Chapter 40 #2
She complies, this time on my shoulder, mirroring the mark I left on her. Another line, another bead of blood, another taste. It's a ritual, a sacrament, a binding ceremony of our own making. We’re marking each other, claiming each other, sealing our bond in the most primitive way possible.
When she's done, I take the knife from her and set it aside, my attention returning to the woman beneath me. My woman. My mate. My queen.
I kiss her then, a deep, possessive kiss that tastes of blood and sweat and wilderness.
It's a kiss of ownership, of commitment, of a love so twisted and tangled it can barely be recognized as love at all.
It's obsession, devotion, madness—all the things that make me who I am, now reflected in her eyes.
My knot begins to subside, the pressure lessening, but I don't withdraw. Instead, I shift us, rolling so that she's on top of me, straddling my hips. The crown of teeth and bones tilts precariously on her head, and I reach up to steady it, my fingers tangling in her burnished gold hair.
“Ride me,” I command, my voice rough with renewed desire. “Show me how much you want this. Show me how much you want me.”
For a moment, she hesitates, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. But then a slow, wicked smile spreads across her lips, and I know I've unleashed something wild and untamed within her. She begins to move, a slow, deliberate rocking of her hips that sends waves of pleasure coursing through me.
Her movements grow bolder, more confident, until she's riding me with a fierce, uninhibited passion that takes my breath away. The sight of her above me, her body bathed in moonlight, the macabre crown on her head, her skin flushed with arousal—it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
I reach up and close my hands over her breasts, my thumbs brushing against her hardened nipples. She gasps, her movements faltering for a moment before resuming with even greater intensity. Her slick coats my thighs, a testament to her desire, a sign of her complete and utter surrender.
“That's it,” I growl. I move my hands to her hips, guiding her, encouraging her. “Take what you need. Take all of me.”
Her head falls back, a guttural cry escaping her lips as her orgasm crashes over her. Her body convulses, and her inner muscles clench around me, milking me for all I'm worth. The sensation is overwhelming, and I follow her over the edge, my release a hot, explosive burst that fills her once again.
We collapse against each other, our bodies slick with sweat, our hearts pounding in unison.
I'm the first to move, gently disengaging from her and rising to my feet. I reach for my discarded shirt and use it to clean the blood from her skin, my touch gentle, almost reverent. Then I tend to my own wounds, the small, stinging cuts she left on my chest and shoulder.
When I'm done, I pull her into my arms and hold her close, her head resting on my chest. The crown of teeth and bones has fallen to the ground, forgotten in the heat of our passion.
“You're mine,” I say again, the words a soft murmur against her hair.
“Yours,” she agrees sleepily, her lashes fluttering.
We stay like that for a while, wrapped in each other's arms, the forest around us a silent witness to our union.
“We should go back,” she says eventually, though she sounds as reluctant as I feel. “They'll be looking for us.”
“They know where we are,” I reply, my arms tightening around her. "We can always tell Ridge to fuck off for the next week or so, right?”
I know I can't keep her here forever, not tonight. Ridge will beat my ass for monopolizing Brylee’s time, especially in enemy territory, and as much as I enjoy pushing his buttons, even I have my limits. But I'm not ready to let her go just yet.
“One more time,” I whisper, my lips finding hers in a slow, deep kiss. “Just one more time.”
She responds with a passion that matches my own, her hands tangling in my hair, her body pressing against mine. The fire between us ignites once more, a hungry, insatiable flame that threatens to consume us both.
This time, it's slower, more deliberate. I explore every inch of her body, my hands, my lips, my tongue mapping the terrain of her skin, learning her secrets, claiming her as my own. She responds in kind, her touch just as possessive, just as demanding.
When we finally come together, it's not with the frantic urgency of our first coupling, but with a deep, profound connection that transcends the physical.
It's a merging of souls, a recognition of the darkness that lives within us both, an acceptance of the twisted, tangled love that binds us together.
As we lie together in the afterglow, our bodies entwined, our scents mingling, I know that this is just the beginning. There will be other nights, other encounters, other battles to be fought and won.
But here, in this moon-drenched clearing, surrounded by the ancient forest, we have created something that is uniquely ours. A bond forged in blood and passion, a love as wild and untamed as the wilderness that surrounds us.
“Come on,” I say, rising to my feet and pulling her up with me. “Let's go back to the camp. Before they send out a search party.”
She nods, her eyes soft with satisfaction. As we dress, I pick up the crown of teeth and bones and carefully place it back on her head.
“A queen should always wear her crown,” I say with a wicked grin.
She laughs, a sound like wind chimes in the quiet night. "I need to put my bodysuit back on. I’m not sure if it’ll go with my fake dick.”
I blink at her, momentarily stunned. “You have a fake dick?”
She bats her lashes coyly at me. “Why? You want to see it?”
“You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”
She finishes dressing, and I find my eyes fixed on her crotch. She didn’t…put anything in there, did she? Surely I would’ve noticed.
“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. Why? You offering to suck my cock?” She cants her hip to the side, exuding a type of arrogance that makes my dick hard all over again.
“I guarantee you half the soldiers back there think that’s what’s happening,” I point out.
Most of them have probably noticed that the crown prince and the “fearsome Kylian” have disappeared hours ago.
And a lot of them probably came to the right—or is it wrong?—conclusion.
Brylee’s lips twist into a frown. “So they think you’re with my brother?”
“No, my silly obsession.” I lean forward to give her a kiss on the forehead. “They think I’m with you.”
“But I’m my brother.” Her brows scrunch together as if she’s attempting to calculate a difficult equation. “So they think my scent match is fucking my twin brother.”
I roll my eyes and extend a hand for her to take. She does so, albeit reluctantly—probably because we’re walking back to camp.
“No, they think I’m fucking you, and you’re you.”
“I’m Teddie.” She gestures toward her bodysuit, which adds about thirty pounds to her thin frame and creates bulk around her shoulders.
“You’re you.”
The two of us continue to bicker all the way back to camp. Just before we reach the clearing, Brylee releases my hand, a blush staining her cheeks red.
“Thank you. For tonight, I mean,” she whispers, the fire in her cheeks intensifying from a mere ember to an inferno.
I waggle my eyebrows. “For the sex?”
“No, you big dork.” She swats at my shoulders. “For training with me. For wanting to protect me. For…” She swallows visibly. “For loving me.”
I allow my smile to fade away, allow her to see the sincerity in my eyes when I speak next. She needs to know that I mean everything I say with all that I am—from the tips of my toes to the unruly black hairs at the top of my head.
“Always, Brylee. I will always love you.”
And I will.
Nothing—and no one—will ever stop me from loving Brylee.
Not even the grim reaper himself.