52. Chapter 52
T he cold water bit against Kaelin’s skin. The shock stripped away the heat of battle, leaving only clarity.
Kaelin kept her eyes on Ren’s back, noting the way her shoulders tensed, how she stilled like someone teetering on the edge of a cliff. Ren’s shoulders finally eased, and she turned.
A flicker of anticipation stirred in Kaelin’s chest.
Ren didn’t meet Kaelin’s gaze. Her fingers went to the buckles of her armor, working them loose, the leather straps whispering secrets as they fell away. Then came the layers beneath – fabric peeling from her skin, revealing curves and lean lines of muscle.
Kaelin brushed damp strands from her face, afraid to blink and miss something.
Ren’s body struck her silent for the stories it told.
Faint scars tracked along Ren’s ribs and the curve of her hip, pale silver against warm skin – marks that were remnants of wounds from fighting where one wrong move could end you.
It made Kaelin’s chest ache in a way she hadn’t expected.
Who did this to you? Kaelin had seen warriors marked by battle before, but never one whose scars made her want to kneel.
Ren stepped toward the river and eased into the water, as though bracing for both the cold. Kaelin watched as if she could memorize every inch before Ren disappeared beneath the surface .
And for the first time in longer than she could remember, Kaelin had no words.
The river clasped Ren like a living being.
She hissed in a breath, arms crossing instinctively over her chest as if that could keep the cold at bay.
Amber eyes met violet eyes. Kaelin stood half-submerged, water beading along her collarbones. Strands of her hair clung to her cheeks.
Kaelin drifted closer, the water parting around her. Her gaze lingered on the smear of dried blood along Ren’s shoulder, the faint bruise darkening near Ren’s collarbone.
“Turn,” Kaelin murmured.
Ren hesitated only a breath before obeying, the river whispering around them as she turned her back.
She felt Kaelin’s presence before her touch came, then fingers, warm despite the cold water, brushed her shoulder.
Kaelin’s thumb swept through a streak of blood, then traced the curve of Ren’s neck where the pulse still beat fast from battle.
Kaelin dipped her hand beneath the surface, lifting water to pour over Ren’s back. The chill made Ren tense, but Kaelin’s touch soothed the tremor as she worked in deliberate circles, wiping away the remnants of dirt and blood. Her movements were reverent, like cleansing a blade after war.
“I didn’t know whether to protect you or to just stand back and witness you. It was a sight to behold,” Kaelin whispered.
Ren wanted to answer, but the words tangled in her throat.
Kaelin reached for Ren’s hair next, gently combing her fingers through the strands, separating them where they’d knotted. A shiver rippled through Ren before she could stop it, goosebumps rising along her arms.
Ren couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched her hair like this.
Kaelin’s fingers moved again, the motion rhythmic and steady, and the world seemed to narrow to that single feeling of the slide of fingers through Ren’s hair, the river murmuring around them, the steady thrum of her own heart answering Kaelin’s nearness.
Ren half-turned, but Kaelin only smiled faintly, continuing to thread her fingers through. The gesture was so unexpectedly tender that it hollowed something inside Ren’s chest. Kaelin leaned in, admitting softly, “I’ve never trusted anyone to watch my back the way I trust you.”
Kaelin bent her head, lips brushing lightly over the curve of Ren’s shoulder.
A warrior’s benediction.
Kaelin closed the remaining space until the water between them no longer existed. Kaelin’s gaze never wavered, the violet of her eyes deepening with arousal.
“Ren… may I?” Kaelin asked quietly, her hand still hovering in the water. “I don’t want to touch you if it isn’t what you want. It matters to me.”
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Ren gave a nod.
Kaelin’s hand slid through the water until her fingers curled at Ren’s hip with a reverence that made Ren’s chest ache, and then Kaelin drew Ren forward, closing that last sliver of space.
The warm press of Kaelin’s skin met hers, bare from shoulder to thigh beneath the water, and Ren’s heart clenched in something dangerously close to surrender.
She smelled the faint trace of lavender and frosted-kissed grapefruit tangled in Kaelin’s damp hair, felt the steady rise and fall of Kaelin’s breath against her chest.
Kaelin tilted her head, and the world narrowed to her violet eyes, the single bead of water sliding down her temple.
Kaelin’s mouth brushed Ren’s, light and inquisitive.
The second press of Kaelin’s lips was surer, deeper. Her tongue brushed gently against Ren’s slightly parted lips in a silent request for more , as the hand at Ren’s hip tightened. Ren’s own fingers found their way to Kaelin’s nape then, holding her there as if she might vanish.
Somewhere in the distance, thunder boomed.
If that was the sign from the gods to stop , Ren thought, then let the gods be damned.
They didn’t break. Didn’t breathe, except into each other, the taste of river and heat tangling between them. Kaelin’s other hand skimmed Ren’s spine. The kiss deepened until Ren wasn’t sure if the ache in her chest was from lack of air or the startling truth that she didn’t want this to end.
Finally, they parted just enough for Ren to gasp, her lips tingling from the press of Kaelin’s searing mouth.
Kaelin’s lidded eyes held Ren’s gaze with a soft hunger.
