Chapter 8 #2
The barracks wasn’t much, but after a full day of travel through frozen air and jagged cliffs, it felt like a small miracle.
The space was divided into two main rooms—an open common area lined with bunks and a smaller adjoining washroom that looked functional but was a far cry from our home in the Horde.
I almost laughed at that. For so long, I’d had absolutely nothing in Mario’s dungeons, and now I was deciding that a bathroom wasn’t ‘good’ compared to the one at home. That was…insane.
I followed Maddox inside, brushing snow from his jacket as his boots thudded against the floorboards. He flipped the nearest lantern on; the oil ignited and the flame hissed to life, painting the walls in gold light.
“I’ll check the perimeter,” Cannon said from the doorway. “There’s movement out there—nothing close, but I don’t trust these woods.”
“I’ll come with,” Zed called out. Valerio gave them a ‘go ahead’ wave before they disappeared back out the door.
Charm and Chait started unpacking the small satchels that held rations and gear. Chait knelt beside the stove, coaxing a weak flame from the old metal grate, while Charm rummaged through supplies with such a single-minded focus that he didn’t notice his hair had fallen into his eyes.
“Didn’t think we’d be camping in luxury,” Charm drawled. “We’ve got at least two blankets and something that looks like coffee.”
“Coffee?” Philip asked, grinning as he rolled his shoulders and claimed one of the bunks near the back wall. “That is luxurious—almost like a hotel.”
“I could use a vacation,” I murmured, and Philip’s eyes lit up in that way that made it clear something had just occurred to him.
Valerio was quieter than the others, unstrapping the weapons and saddle packs from the horses before stacking them neatly near the doorway. His movements were precise and deliberate, the kind of discipline that came from years of training.
I could also tell he was distracted, so I left him to it.
“I’m going to shower,” I said over the soft chatter of the others.
“I’ll forgive you for the lack of an invite, mon amour,” Chait said with a grin, his boots kicked off as he stretched out on the bunk.
I smirked and made my way toward the washroom. The air was surprisingly humid, as if the showers had been used recently. The water turned hot and began to steam the minute I switched it on, which was a relief as I peeled off my layers one by one—the day’s weight falling with them.
For a moment, I just stood under the water, eyes closed, relishing the feel of the warm rivers running down my skin. The ache in my thigh muscles from riding began to ease, the tension in my chest slowly unraveling.
When I heard the door click behind me, I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
“Joining me?” I teased. Valerio nodded, pulling off his shirt in one tug. I nearly groaned at the sight of his muscles as his voice came out rougher than usual..
“When we were talking earlier, I couldn’t hold you. Now I can.”
The sound of water filled the space between us, soft and steady, as he crossed the last few steps.
Sliding down his jeans, leaving his boxers, I shivered at the easy way he crowded me against the wall of the shower stall.
Instead of kissing me or running his hands along my body, he pressed his forehead to mine in a way that made me melt.
“I love you, Maize. I love you, and I promise that we will finish this and create a life that completely removes any thought of what happened in that damn dungeon.”
My heart stuttered at his words, and I knew I could say a million things about his promise—his vow—but instead I simply said, “I love you too, Valerio.”
That was all he seemed to need.
A ragged sound left him—half a growl, half a breath—as his thumb brushed over my lower lip. Then he kissed me, slow at first, until the kiss turned deep and consuming. Every moment of his touch was deliberate and purposeful.
Valerio pressed me against the tile, the heat of the water slicking our skin, erasing any space between us. My breasts ached, my nipples hardened, and my thighs pressed together. I needed more.
When his mouth left mine, I felt the loss painfully. He traced a path down my throat, over the rapid beat of my pulse, and then rested his forehead against the curve of my neck.
“Mine,” he murmured, the word reverent. “Every part of you.”
“And I need every part of you,” I whispered. “Please, Valerio.”
I didn’t have to ask, let alone beg.
He pushed his boxers down, the sound of wet fabric meeting tile barely audible over the water. My hands found his shoulders, fingers curling as he caught my wrists and lifted them above my head, holding them with gentle restraint.
