said!” I retorted in aggravation with myself. The gods knew I was no simpering youth, and yet this male had me all tied up in knots with little more than a cocky smile.
“You really feel that way?” he verified, sobering as he cocked his head in genuine curiosity.
“Not with Rian, obviously , but I could see the appeal. Sometimes life is overwhelming and feeling safe enough to relinquish control might feel good,” I admitted.
Sage grunted with interest, still eying me in curiosity. “It is surprising to me that you would consider willingly conceding control to someone.”
“Not just anyone, Sage. You and only you.”
We stared at one another a moment before he stepped back toward me. I tipped my head up so he could give me a kiss that filled me with a strange kind of satisfaction. Something warm and comfortable.
“Would you… take control if I asked?”
“Of course. After a proper discussion of boundaries,” he added significantly, making me roll my eyes playfully. “I am willing to try just about anything,” he assured me before he turned away to begin climbing up the tunnel.
Leaving me gaping after him as my mind, naturally, began hurtling scenarios at me.
“ Anything ?” I called after him, but he merely laughed and continued to climb.
Once he was clear of the passageway above, I began my ascent. I wasn’t wearing his armour anymore so I soon felt the cold from above, but thankfully, Sage already had a portal waiting to take us all back to the camp.
I emerged into the drier, saltier heat of his tent in the seaside camp and sighed in instant relief. I wasted no time shedding my heavier outer layer of clothing. My cotton shirt was still damp from the heat of the hot springs while a fine dusting of ice and snow clung to my leather pants. But nothing felt better than finally removing my boots and putting my bare feet back on the earth to reconnect more fully with the Tithriall again.
“Where is your father?” I asked, glancing around the tent in concern when I did not see the aes sídhe male.
“He’s with Rian. Are you well enough to heal Nuala?” Sage asked tentatively. “Only if you are sure,” he added when I glanced back at him in surprise.
My first impulse was to agree, to please him and Rian, but I forced myself to do as Sage insisted and paused to genuinely examine my magic. My reserves had gradually been replenishing since the day before, and while my power was by no means fully restored, I had some energy to spare. Especially for another female who had evidently undergone torture.
“I can at least manage to make her more comfortable,” I reassured him. “But I will not overdo it,” I added when he tilted his head sternly at me.
Seeming satisfied, Sage nodded and then removed his cloak and strode toward the entrance of the tent.
“We will get food on the way to Rian. Stay and rest,” he added to the vargr, although they had already curled up together on Serafin’s bed.
“Ugh! Will it always be this way with the Wild Hunt? Rushing from one emergency to the next with barely any time to eat or sleep?” I demanded, grudgingly following.
“I promise it is not always like this. The last few years have been tough, but our most common purpose in the past has been as swords for hire. Plenty of leisure time,” Sage reassured me.
“Wait. Really ?” I gaped at him in surprise before we stepped outside his tent, and I was instantly taken aback.
We had emerged into the heart of the bustling camp, and I was immensely thankful for the wards that kept all of this noise out of his tent. The last time I had walked through the camp was during the night. I’d thought it was busy then, but most of these soldiers had been asleep. Now I had to grab onto Sage’s arm or risk losing him in the sea of fey going about their business. I saw all manner of creatures, some that I didn’t even recognize, but there were orcs, elves, redcaps, trolls, dwarves, kobolds, and gnomes. I even saw a sleepy hill giant with his stony skin covered in moss and a daemon with his leathery wings on proud display. Pixies cackled as they flit through the air and played pranks to steal food. Fauns and brownies did the same on the ground, dancing warily between legs and under tables while fey shouted at them.
“We travelled the courts, taking jobs where and as we pleased, and I hope we will return to that life after this,” Sage admitted as he wove through the chaos expertly.
“Yes. I think I will prefer that,” I admitted, still staring around us in astonishment. We passed over the river that dissected the camp, and I saw nixies, kelpies, nymphs, selkies, and mer congregating in their individual tribes.
Many of these creatures were solitary and unfriendly, even with their own kind. The only reason they would tolerate this kind of proximity to other fey was that they truly understood the threat posed to their world. And they had overcome their very natures to be here, all together, to face that threat in solidarity.
And that was easily the most beautiful fucking thing that I had ever seen.