Chapter 48
Graysen
Nelle straddled my hips, the top of her head grazing shy of the bed slats. She splayed her hands on my upper chest and pushed me back down onto the soft bedding of silk and cashmere, pinning me beneath her.
In silence, we stared at one another. Her irises had blown fully into mine. She was bright in the dark, even brighter with a ghost of a smile. I reached up and feathered my thumb along the gentle arch of her brow, and she did the same, tracing the inner curve of mine.
I had no idea what had inspired her to build a wyrm burrow and drag me inside. Selfishly, I wanted to stay in this moment a little longer. It was peaceful and she was beautiful and we weren’t fighting.
I ran the tip of my finger down her forehead, following the slope of her nose, dipping to the cupid’s bow in her full lips, trailing downward to end at her chin. Nelle mirrored me, her touch softly sweeping down the center of my face in a straight line, along the dips and rises.
She was leaning above me and the riotous waves of pale blond hair had fallen forward like a cascade of raining water, the long length tickling my flesh wherever they brushed.
I tucked a thick piece of hair behind her ear.
My hand stilled, and then I pushed my fingers through her tangled mane, unable to resist massaging her skull, my thumb sweeping back and forth over a faint cluster of freckles near her ear.
Nelle briefly closed her eyes on a contented sigh, pushing back into my petting, before shifting her own hand to weave her fingers through my sweat-dampened hair to do the same.
My eyelids lowered at the comforting touch.
Hellsgate.
So fucking good.
Inside her burrow, the heady smell of sex was an erotic fragrance that mingled with our scents, earthy and rich like a spruce forest tangled with wildflowers.
My lust for her was a drug fizzing through my bloodstream, and with every breath I took, the humid air laced with our scent made my mind fall more under her spell, pushing aside every other thought but us.
A bead of sweat slithered down Nelle’s neck, and I followed its moist trail with a fingertip as it rolled like a dewdrop to disappear into the shadowy valley between her plump tits.
My mouth was parched from a long stretch of sleep, and now it watered with longing to flick and suckle on the stiff peaks of her nipples and have her moan and writhe against me.
Nelle hummed a low, husky note.
My entire body tightened, then shivered.
The hypnotic sound crawled along my skin with the radiance of sunshine. Deep inside, that strange, feral part of me awoke. I replied to her in a way I didn’t understand, a gruff intonation, almost a purr. The guttural sound rumbled in my chest, deep and throaty, rough and possessive.
My cock was hard and she was slick.
And fuck, I wanted her.
Needed her.
My hand swept over the soft curve of her breast to wrap around her upper arm.
“More,” I thought I must have whispered aloud, but I couldn’t be sure with lust clouding my senses.
All I could smell was us slicked onto my skin, drenching my lungs.
I could stay in her burrow for an eternity. Fuck her forever.
But something was off. Something was wrong.
That feeling wouldn’t go away as Nelle rolled her hips, her warm, wet heat ready for my straining cock.
My jaw clenched hard, and my fingers clamped tighter around her arm as I mentally shoved at the dark desire urging me to take what she offered. “Stop,” I hissed through gritted teeth.
She did instantly.
I scrubbed my face harshly, trying to shake this bewitchment from my mind. I dropped my hands to fist my obsidian silk sheets and her cottony ones nestled around my body to resist the temptation of grasping her hips so I could thrust up and make her mine.
Nelle hovered, poised and waiting.
Waiting for what?
I couldn’t figure out what the hells was up with her.
There was a different sensation vibrating beneath my skin to what we’d experienced during the weekend of Evvie’s betrothal. The girl had been sex-mad, fueled by craving, and animalistic in her need to fuck. This was…?
Sweet surrender?
Nelle’s eyelids fluttered shut as she rolled her neck and hummed a note like singing crystal. The enchanting sound shimmered through the dim burrow and echoed in my ears. I fell once more into a trancelike state, a thirst rising in me to claim her.
I wanted more, more, more.
My gaze darted to Nelle’s mouth when she flicked her pink tongue over her lower lip and made it glisten. A desperate groan clawed from my throat. I was ravenous for those perfect, lush lips.
“A kiss,” I murmured, my voice edged rough with demand. And a part of me distantly felt the twang rippling down the dark magic that tied us together.
Without hesitation, Nelle sank closer to brush her mouth against mine.
Her warm breath fluttered against my cheeks as she parted her lips and kissed me.
