Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
LYVIA
Freedom granted by Olienna, Queen of Nivis.
– A Written History of the Itherians, by Olienna. Crystal Castle.
Lyvia – The Arx, Votruvia
Amoan escaped my lips as my body hit the warm water. The calming scent of eucalyptus and lavender wafted from the surface, and I sucked in a breath before diving beneath, running my hands through my hair and ridding it of spider guts.
A cool tingle kissed my skin as my face breached the surface, and I opened my eyes to find Kellan studying my face. His dark gaze didn’t wander as I inched closer.
“Turn around,” I murmured, twirling my finger.
The corner of his lip tugged up, and he rotated, facing away from me as I slid closer and propped my ass on the submerged stone ledge beside him.
Shallow muscles rippled over his back as he shifted, causing little lines of blood to twirl like smoke beneath the water.
His shoulders slumped as the tips of my fingers slid to the center of his back and gently up the line of his spine.
I drew small circles with the pads of my thumbs, pressing lightly as I massaged the tensed muscle beneath, freeing his beautiful tan skin from the layers of grime and blood.
Kellan’s body relaxed as I worked the muscles of his back, my fingers lightening their touch as I neared the brutal gashes on his sides. I moved to his shoulders, tracing the twirling tattoos. My palms made long, slow sweeps over the muscled mounds before sliding down the tops of his biceps.
I inched closer, and the tips of my breasts grazed his back as I brushed my fingernails over his forearms and slid the pads of my fingers down the center of his palms before clasping our hands.
He groaned, and I blew out a slow breath before planting a kiss in the crook of his neck. I released his hands and straightened.
“Head back,” I murmured, bringing my hands to the back of his head and gently tugging the thin strap of leather free, letting his hair fall loose and pool before me.
I tugged my fingers through some of the thick braids, the water loosening the crimped lines.
Kellan leaned his head back in the water, closing his eyes as I gently ran my nails along his scalp, marveling as the water shifted the dark auburn of his hair to the exact shade of black cherry wine.
Kellan sucked in a breath after a minute of this, dunking his head beneath the surface and running his hands over his face as he popped back up.
“You’re going to put me to sleep, Bonscaíh,” he purred, turning slowly to face me.
“Good.” I smiled, pressing my thighs together as I scanned his chest.
He shook his head, his eyes darkening as he inched closer.
“I’m not ready to sleep,” he murmured, jerking his chin toward me. “And it’s your turn.”
“I’m not injured,” I countered, raising a brow and crossing my arms in front of my breasts.
Kellan ignored me, closing the space between us and capturing my next breath with his mouth.
The kiss was soft, but less tender and restrained than our first. A desperation hid behind his lips as he forced them to slow their movements.
I slid my tongue against them, smiling and knowing his control was soon to slip its leash.
And we were utterly alone. The crystal chamber was ours.
“I don’t care,” he whispered as he pulled away an inch.
My breath hitched as his arms rotated my shoulders away from him, and he ran his calloused hands over my back. The wide pads of his thumbs drew a firm line up the sides of my neck.
I groaned as they made little sweeping motions on the tiny, tightened muscles, each one melting beneath his touch. My head bobbed forward as I closed my eyes and let him loosen the strained muscles, my body somehow relaxed and awakened at the same time.
He shifted, and something hard and smooth brushed against my lower back. A surge of heat siphoned to the center of my core. Warm water swirled as Kellan put distance between us, and I sucked my lips into my mouth.
“Behave back there, Astraeus,” I scolded, grinning as my teeth pressed into my lips.
Kellan’s hand paused at my neck, his thumb and forefinger sliding to either side of it and pressing down. His other slid over the edge of my ribs, stopping just beneath my breast, and he leaned forward. His breath tickled the edge of my pointed ear.
“I’m not very good at that,” he purred, his thumb running a line along my rib.
I willed my breathing to calm as his fingers slipped to the side of my neck, and my pulse banged in desperation against them.
I blew a slow breath between my lips and forced my eyes open, scanning the vast chamber.
The crystals lining the far wall shifted from teal to green as I looked up at the altar.
“Who do you think they worshipped here?” I asked, changing the subject as I eyed the altar at the top of the winding steps, urging my body to calm the fuck down. “Do the Votruvians worship the same false gods as the rest of the realm?”
