Chapter 58
AURORA
It’s been five days since Thalric stirred from stone and took his first breath beside me again. Five days of sunlight spilling through castle windows, of laughter echoing where silence once reigned. And in less than a week, we’ll be wed.
If it were up to me, we would have been married the moment his heartbeat returned.
But my parents insisted on ceremony and formality.
On giving the royal courts of every neighboring kingdom time to send their envoys and gifts.
I argued, of course. They wanted six months.
I said a few weeks, at most. We compromised somewhere in the middle, though everyone knows I won the argument.
As Fiora likes to remind me, she raised me, and she’s fond of teasing that my parents have no idea just how stubborn their daughter can be. She calls it determination. And I believe I like that word better.
While I’ve been pacing the halls counting the days and being fitted for my dress and making decisions about our ceremony, Thalric and his father have spent the last few busy with matters of the realm, specifically, selecting a new personal guard for me from among the king’s elite.
His father insists that a husband cannot serve as his mate’s guard, and Thalric and my parents agree.
Their first choice, a courteous Gargoyle named Kaen, is stationed just outside my chambers even now.
He bowed when I passed him earlier, wings folded neatly, his expression as unreadable as carved granite.
He’s kind, though. Gentle in that way Gargoyles often are.
They are stone on the outside but warm and friendly beneath the tough exterior.
I know Kaen’s shift ends soon, but the thought of waiting even that long makes my chest ache.
I woke again tonight from the same dream… the one where Thalric is still trapped, motionless and gray, covered in stone. I reached for him, screaming his name, but he never moved.
That was enough to decide things for me.
I’m done waiting. I want to be his mate now.
Quietly, I slip from bed, the marble floor cool beneath my bare feet. The moonlight drapes my balcony in silver, and the night air carries the faint scent of rain. From beneath the chest at the foot of my bed, I pull the coiled rope I hid days ago in anticipation of something like this.
My pulse flutters as I tie the rope to the railing and peer over the edge. The wind rises, ruffling my hair. I swallow hard. It’s a long way down, but I’ve done this before. And I’m confident in my abilities.
Tonight, nothing… not fear, not protocol, not even propriety will keep me from Thalric.
The night air is cool against my skin, scented faintly with jasmine and roses from the gardens below. I’m halfway down when powerful arms suddenly scoop me from the rope, cradling me tightly against the solid warmth of his chest.
“What are you doing, Aurora?” Thalric demands, but there’s not truly any anger in his tone, only concern. “This is not safe.”
I smile, pressing my cheek into his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. “I knew you’d catch me. You always come when I need you, Thalric. You would never let me fall.”
His expression softens as he tightens his arms around me and nuzzles my temple. “You are my heart.”
In his embrace, suspended beneath the stars, I feel so safe and cherished.
He cradles me to his chest as he carries me into his cavern. Fire burns low on the hearth across the way, casting a soft orange glow through the space. His scent of fresh rain and stone envelops me—uniquely, irresistibly him.
When he carefully sets me down, he cups my cheek, studying me with a look of intense devotion.
My heart clenches because it reminds me of my nightmare and how he was imprisoned in stone with the exact expression he wears now as he studies me intently. “Is everything alright?”
Instead of answering, I stretch up on my toes, wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his in a tender kiss that soon turns urgent.
His momentary surprise melts into fierce hunger, arms tightening around me as he meets my kiss with equal desperation. He claims my mouth, his tongue stroking against mine. Our lips mesh repeatedly, each kiss becoming more urgent, sending small ripples of pleasure down my spine.
“I want to be yours,” I whisper between our kisses. “Now, Thalric. I don’t want to wait any longer for you to claim me.”
He pulls back, panting heavily, his eyes glowing with barely restrained passion. “But the wedding is only a week away.”
“I don’t care,” I whisper, pulling his mouth back to mine, craving the taste and heat of him. “I want to be your mate. I want to be yours completely.”
Something snaps inside him, and he crushes me to his chest, deepening our kiss.
The world around us fades into a blur of heat and sensation as he carries me to the soft furs of his nest and lays me down. He crawls over me, staring down at me, his gaze full of desire and possession. “Are you sure this is what you want, Auri? Because I will wait if you—”
I cup the back of his neck and pull his lips down to mine, showing him just how much I want this. Want him.
I trace my hands over his body, exploring the hard planes of muscle along his abdomen and chest. He rips his mouth from mine and presses a series of kisses along my jaw and down to the curve of my neck and shoulder.
The thin straps of my nightshift slip from my shoulders, pooling around my waist before I remove it the rest of the way, leaving me bare beneath him. He stares down at me, his gaze full of awe and reverence as he whispers, “You are perfect.”
He leans in and my breath hitches as his warm lips brush across the sensitive swell of my breast, his tongue laving over my sensitive peak, sending exquisite pleasure cascading through me.
“Thalric,” I breathe, arching helplessly into him, craving more. “Please.”
He trails his hand down my body and gently parts my thighs. His golden eyes stare deep into mine as he drags his fingers through my already slick folds, each touch igniting fire in my veins.
