Chapter 29
Bellanca tilted her hips up to meet Carver’s gentle thrust. “I feel you,” she whispered.
“I know,” he whispered back. He barely probed her entrance, but she already felt a stretch. He pressed forward, and she tensed.
Stopping, he looked down at her, still cushioning her head in one hand. “Deep breath.”
His gray eyes were the gentlest she’d ever seen them, tender, reassuring, and she inhaled a long, calming breath. He only moved again when she exhaled, her body softening under his.
“That’s not so bad.” She shook herself out a little, trying to relax.
He let out a strained chuckle. “Good to know.”
She breathed deeply again. He pushed forward on her exhalation, looking like he was in a lot more pain than she was. Slowly, he worked himself inside her with small, measured thrusts. He kissed her, distracting her and leaving her time to adjust to the fullness and the stretch. Gradually, her body welcomed him, and the slight, rocking friction suddenly sent pleasure swirling through her instead of discomfort.
“Oh, that’s good.” Arousal uncoiled her muscles, allowing him to sink deeper inside.
Carver’s breath trembled against her mouth. He moved a hand down her body and fondled her breast. He found her nipple, squeezing, and a tight little snap of sensation burst between her legs. She gasped, and he pressed forward again, his jaw tight and his nostrils flaring.
Her eyes widened. “There was more?”
Low and gruff, he said, “More’s usually a good thing.” Drawing his hips back, he gave a long, slow thrust.
Pleasure licked through her, and her lips parted on a moan. Her head fell back into his waiting hand. He pushed forward again, filling her completely, and she felt a surprisingly hedonistic smile spread across her face. “You’re good at this.”
His gaze instantly shuttered. As usual, he couldn’t take a compliment, and instead of answering, he lowered his head and kissed her, rocking into her with steady thrusts. She moved with him, each stroke gliding more easily, touching her deeper and building something unbreakable inside her. Maybe it was the link between their souls, anchoring them to each other. She could almost feel their heartbeats join, their destinies align. No matter how close they’d grown and how much she’d changed, she still thought this moment between them would be awkward and intimidating, but it wasn’t. She was his, he was hers, and nothing in any world could change that now.
Carver’s kisses stayed languid and arousing, his tongue mimicking his leisurely thrusts. He still touched her breast, pressing and rubbing, and an orange haze spread behind her closed lids. She pulled her fire in deeper as he filled her. Their kisses turned harder, hungrier, driving her to lift her body into his. She met his pumping hips more boldly, and heat spiraled through her. He moved faster, the friction sparking new sensations all over. Pressure built in her core. Delicious tension gripped her, but she held back, forcing them both to slow. There was something she wanted more than climax, something that would last lifetimes rather than moments.
“Do it.” She opened her eyes, meeting his storm-gray gaze head on. “Claim me.”
A low groan spilled from his throat. Lodged deep inside her, he stopped moving and cradled her head in both hands. “Bel.” His eyes swept over her face as he chose his words. He swallowed, his breathing rapid and his steady gaze so grave that her heart turned over hard. His voice a thousand times rougher than his words, he said, “My body knew you before my mind did. You healed my heart. You mended my soul.” Her throat thickened. Her eyes pricked, but she didn’t blink. She didn’t want to miss a single second of the way Carver looked at her, the intensity, the passion, so she burned away her tears. “I didn’t know what to do with you, but I knew I didn’t want to be without you. The Fates thrust us together, but they didn’t make me adore you, crave you, need you. You did that. You’re fiery, brilliant, brave. So fucking entertaining. I would cross any world for you. I would slay any monster. When we’re together, your fire is in my blood. When we’re apart, I want only to get back to your light and warmth.”
Tears tried to flow, and her breath shuddered. She hadn’t really known what claiming would entail but she hadn’t imagined Carver ripping open his chest and bleeding out his words. She swallowed hard.
“No, don’t cry.” His thumbs stroked a light path over her temples, smoothing back her hair. “This is pure happiness. I love you. I’ll love you forever. You’re my present. You’re my future. You’re all I need. You’re my wife.”
Her chest contracted painfully, and she gulped down air. Trying to steady herself, she said, “I never thought I’d let myself be anyone’s wife, let alone want to be.” She held on to him with both hands and brought her legs up, hugging him with her whole body. Need still pulsed where they joined, and she ached for more friction inside her. “You changed everything. You’re the best surprise of my life.”