Her kiss was softly sensual, like a summer sun sinking beneath the horizon, the sultry hues of fire lighting the sky.
A low sound escaped me as yearning rolled through my body, strumming an impulsive chord deep inside.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, warned that part of me which remained aware.
I knew instinctively that she was doing this to please me.
I had to stop her.
I had to stop myself.
Whatever this was, whatever influence she was under, she wasn’t clear of mind to tell me what she wanted. She needed to be the Nelle I knew. Strong-willed, surly, and clever enough to try manipulating me to undo the magical collar, not this submissive girl poised to give me whatever I wished.
Nelle didn’t protest when I broke the kiss and levered up on my elbows, forcing her back. I carefully eased out from underneath her. She looked curious but not offended.
A muffled sound came from outside the burrow before a snuffling nose nudged at the rugs hanging over the bed, making them rustle. Sage gave an anxious whine. Nelle didn’t blink, didn’t acknowledge her friend.
Sage whined once more for Nelle’s attention, pawing beneath the draping rugs, his claws hooking on the sheets and blankets bunched around us.
It wasn’t until I angled myself to look in Sage’s direction that Nelle did too, eerily tracking my movement.
I inched toward the edge of Nelle’s nest, and she stalked me with quiet, predatory focus.
Fur and cashmere brushed against my body as I shouldered my way through the rugs hanging like a curtain around the tall-framed bed.
I rolled out from underneath, rose to my feet, and stepped into vibrant sunshine.
Nelle followed, rising to stand beside my bed—a godsdamn mess of rumpled rugs and furs spilling over its edge. She’d stripped it right back to the mattress, dragging the silk sheets and thinner blankets into her wyrm burrow.
Nelle stared back. Both of us were naked, and a sheen of perspiration coated her feminine curves, shimmering along her temples and the high cut of her cheekbones.
It was an unreasonably hot day, and the tower was a fucking baking oven. While Sage trotted eagerly to Nelle’s side, I braced my hands on my hips and shook my head to flick the limp locks of hair from my eyes, trying to get a firm grip on my muddled mental state.
I glanced over my shoulder, through the cut space of the tower.
Judging by how high the sun sat in the sky, it appeared I’d slept right through to noon.
Sunshine showered blistering heat into the room, along with the soft sounds of everyday life, footsteps, and chattering voices that flowed around the Keep.
A trio of birds flitted across the azure sky, and the tinkling sound of ivory keys floated on the breathless current of a sultry breeze.
Caidan was playing a mashup of modern songs on the piano in the music room. A favorite pastime of his.
Still trying to figure out what the hells was going on, I scooped up my boxer briefs and tugged them on before facing Nelle. “What’s up with you?”
Nelle tipped her head sideways, and her hair dipped and swayed over her breasts with the movement.
Her elegant brows drew together with confusion, but she didn’t answer me.
Instead, she copied my movements, stepping into her panties and sliding on a bra.
As yet, she hadn’t uttered a single word.
My focus honed in on the intensity of her gaze, fixed solely on me.
Her emotions beneath my flesh were unusually quiet, like a slow-moving brook, and I couldn’t quite read them.
I closed my eyes, searching deep into my soul for the moonlit strands that bound us.
It wasn’t like the time she’d fucked me stupid with us wrapped around one another in endless lust. This time, the resonance strumming down the lines of power was calm, comforting… happy.
Surprise jolted my eyes open, and my heartbeat stumbled with shock.
I couldn’t stop the wondrous grin, even if I wanted to. Nelle was happy, actually happy, being with me. There was a sense of harmony, with warmth and affection flowing from her to me.
What the hells could have inspired that reaction toward me?
I’d fallen asleep right beside her. On her, if I remembered correctly. And kept her close. And she’d…?
An echo of sensation prickled my body where she’d stroked my arm gently, nuzzled my throat, warm lips murmuring against my skin as she’d petted and calmed me.
She was the one who had banished the nightmare with tenderness.
Maybe the influence she was under came from something deeper than physical attraction alone.
And me…? I analyzed the silvery threads of dark magic binding us. They were stronger now, brighter, and more potent, and there was a strange urge to push back, to lean into her and make her…
My breath escaped with a whoosh.
It slammed into me hard, exactly what was going on between us.
Impossible.
Yet entirely possible, especially with what we were to each other.
Nelle was under the sway.
The godsdamned sway.