He nodded in confirmation, and his nose brushed against the side of my face as he inched closer.
“You worshipped them?” I breathed, unable to stop myself from leaning my back against his chest.
A guttural sound escaped his lips as his hard cock slid against my lower back, and his fingers clenched around my outer ribs.
He took a slow, deep breath that gently pressed me away from him.
“I never believed in them,” he murmured, dipping his head and placing a kiss on my jawline. The hand at the back of my neck squeezed gently. “And there is only one goddess I’d worship at that altar.”
My core went molten, and my legs split, warm water surging between my thighs.
His hand shifted from the side of my ribs, sliding down the center of my abdomen and stopping at the mound beneath my belly button.
The hand behind my neck loosened and slid to the front of my throat.
His thumb drew a delicate line along my jaw as his lips dipped to the edge of my scar.
My mouth went dry as I backed my ass into him, the full length of his cock pressing against me, long and…
demanding. His lips parted at my neck, his tongue sliding slowly over my scar, sucking the taut skin between his lips.
The fingers at my abdomen dipped to the space just above the pulsing pressure of nerves between my legs before sliding back up.
“You’re injured, Kellan,” I breathed, but my legs widened on their own accord as he drew another line down the center of my abdomen, stopping too soon.
“Never too injured for you, Bonscaíh,” he mumbled into my neck.
“For this.” His tongue slipped to my jaw and back down before his teeth grazed the delicate skin on my neck, and he sucked it between his lips.
He nipped the side of my throat as he slid his hand down my core once more, and the fingers at my jaw slid to my lips.
I opened my mouth for him, and he slid a finger between my lips at the same moment the hand at my core trailed to the apex of my thighs. His fingers grazed the bundle of nerves at the top before drawing a soft line to my back entrance.
My lips wrapped around Kellan’s finger, my tongue slipping around his calluses. I sucked, wishing I could replace it with the pulsing length tightening against my ass, but I was unable to shift my body under the weight of desperate pleasure.
Kellan shifted closer, the fingers between my legs lazily slipping over my clit, and I pressed myself against them. Groaning, I sucked harder, and the pirate lord slipped a finger into me, shooting a breath against my neck.
Pressure built as he added another finger, massaging that tender space inside of me as his thumb worked the outside of me. I opened my mouth in a gasp, and he moved his hand from my jaw to my breast, squeezing as he pumped his fingers into me faster.
“How do you want it, Bonscaíh?” he purred against the side of my face, repeating the words from our shared dream. “Do you want me to fuck you? Do you want me to read you like a book? Memorize every line…”
The hand at my breast relaxed, and his thumb flicked my nipple, peaking it against the cool air.
“Memorize every word…”
His forearm pressed against my inner thigh, forcing my legs wider as he twisted his fingers inside of me.
“Yes,” I moaned.
Yes. Yes to all of it… Yes to everything… Yes to him…
“Come for me.” The command left his lips, and his thumb made quick, hard circles against my clit before stars exploded behind my eyes.
Pleasure raced through me as my body racked in convulsions, his hand maintaining a firm grip between my legs as I shuddered against him.
My head bobbed back onto his shoulder as he slipped his hands from between my legs and wrapped his arms around my waist. He laid a kiss on my temple as he gave me a gentle squeeze.
“I love you,” he murmured against my skin.
I shifted, sitting up and turning to wrap my arms around his neck. My thigh bumped the long length of him, and my mouth parted as my eyes betrayed me, sliding down his abdomen and taking in the sight of him.
Fuck me.
My core ignited, and I made to straddle him. His eyes darkened, but the side of his mouth kicked up into a smirk. He gripped my thighs, pulling them higher around his waist and abruptly standing.
“I am not done with you,” he growled, hoisting me out of the water and stepping onto the winding stone path.
His mouth crushed against mine, the fullness of his lips smooth and hard and claiming.
I sucked his tongue into my mouth as I speared my fingers through his wet hair, and he carried me up the steps.
My ass hit the cool stone altar, and he pressed my thighs apart before he straightened, breaking our kiss and taking a step back. My mouth fell open as I let my gaze travel over the magnificence that was his body—that was him.