Carver grinned at her words. His eyes never leaving her face, he moved again, slowly drawing back. “I claim you, Bellanca.” He pressed forward, a deep thrust that filled her, body and soul. “I claim you as my wife .” He moved inside her, and she heated, desire and emotion flaring off her in little sparks she barely controlled. “If you’re in danger, I’ll come. If you’re taken from me, I’ll find you. If you’re bored, I’ll challenge you. If you’re unhappy, I’ll make you laugh.”
“If I’m angry, you’ll make it worse.”
He laughed, jarring them both. “You’re impossible. And I love it.” Grinning, he shook his head. “I love you. I’m yours. Forever—in this lifetime, and in the next.”
Joy exploded inside her. Her racing heartbeat left her breathless as Carver looked down at her, still gently rocking. His words filled her with happiness, and her own yearned to tumble out to fill his ears and heart, even if they’d never be as poignant and perfect as his.
Carver didn’t want perfection, though. He wanted her .
She took a deep breath and claimed him back. “If a soul is something you can feel, I feel mine for the first time, and it’s stronger. Whole. My heart beats for you—for us . I never wanted anyone until I met you, and now I want everything. A husband, a home, a family.” Carver inhaled sharply, his eyes widening. He stopped moving and simply drank in her words. “You gave me that gift—the gift of wanting things and wanting to be worthy of them. I’m yours. Now. Always. And you’re mine. I’ll fight for you like the vicious Magoi princess I was raised to be. I’ll burn through anything that gets in our way. I’ll protect you until my fire fades. And I will love you until my dying breath.” She lifted her lips to his and kissed him tenderly but with all her heat. “And when I breathe again in the Underworld, I’ll find you there and love you for the rest of our days.”
Carver squeezed his eyes shut. His hands tightened on her head. When he looked at her again, the moisture glittering in his eyes reflected the luminous glow in hers. She tilted her hips, encouraging him to move again. Her heart ached in one way and her body in another, one throbbing with emotion and the other with passion, but she understood now why he’d wanted to claim her during lovemaking. These were marriage vows of their own making. Of the heart. Of the soul. With the body. No ceremony or temple could make this any more real or binding.
Claiming, it turned out, was perfect. “I claim you, Carver. I claim you back.”
A brilliant smile flashed across his face. Then his mouth was on hers, his hands in her hair, and his thick, hard shaft gliding in and out. His strokes gradually sped up. He touched something sensitive deep inside her, and she gasped. She chased the sensation, angling into him, and pleasure pulsed between her legs.
“Yes. More,” she murmured.
He steadily drove her toward climax as he gazed down at her with an expression that would make her shiver every time she remembered it. Such fire in his eyes. Even without magic, he burned.
She gripped him tighter, her desperate clenching silently begging for more, harder, faster. The hot, volatile impact he’d always had on her echoed throughout her body. A tight knot of pressure in her core, she raised her hips and rolled against him, her breathing ragged and loud. Magic hazed her vision. Carver gave her exactly what she needed, pressing deep, his husky groan warming her lips. The muscles in his corded neck and broad shoulders tensed under her fingers. Heat spilled through her, tingling all the way to her scalp. The air around them brightened. Fire raged in her blood, and she tilted her head back, gasping in a lungful of cool night air to stem the surge.
Carver dipped his head. Breathing hard against her neck, he ground down on her. A magic-charged glow illuminated her body, brightening the sheen of sweat on his skin. Sparks snuck out and sizzled around them. He didn’t seem to notice. He slid his mouth down her chest and found her breast. His tongue lashed her nipple. He gripped her hip, lifting her into him. Arousal burned through her, and it was all she could do to separate her approaching climax from her magic. Her pulse pounding, she twisted against him, wanting to prolong the coming orgasm as much as devour it.
Carver pressed his tongue hard against her nipple. Her mouth popped open, and climax suddenly pulsated inside her. Pure, fiery pleasure crossed her skin, and she gasped, sucking the magic back in while she rode out the spasms.
“Did I burn you?” She ran her hands down his arms, searching for damage. He’d stopped moving, and her body wanted to go utterly slack under his, but she was too worried she’d lost control and hurt him.
“No, zoi mou ,” he panted, his heartbeat drumming against her chest. My life. A hot chill raced over her. Southern Sintans always reverted to the old language for terms of endearment, and she felt his words sink into her like a promise as he started once again to pump his hips. She wrapped her legs around his narrow waist and relished his almost rough climb toward orgasm. A hoarse groan finally tore from his chest, and he stopped thrusting. The gentle thump of his climax inside her body was almost as exciting as her own, and more licks of rebellious fire spilled over her. Again, Carver didn’t seem to notice. He held her tight, like he’d never let go.
