Chapter Thirteen
LUCA
I propped my arms on the wooden fence enclosing the paddock, scanning the farm, a wistful smile on my lips. I had spent the last twenty minutes attempting to bribe my dad’s horse, Prima Donna, into liking me. She wasn’t exactly an unfriendly creature, just wary of strangers and, as her name suggested, very temperamental, but I wouldn’t back down from a challenge.
I’d convinced Tee to be my friend, so I had high hopes.
I had stood at the stall door with a sugar cube in my hand, coaxing her in hushed tones and not taking her huffs or glaring side-eyes to heart. She had a sweet tooth, and like me, couldn’t resist treats for long, so they eventually did the trick. I’d given her chin scratches, and she hadn’t bitten my hand off, so I called that progress. However, I’d probably ruined it all by getting distracted. The view from the stables was enthralling, and I hadn’t managed to move myself from this spot for an hour.
I had no desire to.
It was peaceful, secluded, and simple, and it wasn’t hard to imagine a life out here. In truth, I’d thought about it a lot since I’d been given the all clear to get up and walk around. I had visions of Cair tending to our vegetable patch, complaining about the dirt under his fingernails while I planted herbs and laughed at his grumbling. The two of us huddled together, watching the sunset from our back garden every night, a blanket wrapped around our shoulders and maybe even sex under the stars. The natural backdrop, the sense of purpose, the privacy, it all greatly appealed to me, and without sounding philosophical, having died and been reborn here—the literal hamlet from my dreams—felt like a little bit more than coincidence.
I’d left Cair in bed, sleeping soundly for the first time since we’d left the capital—maybe even before that, if I was being honest. Normally, he would rise before I did, or he’d stir as soon as my eyes blinked open, he was just so in tune with my body and so unwilling to miss a single second of me being awake. In this instance, though, all the exhaustion and distress had caught up to him, but thankfully, putting a pause on the war had given him the chance to take advantage of every moment we had to spare. He’d still grumbled unintelligibly when I’d first attempted to sneak out, his arms curling instinctively around me to try and coax me back to him, but I couldn’t oblige. I’d needed the fresh air, so I’d kissed him on the forehead, promising I would be safe if he went back to sleep, and surprisingly, he’d listened without much protest.
Or his body had.
We had slept together every night since our heartfelt connection in the bathtub barely a week ago, often sleeping in until much later in the mornings than we were used to back at the palace. Cair needed it as much as I did: the rest and the closeness. He’d spent much of our journey here being concerned for me. Comforting me through nightmares, searching tirelessly for the reaper’s master, and even once the worst had blown over, he’d been so wired that he couldn’t relax long enough to drift off.
His head was a whirlwind, and I understood that feeling. He was filled with unresolved rage, his instincts were fighting against him, and thoughts of me lying dead were still clear in his mind. Every time he had come near me, he felt a fire ignite in his gut, even more so whenever I’d matched the energy. At first he’d tempered the flames, gritting his teeth and bearing them for my sake, offering what innocent affections he could muster, but as the days passed, it had become harder and harder for him to resist. He hadn’t wanted to risk delaying my healing, so instead of seeking any comfort with me, he’d left the room once I was deep in sleep and sat by the fire in the living room, thinking. Stewing.
I felt fucking awful that it had taken so long for me to notice his suffering. The bags under his eyes, the weariness in his frame, the irrationality. I’d automatically jumped on the self-conscious train, instead of realizing he was just too stressed to be fully present, but I knew he didn’t hold it against me. I didn’t know if that perception made me feel worse or better, but either way, we were both heading in the right direction, and that was what mattered.
I knew now that it wasn’t because of me that he couldn’t yet be thoroughly intimate, and in turn, actually being aware that all he needed was patience had taken the pressure off. It had allowed him the chance to figure out that detaching himself made everything worse, and that sleeping with me in his arms was enough to soothe his primal urges and quiet the loudest noises in his head. He could think clearly again, see the benefits of letting himself recover, and with each day, it felt like everything was slowly returning to normal.
Our version of normal.
Speaking of the devil, my gaze shifted toward the house just as Cair wandered outside, as if I’d subconsciously known he was coming. His dark eyes lit up the second he noticed me, and warmth settled in my belly. He looked better already—the dark circles retreating, his shoulders looser. He was also sleep-ruffled and sexy as hell in those informal clothes. His shirt was untucked, his hair was flowing down his back, and it was all completely incongruous with the high-maintenance, regal creature I knew and adored.
Country life suited him.