Pleasure coils deep within as he brushes his thumb over the small pearl of flesh at the apex. I arch into his touch as he slips one finger into my channel. “Please,” I whisper. “I want all of you. Not just your hand.”
“You’re so tight,” he rasps, his breathing ragged. “Aurora, I must prepare you first. You’re smaller than I am, and I will not risk hurting you.”
My fingers curl into his shoulders, nails biting lightly into his skin. “You could never hurt me,” I whisper. “I know you won’t.”
Reaching down, I wrap my hand around his stav, surprised that he’s so big my fingers do not touch around him. He groans as I explore his length, tracing over a series of firm ridges before finding a soft, spongy ring of tissue around the base.
Gently, I squeeze and it begins to harden, a small burst of warm liquid erupting from his stav and onto my abdomen.
He snarls and removes my hand, lowering his forehead to mine as he pants heavily. “If we do not stop now, I’ll be tempted to take you. And I’m worried that I’ll hurt you, Auri.” His voice is tight with barely contained desire. “And I want you to feel only pleasure.”
I press my lips to his and whisper against them. “I trust you, Thalric. Completely.”
A low and primal growl of arousal escapes him as his careful control fractures beneath my words. His powerful form covers mine, the heat of his crown pressing against the entrance to my core.
Reaching up, I cup his cheek and gaze deep into his eyes. “I love you, Thalric. I want you, my love.”
The breath stutters from my lungs as he slowly enters me, each gentle thrust pushing him deeper inside me.
I gasp at the small pinch of pain as he pushes through my barrier, and he goes still. Tears sting my eyes as tight heat blooms in my core. I feel so full. It’s too much and not enough all at once, and I draw in a shaking breath as my body slowly adjusts to his invasion.
He starts to pull back, but I tighten my legs around him, stopping him. “Wait,” I whisper. “I just need a moment.”
Nodding, he clenches his jaw, his entire form trembling as if it’s taking all of his concentration to maintain his control and remain still.
As my body begins to relax around him, I urge him to continue.
He advances slowly, until he’s seated to the hilt, deep inside me.
The initial stretch is overwhelming, bordering on pain but quickly transforming into pure, breathtaking pleasure as he rolls his hips against mine and sinks impossibly deeper.
I watch the tension in his powerful jaw, the careful restraint in his eyes as he pauses, fully sheathed inside me. “Gods, Aurora,” he whispers hoarsely. “You feel so good… so perfect.”
Lifting my hips, I tighten my body around his. “I need more, Thalric. Please don’t stop.”
He groans and nuzzles against my neck. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Auri. I’ve dreamed of this moment so many times. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
His eyes swirl with black as he begins moving within me, slow and deep, each careful thrust sending ripples of pleasure through my core.
I trail my hands down his back, my fingers tracing the muscles along the length of his spine, feeling the flex of his hips as he pumps into me.
Need coils tightly within as desire builds deep in my core. My entire body goes taut and then I’m crying out his name as I shatter in his arms. Waves of pleasure wash over and through me, and I’m lost in blissful oblivion.
As I come down from my climax, I realize he’s stopped moving, his gaze fierce but controlled. “Thalric, you didn’t…”
He kisses me tenderly. “If I don’t stop now, Aurora, my knot will swell and lock us together. You were in pain earlier, and I don’t want to hurt you again.”
I touch his face. “I want everything with you. All of you. I don’t want you holding back anything.”
His eyes flare molten gold, fierce with desire and devotion.
“I won’t knot you this night.” He brushes a thumb over my cheek, his voice thick with emotion.
“It’s our first time, and I want this to be gentle and perfect for you.
” He cups my cheek. “When I knot you, I’ll give you my claiming mark, and I cannot claim you fully until our mating flight after our wedding.
That night will be ours, Aurora, and I’ll hold nothing back. My vow.”
My heart pounds as the anticipation of our mating flight stirs a thrill deep within me. I love him more than anything. And I long to be his entirely… just as he is mine.
Just the thought makes intense need rise within me again. I tighten my arms and legs around him and crush my mouth to his.
He curls his tongue around mine in a searing kiss, as he moves inside me again.
Each thrust is measured and controlled as he makes sure to keep his knot just outside my entrance.
The spongy bulge at the base of his stav rubs tantalizingly against my most sensitive spot, heightening every sensation until pleasure coils unbearably tight once more.
My entire body goes tense, clenching around him a moment before my climax crests, sending delicious waves of pleasure through me.
My release triggers his own and Thalric pulls out of me, gripping his stav firmly in hand, he erupts with a primal roar. “Mine!”
The heat of his release splashes across my body as he covers my abdomen and pelvis with the thick, viscous ropes of his seed.
He stares down at me, his gaze full of possession as he takes his hand and spreads his essence over my belly and up to my breasts before reaching down and smoothing it through my already slick folds, marking me with his scent.
My heart clenches as he curls himself protectively around me, enfolding me in his arms and wings. A purr vibrates in his chest, and his voice is a deep and soothing rumble as he tightens his arms around me. “I cherish you, Aurora. Every breath, every beat of my heart is yours, now and always.”