Kaelin’s fingers trailed lightly up Ren’s back, then curved around to her side, brushing the underside of her breast. The touch was feather-soft, sending another shiver through Ren.
Ren arched into Kaelin’s touch instinctively, her own hands sliding over Kaelin’s wet skin, tracing the delicate points of her ears before dipping to her shoulders.
Kaelin smiled against Ren’s lips, a supple kiss landing there before moving to Ren’s jaw, then down the column of her throat.
Each kiss lingered, as if Kaelin meant to memorize all the different planes of Ren’s skin through touch alone.
Emboldened, Kaelin’s hand cupped Ren’s breast fully, thumb circling the nipple in slow, lazy spirals.
Ren drew in a breath, the sensation blooming into a quiet heat low in her belly.
Ren automatically mirrored the touch, her palm gliding over one of Kaelin’s lush, rounded breasts, the generous flesh spilling slightly over her fingers.
Ren teased the hardened peak with gentle pinches that drew a soft moan from Kaelin.
Their bodies pressed closer in the shallow current, legs tangling as the water lapped at their thighs.
Kaelin’s kisses trailed lower, nipping lightly at Ren's collarbone before returning to capture Ren’s mouth again.
Kaelin’s free hand slid down Ren’s spine, pulling her closer until their breasts mashed together, as if drawn by an unbreakable magnetic pull.
They couldn’t bear even a moment’s separation, palms gliding over hips, thighs, and the curve of asses, squeezing and caressing with urgent tenderness that spoke of their insatiable hunger for one another.
Their bodies grinded instinctively as passion overtook them, each caress fueling the fire that made parting impossible.
Ren’s free hand ventured downward, skimming Kaelin’s hip. Kaelin caught it gently, guiding it back up. “Let me,” Kaelin whispered, her voice a husky murmur against Ren’s ear.
With that, Kaelin’s hand slipped from Ren’s breast, trailing over her ribs, her stomach, until it reached the soft mound between Ren’s legs.
The touch there was even gentler, fingers parting Ren’s folds with care, stroking the entrance without urgency.
Ren whimpered into the kiss, her hips shifting forward as Kaelin’s middle finger circled her clit in feather-light loops, building a slow ache that made Ren’s thighs tremble.
They kissed languidly, tongues brushing in supple dances, while Kaelin’s finger dipped inside Ren, shallow at first, then deeper with each gentle thrust. Ren’s walls clenched around the intrusion, the warmth of it contrasting with the cool water.
Kaelin’s other hand returned to Ren’s nipple, pinching softly in time with her fingering, the dual sensations weaving a tender rhythm.
Ren’s breaths came faster, ragged against Kaelin’s lips, her body coiling tighter as Kaelin’s finger curled inside her, pressing against a sensitive spot that drew any ounce of sanity from Ren.
The touches remained soft, insistent but never rough, coaxing Ren toward the edge with patient yet steady strokes.
Kaelin kissed her neck, her shoulder, murmuring encouragements in a lilting tone that nearly drove Ren over the edge.
“Ren,” Kaelin breathed against Ren’s flushed skin, her voice husky, lips grazing the pulse point at Ren’s throat.
“You unraveled me completely. I feel like I’ve lost every shred of sanity just from touching you like this.
You are driving me mad with want.” Her finger thrust deeper, curling again to stroke that inner spot, while her thumb resumed its light circles over Ren’s clit.
Ren gasped, her hands clutching at Kaelin’s shoulders, nails digging in just enough to leave faint marks on the fae’s pale skin.
“I can’t get enough,” Kaelin confessed, her golden hair falling wet over her face as she lifted her head to capture Ren's gaze, eyes dark with passion. “You’re making me ache everywhere, Ren; my mind’s spinning, all I can think about is feeling you come undone around my fingers, hearing you moan my name.
” She nipped at Ren’s lower lip, then soothed it with a slow lick, her finger plunging steadily now, the wet sounds of her movements mingling with their shared breaths.
Ren’s hips bucked involuntarily, chasing the building pleasure, her walls clenching harder around Kaelin’s invading digit as Kaelin added a second finger, stretching her gently, scissoring them to rub against her walls from different angles.
Kaelin’s mouth returned to Ren’s breast, tongue flicking the nipple before sucking it in with soft pulls, the suction syncing with the curl of her fingers inside.
The combined menstruations pushed Ren closer, heat blooming deep in her core .
Kaelin pulled back just enough to whisper fiercely, “Let go for me. I've gone insane for you, and I need to feel you shatter.” Her words were a heated plea as she quickened the pace ever so slightly, fingers thrusting with insistent tenderness, thumb pressing firmer on the swollen clit. Ren’s whimpers turned to cries, her back arching as her orgasm crested, waves of release pulsing through her, walls fluttering and squeezing Kaelin’s fingers in rhythmic contractions.
Ren rode out the climax, body shuddering in Kaelin’s embrace.
Kaelin held her through it, slowing her strokes to soft caresses, withdrawing her fingers only when the tremors faded. She kissed Ren’s forehead, her cheeks.
They stayed entwined, foreheads together, breaths syncing with the lapping of the water.