So do those boots.
“Have you been out here long?” he asked, handing me a mug of tea—a fruity blend Gary had conjured up from my dad’s ingredient cupboard—and smiling fondly.
“An hour or so.”
He kissed me sweetly, his breath tinged with mint. “I should have risen with you. Forgive me.”
“You deserve to rest,” I said firmly. “You work hard, and you’ve been through a lot. You don’t always have to put my needs first, you know. It is acceptable to take turns.”
“Alright.” He laughed and rested a hand on the small of my back as he slotted himself against my side. I returned to my position, leaning on the fence, mug in hand.
“Think of this as a vacation,” I added. “You’re not supposed to get out of bed before noon on vacation.”
“I’ll trust you on that.”
“Good.”
I looked back out over the farm, enjoying the way the branches on the rose-tinted trees swayed in the slight breeze, and the sun covered everything in a rich golden glow. I sighed without meaning to, a blissfully happy sound Cair obviously heard.
“You like it here, don’t you?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. This is the type of place where I’d want to live if you weren’t a prince.” Realizing what I’d said, I faced him and started backtracking. “Not that I actively wish for you not to be. I just mean that I think about a simpler life sometimes, but it’s only a fantasy.”
Cair hummed, staring out at the paddock. “Well, hold on to it. It may come true sooner than you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“Losing you…” He clenched and unclenched his jaw before he let out a sigh. “I never want to be in that situation again, never want you in that situation again, and the only reason we were is because I’m a prince. If I weren’t, none of this would’ve happened, and as long as I’m next in line or on the throne, it may keep happening, and I can’t do it.”
My heart leaped at the implication in his words, but I couldn’t get ahead of myself. “If you weren’t a prince, we never would have met.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.” He grazed my cheek with his knuckles, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But once we had mated, I could have chosen another path. I could have prevented this.”
I placed my hand over his, bringing it to my lips. I kissed his palm. “You’re not a mystic, my love, and besides, even if you had chosen a different path, the king would still have seen you as a threat, seen me as a threat. Whatever we did, there were always going to be dangers. I knew that when I mated you. But you couldn’t possibly have predicted this happening. Neither of us could.”
“Perhaps not, but now that I am aware of it, I could prevent it in the future.”
“I mean, if your dad is declaring war, and you become king, we will be safer,” I mused. “This is all because of him. You’ll change the Otherworld for the better, and we won’t have to worry about assassinations and plots—at least not from anyone who can actually pull it off.”
“If I abdicated once he is overthrown, we would have to worry about it even less,” he said, making my eyes widen. “We would be left alone, in our little haven, without the pressures of the throne on our shoulders, without all this bullshit threatening us at every turn. I could sleep better at night knowing we didn’t have targets on our backs, that we were out of the firing line, and there was no motive for anyone to take you from me.”
That sounded nice, really nice, and exactly like what I’d thought about for months. I even recalled bringing it up at the beginning of our journey here, and how he had initially dismissed the idea. “Who would take the throne?”
“Orian,” he said without even a hint of hesitation, as if his previous qualms about his siblings being unprepared no longer mattered—and he no longer held the belief that they had a hand in the king’s plot.
I cocked a brow. “You’ve been thinking about this, haven’t you?”
He hummed, dropping his hand before he went back to staring at the open space, distant and pondering. “I regret not knowing my brother more. I never had the chance to as I was being primed for ruling. Orian was kept at a distance, away from Teighan and me and doing whatever he had to do to please Father, but… from what I do know, he would make a decent ruler. Fair yet firm. He has spent the most time in our father’s shadow, doing his bidding alongside Maeve, but I don’t truly believe he wants to be his reflection. It’s just a means to an end. If our father were out of the picture—and I could guarantee Orian wasn’t involved in all of this—with some guidance, I think he would lead the Otherworld into peace. And not whatever falsehoods my father hides behind, but true peace.”
From my brief interactions with Orian, I had the same impression. Not necessarily about his ruling abilities—I wasn’t qualified to make that judgment, nor did I have enough evidence on the matter—but he definitely seemed to be concealing his true nature. Or he’d spent so long being told who he needed to be that he didn’t know how to be himself. Either way, I genuinely believed I’d have sensed it if he’d known something. He wouldn’t have bothered getting closer to me, even with all my attempts to persuade him. He would have stayed detached, a disinterested blank canvas, if only to prevent overcomplicating the situation. It was harder to tear someone’s life apart once you got to know them, right?
Still, that didn’t mean putting him on the throne was the right path.
