Chapter 16
Something was dripping rivulets of cold water down my forehead and into my hair, threatening to wake me out of a dreamless sleep.
Whatever it was lifted and dripped water onto my closed eyelids. Yep. There it was. Awake now.
I squinted upward at Crispin holding a damp washcloth midair as he watched my eyes opening. He set the washcloth aside, then felt the side of my neck with his palm. “Thank goodness. I was beginning to think you’d be out all night.”
I blinked a few times, realizing it was lamplight gilding one side of his face and not regular electricity. “Still the same night?” I croaked.
“Yes. It’s only been about an hour.”
Tension I’d woken with eased out of me. I felt bad enough making the other guys worry for one night. I would be apologizing forever if it went on for more.
“Do you want to sit up?” he asked.
I thought about it, started to shake my head, then winced.
I wasn’t exactly comfortable. I was pretty sure he’d just piled up fresh blankets on the ground to make a little nest for me.
I was glad he knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t have liked to be bundled up in his mother’s bed.
Or maybe he was the one who wouldn’t have liked it.
Either way, I’d take the floor. Even if my head was currently killing me.
“All the darkness is gone?”
Crispin’s eyes shuttered. “It would seem so.”
“Why does it feel like that’s a bad thing?”
“I’m just wondering where it’s all going. You don’t feel any different?”
Wincing, I finally sat up. “I feel like I got hit by a truck, but magically I don’t feel anything. I certainly don’t feel like there’s a big dark monster lurking inside me.”
His eyes flickered with something unsaid. I could sense his emotions bubbling to the surface. I waited, giving him the time he seemed to need.
“There’s something else,” he said finally. “Something you should know if we are to figure out just what this darkness is.”
I waited for him to go on, but he still seemed hesitant. When he didn’t speak, I said, “Why do you think it was different here? It was like a monster. And all oily. Not like the shadow beasts at all.”
He sighed. “That’s exactly it. That thing—” once more he hesitated, “that thing was something I used to dream about, after my mother sold me off. It was a recurring nightmare, a monster snatching me and drowning me.”
It took me a moment to process what he was saying. “You mean not only did it read you enough to go to the place you loved as a child, it also knew one of your old nightmares?”
“It would seem so.”
I thought about it. The only other shapes we’d encountered had been the shadow beasts. But maybe… “Do you think when Silvana’s people got cut off from both realms, maybe they were afraid of whatever beasts might lurk in the pocket realm?”
Crispin blinked at me.
I felt kind of silly even suggesting it, but it did sort of make sense. “The darkness that targeted you formed into one of your old fears. Maybe it did that with Silvana and the others too.”
“Curious,” he said, clearly deep in thought, then didn’t speak again.
I would have snapped my fingers in front of his face if I felt strong enough to lift an arm.
Maybe we’d be gone more than one night after all, because I certainly didn’t feel well enough to bring us back to Emerald Heights.
Not even with the Realm Breaker, which I noted had been removed from my back and was leaning against the small dining table next to my boots.
At least my pained expression seemed enough to bring Crispin back to reality. “I’d like to attempt sharing some of my magical energy with you. In this realm I can channel a great deal from the earth. I can recharge you like I did before in the Bogs.”
Once, I would have thought long and hard about a magical exchange. Now, all I could say was, “Okay.”
He smiled, though it was a little sad, then leaned forward to cup my face with his palms. He had been seated with his legs curled to one side so he could lean over me, and now as I curled my legs, we mirrored each other.
I leaned into his touch, waiting to feel better, then had to close my eyes as moonlight lit up where our skin touched.
As his magic seeped into me, I braced my palms against his chest. The only problem with sharing magic like this was that I always wanted more.
The golden cord between us flashed bright and shining in my mind’s eye, and without thought I leaned further forward and kissed him.
He went still for a moment, his hands still cradling my jaw, then he pulled me more firmly against him, his tongue searching my mouth. The moonlight where our skin touched intensified as I crawled into his lap, deepening our kiss.
His hands skimmed my waist, finding the bare flesh between my jeans and my jacket before lifting to slide the jacket off my arms. He kissed down my neck and I hugged my bare arms around him.
I hesitated, feeling like maybe I should be nervous.
I had never really been alone with Crispin like this, not where we wouldn’t be interrupted.
But I didn’t feel nervous. I felt safe and connected.
I knew he didn’t like to talk about his mother, and I’d never heard him share his nightmares.
I appreciated that he was willing to share both with me.
I kissed his temple, then the point of his ear, making his breath shudder against me.
“Thank you for not letting me run away,” he said, then took my jaw in his hands again and claimed my mouth, swallowing my groan as I felt his hardness pushing through his pants against me.
I shifted my weight, settling more fully against him as his hands slid under my shirt, fingers tracing the bare skin of my back.
The moonlit glow between us pulsed brighter with each touch, each kiss.
His magic flowed into me, warming me from the inside out, healing the ache in my head, replacing it with a different kind of tension.
“Eva,” he whispered against my lips, “we should stop.”
I pulled back just enough to see his face. His pupils were dilated, his breathing shallow. “Do you want to stop?”
His hands stilled on my back. “No, but—”
“Then don’t.” I captured his mouth again, feeling his hesitation melt away as he kissed me back with renewed passion.
His fingers found the clasp of my bra, and in moments, my shirt and bra were pooled on the floor beside us. The cool air raised goosebumps on my skin, but his warm hands chased them away as he explored my body while I shifted in his lap, feeling the heat of him through his clothes.
