Chapter 58
Alora
After revelations meant to shatter the Heavens, after truths that should have split fate clean in two, they were still here.
His mouth pressed against hers, tasting so sweet, and Alora kissed him back, pouring everything she was into him.
Grief for what had been lost and wonder for what still lived.
Alora rose on her toes, wrapping her around his neck and kissed him again. Her fingers tangled in his hair, giving herself over to the fire of it.
The bond hummed, no longer fractured by secrets, but full and blazing and achingly real. Their magic sparked like flame in oil and shadows surged around them in waves, swallowing the room in a storm.
“What does ra’ayati mean?” she murmured between kisses.
Rune’s hands trembled where they framed her face, reverent now, almost unsure, as if loving her openly were a risk he had never before been allowed to take. “It is the language of the Heavens,” he said, hands sliding up her back. “It means ‘my beloved wife’.”
Tears shimmered in her vision, not falling yet, caught in that fragile place between breaking and becoming.
“Say it again,” he breathed. “I want to hear those sweet words again.”
“I love you—”
His mouth crashed into hers. And this time, his kiss wasn’t merely yearning.
There was no air, no thought, only Rune, his mouth, his touch. His vow written in the press of his lips and the tremor of his breath. It took over everything until there was nothing left but light and dark colliding.
And she was ready to surrender herself fully to him.
Stepping back, her fingers trembled as she reached for the laces of her bodice. Her heart thundered in her chest, each pull of the strings feeling like a quiet crossing of a threshold where she had no experience and surrender as she gave it all.
Rune’s brow furrowed, features softening as his fingers lightly stroked along her jaw. “Coming to my bed will always be your choice.”
She smiled faintly, pressing a kiss to his palm, grounding herself in the warmth of him. “I know. I want to…”
He studied her face, reading the hesitation she could not quite hide. “But?”
Her cheeks warmed and she bit her lip, the words catching before they could form. “With the war coming, I wonder if I should take… precautions.”
Rune’s brows lifted when he caught her meaning, then fell. “Ah,” he said softly. “You will not fall pregnant, songbird. I cannot sire children. Elyōn made sure of that.”
The way he said it made her chest ache. His glowing eyes searched hers, bracing for her reaction. It did sadden her, she had to admit. But the sorrow of what they couldn’t have did not outweigh what stood before her now. Because she finally had him.
In a world where everything else had been taken from them, that was a miracle.
Alora reached up to unclasp the strap on her left shoulder and let the dress fall softly in a pool of liquid night at her feet.
Rune exhaled raggedly.
She stood at the foot of his bed, glittering sin.
The thin delicate chains kissed her skin, catching firelight with every breath.
They sculpted her form in gilded jewels that framed her breasts.
More dripped down her bare stomach and hips like the trails of a fallen star, the smallest of movements sending tiny sparkles cascading over her thighs.
It appeared like Rune had forgotten how to breathe.
He stared at her like she was a feast for a starving man. But he remained absolutely still, jaw tight, crimson eyes burning as his gaze raked over every glittering curve.
Alora tilted her head with a quiet laugh. “Well? Say something.”
“I’m trying not to lose control,” he growled.
Her heart thrummed wildly in her chest beneath the intensity of his gaze, but Alora raised her chin, a smile playing on her lips. There was no challenge she wouldn’t meet.
“I was told,” she said, running a finger along one jeweled strand curving over her waist and his wings snapped taut. “that this ensemble was dangerous enough to make a man kneel.” Her head canted. “Do you disagree?”
His eyes were scorching. “It’s enough to make me destroy any male who dared lay eyes on you.”
Heat bloomed in her core at the possessive claim.
He took a step but halted when she raised her hand.
His clawed hand took her wrist, raising it to his mouth.
He pressed his nose to her vein, inhaling her scent as if it were ambrosia.
Her body heated as his forked tongue traced over her pulse.
Whenever they stood this close, he always sought it, savoring the steady thrum.
As though reassuring himself her heart still beat.
“You truly are the source of my torment,” he rumbled. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
Rune’s gaze raked over slowly, tail flicking in a stalking rhythm, every part of him a predator in that moment. Alora swallowed but kept still. Tendrils of shadows coiled loosely around her ankles, traveling up her thighs.