Or what was best for everyone involved.
“We don’t have to decide anything right now or until we have all the facts,” I expressed, hugging his arm and resting my head against his bicep. “You’re still reeling from everything over the last few weeks, but now that I’m alive again, you have to act rationally. We have to think of the bigger picture, not just us.”
Cair gazed down at me, a fond expression on his face. “You’re right as always, sweetheart.” He dipped down to kiss my forehead. “Though I will make sure we retain our happily ever after, whatever it takes.”
We lapsed into a comfortable silence. I didn’t want to get my hopes up—I knew it wasn’t as simple as him leaving and making a home with me out here—but if he was serious, if it was genuinely what he wanted and not just a means to keep me safe, we could discuss it properly once everything had blown over. I wouldn’t exactly put up much of a protest, but for now, I just wanted to enjoy a few more days of all this before we had to make plans for our return.
And our future.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, behind one of the wooden pillars, and with a slight turn to the side, I saw Gary chasing Leaf through the courtyard. Cee marched like an unimpressed mother behind them. The wyvern had something in her mouth that Gary clearly wanted back—food probably—and no doubt Cee was herding the two to a less conspicuous location.
Considering they were meant to be our guards, and all that.
I snorted at the display, which quickly peeled off into uncontrollable laughter as Gary tripped over a bush and landed in a pile of mud. Or horse shit, I couldn’t see from this distance. His entire face was coated in brown, except for his eyes, which wish-washed from side to side like window wipers.
All while Leaf tucked into her loot.
I may have even caught Cee cracking a genuine smile.
With tears in my eyes and a cramp in my side, I turned to Cair, making sure he’d also witnessed the absolute circus, but he wasn’t even looking out at the farm. He was staring straight at me, a glimmer to his eyes that made me feel a little like prey.
“What?” I asked, a touch breathless, my heart skipping a beat.
“I missed hearing you laugh,” he said earnestly, his voice pitched low. How quickly the mood shifted from light and carefree to stifling heat had my head spinning. I swallowed thickly. “You’re so beautiful, Luca, and I’m failing to understand why I don’t yet have you writhing on my cock.”
Oop, good morning!
I nodded dumbly, licking my bottom lip before saying, “Um, me too.”
In a blink his mouth was on mine, hot and consuming, and in another, we were staggering toward the stables, my shirt somehow no longer on my body. He steered me into an empty stall, pinning me against a wooden beam with his bulk, his tongue never wavering in its fervent exploration and his greedy hands still roving my naked torso. The scent of his arousal swept through me, so strong and dizzying that it masked the smell of horses and hay. The resounding growls in his throat muffled their curious snorts.
It felt so good having his lips and hands on me, rough and unrestrained, that I almost forgot the outside world even existed, and that we weren’t exactly well hidden.
“Someone could walk in,” I gasped between frenzied kisses, eagerly yanking at the hem of his shirt, untucking it from his pants.
“Let them,” he tossed back, lowering his mouth to my throat, nipping at the juncture with his fangs. “Would you like to use my wings as coverage?”
I huffed a laugh, but it tapered into a moan as his thigh slid between mine, offering friction. “They’re see-through.”
“Mm, and this is thrilling you beyond measure, sweet boy. Don’t pretend it isn’t.”
I groaned. He was so fucking right. “As much as I’d love to see your wings, I don’t want to spook the horses.”
“I agree. Hearing you scream will be enough.”
There was no patience for slow and steady. We were all lust and urgency, licking, biting, squeezing any patch of each other we could reach, no rhyme or reason to it, just chasing the pleasure. I was grinding messily against his leg like a wanton creature in heat, and I didn’t have it in me to care. The stimulation against my dick was almost too perfect, but I still needed more.
I wanted his shirt gone. I had to feel his skin on mine or I might combust, but he was latched on to his favorite spot behind my ear, drawing out high-pitched keens that sounded too inhuman to be coming from me. He flicked my nipples with his thumbs, forcing my back to curve for more of the sensation, but my bare stomach brushing against cotton had me hurtling back to the issue at hand.
“Off, off, off,” I demanded, bunching his shirt up around his chest, unbothered if I sounded desperate. Hell, I was, no point in trying to deny it, and judging by the way Cair whipped the offending fabric over his head and horns, discarding it without a thought before returning to my neck, I guessed he wasn’t faring much better.
