Chapter 25 #2
He lifted his legs, holding them up with his arms. I positioned myself on top, looking down at his beautiful face.
What we had just done had been raw, hot, and bordering on wild.
But this—looking in his breathtaking emerald eyes, seeing every bit of joy and pleasure on his face—was immeasurably better.
His expression told me that Darion felt the same comfort, the same connection that I did.
“Let me know if I go too fast,” I said.
“You won’t.”
Despite that, I still went in slowly, a little at a time, going deeper with each push. I bent down to kiss him. Our mouths met, soft and gentle at first, but then with growing passion and intensity, mirroring my thrusts.
Darion wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. We continued like that with soft pushes, moaning through our kisses. He ran his hands through my hair.
I’d been with many men, but I’d never felt such closeness, such intimacy, such vulnerability as I felt at that moment with Darion.
The feeling was so intense that it made my heart race, the sheer weight of it almost scaring me.
But I gave in and let the emotion sweep over me.
It was at that moment that I realized that this man had cracked open something inside me that no one had ever accessed. I was raw, unrestricted, and exposed.
I savored that feeling for as long as I could, but the gradual building of pleasure was reaching a point of no return. I sat up, lifted his leg, and began to thrust faster as Darion stroked himself.
He stared deep into my eyes with a look I had never seen from him before. It seemed I may have cracked something open inside him, too.
Then, just as release flowed through me, Darion’s golden shimmer surrounded us.
Our eyes were locked, both with looks of utter vulnerability, like we had stepped off a cliff together.
It might have lasted ten seconds or an hour.
Time had no meaning, and the two of us were utterly lost together, with no idea where one of us ended and the other began.
Then time rushed back, and we both gasped at the enormity of what we had just shared.
I collapsed onto him. Other than our heaving chests, we didn’t move, just held on to each other. We stayed together that way for a long time, letting our heart rates slow.
There were no words. No words to describe it. Words would just diminish the moment.
I pulled out, and we lay on our sides, pressed together, face-to-face, soaking each other in, exchanging soft touches and the occasional kiss. And for once, I didn’t brace for when this would all be taken away from me.
I felt my eyelids drop, and I fell into the most blissful sleep I could recall.
When I woke, it was late at night, and the fire had turned to embers.
I was still curled up next to Darion, but he was awake, staring absently at the ceiling, forehead creased. It was the look I’d seen before when he was thinking hard about something.
“Hey,” I said.
He turned to me and smiled. “Hi. You were really out. You slept through my whole Ember hangover.”
“Well, you take a lot out of me,” I said with a smile.
Darion smiled back. “I like taking a lot out of you. You’re amazing, you know that?” He ran his hand through my hair.
“You’re amazing.”
Darion turned and looked at the ceiling again.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked.
Darion sighed. “Cas, when you meet the council tomorrow morning, it’s better if I’m not there. There may be some who disagree with how I’ve handled your Trials, and that might complicate matters.”
“I understand,” I said, although I would have preferred for him to be there. Then again, I didn’t really know what to expect.
He turned his head to look at me. “When the council asks you questions, be sure to answer them truthfully and from your heart.”
I nodded, then lay my head on his chest, gently caressing the bit of hair between his pecs. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
He kissed the top of my head in answer, and we both drifted off again.
I woke to the second bell ringing. Gauging time was no easy task in the Underground, but the clock tower bells still reverberated through the foundations.
I reached for Darion, but in his place was an empty indentation in the bed.
The sheets were cold. Very cold, as if he’d been gone for a while.
Panic hit. I knew it was irrational, but it didn’t stop the way I felt.
I hopped out of bed, cleaned up at the washbasin, and threw on some clothes. I wanted to check on Elena; I hadn’t seen her since last night when I’d helped her to bed, and guilt hit me at the thought of her being alone.
The hallway outside my room was empty. I knocked on her door, but no one answered. After knocking again, I gently opened the door. “Elena?” Still no answer.
The room was deserted, and the bed had been carefully made. The panic I felt doubled. I raced out of her room, not sure where to go but determined to find some answers. In my haste, I nearly ran into Caldren, the head of the guard, whom we had met at the entrance yesterday.
“Cassian Nightbrook,” he said in a booming voice, “the council has summoned you.”