They both breathed hard as they settled, boneless, chest to chest. He still felt heavy and thick inside her, and she hummed a sound of pleasure as she slid her fingers into his hair, gently scraping with her nails. His dark eyes drifted half closed.
Finding her lips, he kissed her. “ Ginaika mou. ” My woman. My wife.
She smiled. “ Sizigos mou .” My husband. She knew much of the old language, too, but for her, there was power in the dialect, so she almost never used it. She was Magoi, and heartfelt words in the ancient tongue carried binding magic. “ S’agapo. ”
His eyes widened. He knew that one, too. I love you.
His gaze flicked over her face. “No regrets?” A hint of worry lingered in his eyes, and she didn’t know what more she could do to put his fears to rest except live each day showing him how unfounded they were until they finally disappeared from his thoughts.
She smiled, playing with his hair. It needed cutting, but she’d wait until he asked. “My only regret will be not doing that every day— forever .”
Grinning, he slowly lifted off her. Their bodies separated, leaving her immediately wanting him back. He started to roll to the side and take her with him, but she grabbed his shoulder, startled.
“Carver!” Eyes huge, she stared at his chest. The mirror image of her amulet marked his skin, somehow branded into it.
He glanced down, frowning. “What in the Underworld?”
“Lightning bolt. Trident. Helmet.” She touched the rendering of each gift from the Elder Cyclopes, then traced her finger down the center of what could only be called a tattoo now that she looked more closely. “The Shard of Olympus.” Her eyes snapped back up. “Did you feel this?”
His brow creased in thought. “I felt a lot of things. A bit of a hot-cold shock, sharp and quick, but I thought it was you. Then it was over.”
She glared at him. “You said I didn’t hurt you.”
He shrugged. “I had better things to concentrate on.”
Her jaw dropped. She snapped it shut. “You’ve been marked. By three gods.”
“Great.” His expression soured. “They’re here on our wedding night.”
Bellanca snorted, half laughing despite herself. “That’s not even remotely funny.”
“I didn’t think it was.”
“You don’t understand. This is a great gift. It means something.”
“Let’s see what it means.” He shifted, sitting up. “Burn me.”
“What? No.” She sat up, too, pulling her legs under her as she darted a look left, then right. She didn’t see any lurking gods, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. Shuddering, she drew some of their discarded clothing over them.
“Burn me, because I think I know what it means.” Carver reached out, gripped her hand, and placed it flat on his chest. Her fingers covered the mark of the amulet. “You flamed up, and it didn’t hurt me. I thought it wasn’t enough to do any real damage, but now I realize I didn’t even feel it. The only slight pain I felt was right here.” He pressed both their hands to the tattoo. “Now burn me.”
She grimaced, still hesitant. “All right. A little.” She let her hand heat, calling a flicker of magic to it. Carver still held her palm to his chest. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch, didn’t react at all, and her lips parted in shock. She increased the magic. “Nothing?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not a thing.” He released her hand, and she lowered it, snuffing out the magic. Between the moonlight filtering through the trees and the Shard of Olympus, they could both see his unburned skin.
“You’re immune to magic.” She could hardly believe it.
“To fire magic,” he cautioned. “We don’t know about anything else.”
Their eyes met. “Still, this is a reward—a reward for both of us.” Her brows rose at the significance.
A smug grin spread across his handsome face. “No holding back now. You can burn all you want.”
“Well, maybe not the house down…”
“Don’t worry. Castles are made of stone. Harder to damage.” Carver lay back on their improvised wedding bed and reached for her.
“Us in the castle…” She sank down beside him, curling her body into his. “I appreciate your optimism.”
“You should. It’s rare.”
Her smile only lasted a second. Life outside this forest awaited them. A goddess to thwart. A villain to conquer. An island to raise from the bottom of the ocean. She sighed. “We have to cross the river, you know. Those soldiers are waiting for us.”
“They can wait.” He tugged, rolling her on top of him. “Right now, I’m going to hold my wife and tell her how much her flaming-hot body excites me.”
She flushed with pleasure. “They can wait,” she agreed wholeheartedly. Tomorrow would come soon enough, and with it, the beginning or the end of everything.