The air thinned as he stood close, his body caging hers. She shivered at the hard press against her back. He grasped her throat, gentle but firm, razor sharp claws circling the beat of her heart.
“You appear before me like this,” he purred in her ear, every syllable sinking liquid fire into her bones. “And expect restraint?”
“No,” she breathed. “I expect to be devoured.”
Rune’s grip tightened enough to cut off some air and her core throbbed. “Oh, you will be.”
In a move so smooth, he whisked her off her feet.
With one arm beneath her thighs and one at her back, he carried her to the bed like she was the most sacred thing the world had ever made.
Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, his gaze raked over her body where she stood in front of him. His lethal sharp claws teased the thin chain draped along her waist. His other hand slipped down her torso and beneath the gold-lined edge of her thigh chain.
“You know I would never harm you, right?” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her hipbone. “I worship the ground you walk on.”
“Yes…” Alora panted as his tongue traced the glowing marking curling over her torso to her navel, maddeningly slow. Then he nipped her and she yelped.
He smiled against her skin, but his gaze burned bright and devastating. “What I am about to do to you may have you doubt otherwise.”
The warning sent her heart thrumming with thrill and anticipation.
“You come to me as a tantalizing gift wrapped in silver… and I am tempted to tear it off and feast on every inch I reveal.”
His claws retracted as his fingers trailed down and lightly teased her heated slit begging for his touch. He growled in delight to find her already wet and wanting. She whimpered when his long tongue wrapped around her nipple.
But I intend to take my time unveiling you slowly.
He slipped a long finger inside of her, drawing a sharp breath from her lips. Every stroke broke fire across her skin. He pulled her onto his lap, spreading her further for him as he slipped in another finger inside. She cried out at the fullness of it.
The scarlet in Rune’s gaze burned as he watched her ride his fingers, the chains gentling jingling with each roll of her hips.
Alora’s breath hitched when he dissolved in shadow, appearing behind her, his lips at her neck, shadows wrapping around her legs like restraints.
“Otherwise,” Rune continued, voice a little rougher, “I would miss the thrill of teasing you through it.”
He pushed her onto the bed, so she was on her hands and knees. He pulled up her hips, exposing her already wet core and a deep curse rumbled in his chest. She trembled, her heart galloping wildly as the shadows took hold of her wrists.
She shook as his clawed hand caressed her ass, then struck it sharply. She bit back a whimper.
“Your taste has damned me from the moment I savored you,” he snarled, every word vibrating. “And I can no longer resist this maddening craving.”
He slid the lace undergarments aside, dragging the delicate strands across her folds so excruciatingly slow she whimpered. Her face flamed as he spread her open without apology and she convulsed at the first stroke of his forked tongue.
She moaned with every torturous caress, trembling when his shadows joined, touching her everywhere she throbbed. They worked in tandem with his mouth and her orgasm quickly climbed.
This will not end quickly, Alora. I will no longer be satisfied with only a taste. I intend to consume you fully all night.
But his touch slipped away, much to her disappointment. Shadows slithered up Alora’s wrists like living silk, fastening her hands above her head. She gasped when they lifted her, leaving her toes balancing on the edge of the bed.
Rune sat beneath her, his claws dragging fire down the backs of her thighs as he looked up, fangs glinting, hunger etched into every sharp line of his face.
She shivered, but not in fear. No, never with him watching her like that.
With one hand, he guided her leg over his shoulder. With the other, he palmed her inner thigh, holding her steady as he dipped his head and finally feasted on her through the fragile line of bejeweled lace.
She cried out, shrill and desperate. Her arousal spilled down her thighs and Rune groaned low in response, like he’d found salvation in the softness of her heat. He pressed harder, long tongue dragging slow, sinful strokes through the barrier until it was soaked and useless.
And with a careful flick of his claw, the chains tore away in ribbons, jewels scattering everywhere.
I was never patient when it came to you.
Then his mouth was on her fully. Hot, wet, and ravenous.
His claws gripped her hips, holding her tightly, rocking her against his mouth like a starving man.
And his shadows were everywhere. She writhed wildly, her fingers curled helplessly in the restraints, restraints tightening with every moan that fell from her lips.
“Rune—” she choked.
He growled against her, the vibration shooting straight through her spine.
“Rune—please—”
That’s better.