Between the rise of steam and the steady rhythm of our breaths, the world seemed to narrow until it was only him—his body, his voice, the weight of his magic stabilizing me in ways I didn’t know I needed.
His free hand slid down my waist, a hot, possessive brand against my slick skin.
He cupped my hip, his thumb digging into the soft flesh, before his fingers trailed lower and found my aching center.
I gasped into his shoulder, my head falling back against the tile as his touch—Maker, his touch—parted me.
“So ready for me,” he growled, the vibration rumbling through his chest and into mine. His fingers were coated with my desire, circling my clit with a pressure that was so perfect it made my knees buckle. “All this…for me.”
“Yes,” I choked out.
He released my wrists, my arms instinctively sinking into his hair, clinging to him as the pleasure built, urgent and demanding.
His head dipped and his mouth found my breast, his tongue teasing my nipple before he drew it deep into the heat of his mouth.
The dual sensation of his fingers and mouth was blinding—a relentless, dizzying assault on my senses.
“Valerio, I’m… I can’t…”
“You can,” he commanded against my skin. “You will. But not yet.”
He withdrew his fingers, and I whimpered, my body screaming for him. He understood. He always understood.
With a low, guttural sound, Valerio lifted me by the waist, hitching my leg high around his hip. The head of his cock, thick and hot, pressed against my entrance. My breath stuttered, my entire world narrowing to that single point of contact, that promise of being filled by him.
The way he looked at me, dark and hungry, had me submitting under his next command, powerless to do anything else. “Eyes on me, Maize.”
Valerio pushed inside of me in a slow, devastating invasion. The stretch was overwhelming, the fullness driving a cry from my throat. He was everywhere. He held himself there, buried to the hilt, letting me feel every inch, every pulse, every impossible second of our connection.
“Mine,” he breathed again, the word said between us like a prayer.
“Yours,” I gasped, my nails digging into his shoulders. “Always.”
Valerio began to move.
There was nothing slow about his pace now.
It was a fierce, driving rhythm, each thrust placing a claim on me.
The tile was cool against my back as the water cascaded over us, a stark contrast to the searing heat of his body slamming into mine.
The sound of our bodies meeting was a raw soundtrack to our need for one another.
He shifted my leg higher, changing the angle, and on the next thrust he had me seeing stars. A broken cry of his name tore from my throat.
A dark, satisfied smile touched his lips. “There it is,” he rasped, his breath hot against my ear. “That’s what you need, isn’t it? To be fucked just like this. To be mine like this.”
I couldn’t form words. I could only nod, my eyes rolling back as he set a brutal, perfect pace, each thrust landing with divine accuracy on that sweet, sensitive spot. My climax began to coil tight in my belly, a live wire sparking and threatening to detonate.
His hand slid between us, his thumb finding my clit again and rubbing tight, frantic circles. It was utterly consuming. It was everything.
“Come for me, baby,” he demanded. Valerio’s hips never faltered as he pounded into me with a pace that owned me completely. “Let me feel you come around my cock. Now.”
The command shattered me. The coil snapped as white-hot pleasure ripped through me.
My body clenched around him, milking him and pulling a deep, ragged groan from his chest. I cried out his name, the sound echoing off the tiles as wave after wave of ecstasy crashed over me, leaving me boneless and shaking.
He drove into me through my climax as his own control frayed. His rhythm became erratic and desperate as I felt him swell inside me, his thrusts growing even harder. His forehead dropped to mine and his eyes squeezed shut, his features a mask of pure, primal pleasure.
“Fuck,” he gritted out.
With one last, powerful thrust, Valerio buried himself as deep as possible and stilled.
I felt the hot, pulsing rush of his release inside me, a claiming warmth that seemed to brand me from the inside out.
His body shuddered against mine, his arms locking around me, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe.
And I didn’t care. I never wanted him to let go.
My magic had blasted over him, and like a hurricane it had rushed through our bond. I felt in awe of the power surging through him, breathless as we stayed under the water for a long moment, breathing heavily.
“I love you,” he murmured.
My chest tightened as I smiled through the haze of warmth still clinging to us, my forehead resting against his. “I love you too, Valerio.”