“Eva,” he whispered against my lips, his breath warm and sweet. “Are you sure?”
In answer, I reached between us, my fingers fumbling with the buttons of his shirt.
He chuckled softly, helping me with the task until his chest was bare.
His skin was lightly tanned, smooth and warm under my palms. I traced the contours of his muscles, fascinated by how different he felt from Mistral, Gabriel, or Sebastian.
He and Sebastian might have been similar in build, but there was something different about elves and their earthy, spring-like magic.
Crispin moved his hands from my back to slide up my breasts, the cool air of the cottage kissing my skin where his warmth had been. His thumbs brushed over my nipples, making me gasp into his mouth.
“You’re wonderful,” he murmured against my skin as he lowered his head to kiss the curve of my neck, then lower still.
I arched into him as his lips found my breast, his tongue swirling around my nipple. I tugged at his shirt, unbuttoned but still over his arms, needing to feel his skin against mine. He pulled back just enough to help me remove it, then returned to me, his bare chest warm against my own.
My fingers traced the lean muscles of his shoulders and back as he laid me down on the nest of blankets.
His weight pressed me into the soft bedding as he continued his exploration of my body with his lips and hands.
I felt his magic flowing into me with each touch, healing and energizing me while simultaneously driving me to want more of him.
“I’ve wanted this,” he confessed, his voice rough. “Just us. At least once.” When his fingers brushed the swell of my breasts again, I arched into his touch. I watched his face, mesmerized by the way his eyes darkened with desire as he explored my body.
“Spectacular,” he murmured, lowering his head to take one nipple into his mouth again. The warm, wet heat of his tongue made me moan, my fingers tangling in his hair. His magic pulsed between us, intensifying the sensation until I was trembling in his arms.
I jolted as he plucked at the button on my jeans, then he pushed down the zipper.
He had to sit back to pull them off of me, and fortunately he had removed my boots while I was unconscious so we wouldn’t be dealing with that extra distraction.
My need was something alive. Consumed with magic and the bond between us.
I tugged at his belt, eager to feel more of him. He helped me, unfastening his pants and pushing them down his hips. Crispin’s eyes never left me, his gaze hungry and appreciative.
When we were both naked, he sat back again, pulling me into his lap until our bodies were flush against each other.
The moonlight glow that had been dancing across our skin intensified, casting the small cottage in a silvery luminescence.
His hardness pressed against my inner thigh, and I shifted my hips, desperate for more contact.
“Eva,” he breathed, his hands gripping my waist. “Do you want—”
I cut him off by reaching between us, wrapping my fingers around his length. He groaned, his head falling back as I stroked him slowly.
“More than anything,” I whispered, sitting up on my knees as I guided him to my entrance.
His eyes met mine as I sank down onto him.
We both gasped at the sensation of being joined so completely.
The moonlight between us flared bright enough to make the shadows in the corners of the cottage disappear entirely.
His magic flowed into me, creating a current of electricity that danced across my skin.
I rocked my hips, gasping as that inner tension built, his fingers digging into the flesh of my hips.
The golden cord between us pulsed with each groan, his hands guiding me in a slow, sensual rhythm.
Then he looped one arm more firmly around my lower back, lifting us both as he got to his knees. Staying inside me, he laid me back on the blankets. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer.
The fullness of him stretching me sent waves of pleasure through my body. I gasped, arching my back as he began to move, each thrust sending ripples of magic coursing deep into me.
“You feel incredible,” he murmured, his pace increasing. “I’ve dreamed of this.”
I couldn’t answer, lost in the sensation of it all. Each thrust sent waves of pleasure through me. The golden cord connecting us shimmered in my mind, pulsing with each movement of our bodies.
“I can feel you,” he whispered, his voice strained. “Your magic, your emotions... everything.”
I lifted my head, capturing his mouth with mine as we moved together. I could feel his emotions too—the desire, the connection, but also something deeper, more vulnerable.
When his hands moved to cup my breasts, I groaned, bucking my hips upward, disrupting his steady rhythm and making him shudder.
“Eva,” he breathed against each renewed thrust. I could feel his emotions mixing with mine—desire, tenderness, and a fierce protectiveness that made my heart swell.
Crispin changed his angle slightly, hitting a spot that made me cry out. My nails dug into his shoulders as pleasure built at my core.
“That’s it,” he encouraged, his voice rough. “Let me feel you.”
I wrapped my legs tighter around him, pulling him deeper. The moonlight patterns on our skin swirled faster as our movements became more urgent. I felt myself climbing higher, the tension building until I thought I might shatter.
He pressed his mouth to mine, swallowing my moans as his pace increased, bringing me to the trembling edge of release.
“Let go,” he whispered against my mouth, his voice rough. “I’ve got you.”
His hand slid between us, his fingers finding that sensitive spot that made me cry out. The combination of his touch and his magic pushing me higher was too much. I shattered around him, my body convulsing with waves of pleasure.
Crispin followed me over the edge, his own release triggered by mine. With one final shudder he slumped over me, our hearts racing together.
As the moonlit glow faded, he buried his face in my neck, breathing me in. Against my skin he said, “Do you feel any better?”
I laughed, my body feeling limp and liquid. “Much.”
He cradled one hand at the back of my head since we were lacking in pillows. After a moment, he said, “I’m glad we came here, Eva.”
I couldn’t help getting the warm and fuzzies that he was actually glad to have faced his past. Maybe moving forward, it wouldn’t pain him so much. And I was glad we could do the whole moving forward thing together.