Chapter Twenty-Three
Theodor
A New Day
The ground was cruel to Theodor’s back. He turned onto his side, trying to bend and stretch out the kinks.
He was exhausted from watching Boraleashe sleep for hours while keeping a close eye on the Snow Moon.
Last he remembered was watching the smoking black entity retreat into an obsidian sky and Boraleashe’s pine-scented wind saturate the atmosphere.
Theodor squeezed his eyes shut harder at the extraordinary light trying to cut through his closed lids.
Damn. He didn’t remember leaving Gold Reaper burning when he dozed off to sleep, but he must have.
He rumbled the spell to extinguish the flame…
but nothing happened. The light was still there, still too damn much. The fuck?
Theodor reached for Boraleashe, but nothing was beside him except for an abandoned white fur robe.
He snapped his eyes open, whipping his head back and forth, taking in the phenomenal landscape.
Everything was so fucking white and fresh and new that it was blinding.
Theodor leapt to his feet, mouth agape at the true beauty of Amárach all around him.
What the…?
The snow was no longer weighed down with layers of impenetrable ice.
It was soft and pliable enough to allow for a proper snowball battle.
Theodor put his palm to his brow, trying to shield his eyes from the brilliant winter sun.
Not as hot as autumn but still pleasantly warm during midday.
It didn’t take Theodor long to deduce that the Snow Moon had accepted their union and retreated, leaving peace in the Arctic World.
“Boraleashe. Where are you—?” Theodor grunted and clutched his hand over his pounding heart before he could finish his thought.
“I’m here, my lord.”
Theodor turned to see Boraleashe glide over the ledge of the mountain, his beautiful white hair waving around his face on a serene winter breeze.
Theodor almost dropped to one knee—not because Boraleashe looked like royalty but because of the powerful current pumping through his veins, the ice burning like venom in his blood.
Theodor swayed on his feet at the realization that it was Boraleashe’s full heart intertwined with his own. He gasped for breath, inhaling mouthfuls of crisp air.
“It’s overwhelming, is it not?”
“Gods,” Theodor groaned at the pure potency of Boraleashe’s love. His heart was free and open, no longer ruled by the curse. It was almost too much for him to harbor behind his rib cage.
Theodor hadn’t realized they’d been gravitating toward each other until Boraleashe was in his arms with his face buried in his throat.
They should be getting back to Mirador Keep and showing Boraleashe’s heirs and court that he was alive and safe.
But by the appearance of the bright sun, he assumed they already knew.
“My king,” Boraleashe muttered in that grave tone that made Theodor grip him tighter.
He was relieved his lover’s cantankerous nature was not a result of the curse but his true demeanor. Theodor loved that Boraleashe was hard to please and difficult to reason with. He was a king and a warrior; he’d always relish a challenge.
Boraleashe was his, and he could feel him throughout his entire core. Power, strength, wisdom, honor, and the most stimulating feeling of them all was Boraleashe’s full submission.
“Do you feel all of me, lord?”
Theodor didn’t want to step back because it made the intensity of their combined elements calm for a moment, but he needed to look into Boraleashe’s eyes when he answered. Theodor rubbed his coarse stubble along Boraleashe’s smooth, pale cheek, nudging him to face him.
“Look at me,” Theodor commanded.
Glacial-blue eyes locked onto him, stunning him into silence.
Fuck. Why did I demand he look at me? And what the hell was I about to say?
Boraleashe’s beauty could rival Adonis’. He gently stroked the cool skin on Boraleashe’s jaw before he snaked his hand down his slender throat and around the back of his neck. He pulled on Boraleashe’s waist with the other and answered him in the best way he could.
Theodor tilted Boraleashe’s head to the side, their gazes holding, their love binding their souls for eternity. Desire sizzled up his spine, and emotion flooded his heart. Gods.
“I feel it too.” Boraleashe closed his eyes, a flush creeping up his neck.
Theodor was on fire for his lover… again. The throbbing between his thighs drowned out his rational thought. He could no longer conceal his arousal, his lustful energy taking over. Boraleashe moaned, his long blond lashes fluttering.
Theodor groaned at the hardness pressed against him.
Boraleashe slid his hand between them and tapped one long, slender finger to his own lips, his pretty eyes lasered on Theodor’s mouth.
A sly smile curved his lips at Boraleashe’s elusive way of asking for a kiss.
Though it was unlike a warrior to show such affection, he was glad Boraleashe liked the taste of his tongue.
Their noses brushed while they found the perfect position, hovering there, suspended in eagerness and yearning, the simplest of touches igniting Theodor.
Boraleashe was the first to close the sliver of distance between them and pressed his cool lips to Theodor’s.
Theodor would’ve been embarrassed at the loud groan that vibrated in his throat, but he couldn’t be bothered it felt so damn good.
Their tongues came out to play at the same time, Boraleashe loving against his, taunting Theodor to stop the teasing and take control.
So, he did.
Theodor nudged deeper inside, running it along the roof of Boraleashe’s mouth, demanding he allow him to taste his fill.
The salacious moan he got in response was all the sexy reassurance he needed to keep going.
He wove his fingers into Boraleashe’s waist-long mane, which was somehow tangle-free and whiter than usual.
Theodor didn’t want to unseal their lips, not even for air, his lungs starting to burn from the lack of oxygen.
Boraleashe laid chilled fingers over his jaw, his thumb pressing against his chin, making Theodor open his mouth wider.
The Winter Lord blew a rush of cool air down his throat and into his chest.
Boraleashe inhaled through his nose and did it again and again until Theodor was no longer panting, until his lungs were soothed and full. It was such an unexpected sensual talent that Theodor’s hips bucked on their own, his tongue running wild. He walked them backward in search of a solid surface.
It didn’t take long before he had Boraleashe pinned against the hard trunk of a lacebark elm. They never stopped kissing while Boraleashe loosened his trousers enough to get both hands inside and wrapped around Theodor’s swollen cock.
Boraleashe entwined his fingers and pumped him with a tight fist, making his mouth go slack while stars exploded behind his eyelids.
“Oh fuck.” Theodor thrust into the unforgiving grip, already minutes away from shooting. His own lust combined with his lover’s was too goddamn much.
“I want to kiss you everywhere,” Boraleashe confessed into his mouth, his breath as cool as his wind. “Right here.”
Theodor groaned, a full-body shiver racking him when Boraleashe smeared natural lubrication down his shaft and stroked faster. “Let me kiss it.”
Theodor shook his head, his mind spinning, his lips tender, his mouth ravenous. “Fuck, Boraleashe. These are not kisses.”
“No? Is this not what you taught me, my king?” Boraleashe dragged his tongue over his, sensual and slow, breathing cool air into his lungs. Theodor exhaled a plum of cold vapor back into the air when he pulled away.
“No, my winter titan. They are not,” he whispered. “These are dangerous avalanches in my mouth.”
Boraleashe went to drop to his knees, but Theodor regretfully stopped him at the sound of loud music and raucous laughter coming from low in the valley. Boraleashe either didn’t hear it or chose to ignore it. Theodor pulled him back to his full height.
“Can I not go to my knees and please my king?” Boraleashe asked, his face stern and brows dipped low.
“You can, and you will.” Theodor held the back of Boraleashe’s neck while he pulled his fists from around his cock with the other. “But we have to get back to Mirador first and find out what that noise is—”
“That noise you hear is celebration, lord.