Cair’s hands covered my ass, giving the mounds a courtesy squeeze before lifting me up against the wall. I hooked my legs around his thighs and tore at the cords on our pants until they came loose. I didn’t even pause before taking Cair’s length into my hands, so thick and heavy, and giving it a firm stroke from root to tip. I traced the vein on the underside with my thumb, right up to the engorged head, and swiped over the slick beading at the slit.
I brought the digit to my lips and licked it clean.
Cair grunted, one of his hands slamming into the stone beside my head for purchase, the other tightening its grip on my ass. “Are you really going to tease me, sweetheart?” he growled darkly. “Or are you going to be a good boy and wrap your hands around our cocks and make us both come?”
Second option.
I lined myself up with him, the noticeable size difference making my dick throb. How that fit inside me I’d never understand, but my empty hole gave an eager clench in anticipation. I rolled my hips once, shuddering at the delicious zing of pleasure before circling my hands around us both and jerking, delighting in the way Cair snarled with each filthy stroke.
“That’s it, just like that,” he praised through gritted fangs. “Don’t fucking stop. I want your belly covered in our cum. I’m going to use it to slick up your sweet little hole and fuck you like you deserve.”
I cursed under my breath, canting my hips for a better angle to move my hand faster. Cair thrust into my fists with uncoordinated abandon, the blunt nudge of his cockhead against mine making my eyes cross.
It was quick, sloppy, and a little dry, but my brain was still fucking melting out of my ears.
Knowing we could be heard, could be caught, but neither of us were able to stop the pure, carnal rush, had my senses sparking like there was an electrical current under my skin. Cair kissed me again, punishing and savage, a clash of lips and teeth, and it only added to the intensity. I had the urge to reach up and bury my fingers in his hair, or grab onto his horn as I rode out the wave of sensation, but I needed both hands to twist and tug.
It was heaven, and I was already close, zero chance of lasting much longer. My head fell back against the wall with a dull thump , and Cair used it to his advantage, sucking wet, hard bruises into the skin of my neck.
“I’m not going to last,” I whined, my orgasm gathering at the base of my dick. I tried to suppress it, to savor it with a firm squeeze, but I was too turned on, too impatient to feel the explosion of us finally coming together.
“Don’t try to,” he said through a guttural moan. “You’re going to make me come so hard, sweetling. Just— ngh —a little more.”
I bit my lip, hoping to stifle the wail rising from the back of my throat, but Cair’s hand left the wall, fingers dimpling my jaw to pry it open. “Don’t deprive me of those pretty noises,” he demanded. Desperate, untamed. “I want to hear you howl. Let everyone know how you sound when you come for me.”
A spangle of green light burst at the edges of my vision as my balls tensed and my thighs cinched tight around his hips. Less than a dozen slick, sticky strokes later, I cried out, coming in thick ropes over our stomachs and my joined fingers. Cair lunged forward, his fangs sinking into my neck possessively as he stuttered through his own release, spilling so freaking much between us that my hands struggled to keep their vise-like grip.
I shivered and moaned, drawing out the aftershocks with weak bucks into my slackening fists. Cair’s cock didn’t so much as flag against me, and with the hunger flaring in his eyes when he leaned back to look at me, I knew he was still fired-up and raring to go again.
Fae refractory periods be praised.
“Do you want to be fucked, my heart?” he purred, already hooking his fingers into the back of my pants before tugging them below my ass. “You want to be claimed and filled right here in the stables?”
I nodded, my face flaming and my dick twitching valiantly back to hardness. He brought a hand up between us, doing as he’d promised and scooping up our essence before once again reaching behind me. As two wet digits circled the rim of my hole, I relaxed, preparing for relief from the emptiness?—
“Luca?”
I jolted as Zadok’s voice sounded from outside.
Shit, shit, shiiiit .
I flapped and floundered in Cair’s arms until he set me down. He stared at me as if I’d grown an extra head, just standing there while I hopped around, wrestling with my pants, with no shirt and his cock hanging out.
“Get dressed,” I whisper-hissed, ducking to grab my shirt from the entryway but letting out a frustrated “Bah” at the state of my belly.
There was a rag by one of the stalls and I didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on what it had been used for, I just wiped the rest of the cum off both of us. But my skin was still unbearably sticky, and that , I couldn’t deal with. Conveniently, there was a sink at the far end of the stables, and with an expert dodge and crawl, I reached it, dipping the cloth into the water before scrubbing violently at my skin. Cair offered up a fang-filled snarl when I returned to his side, reaching out to clean him up.
“Zadok will smell it,” I argue-pleaded, trying again to swipe at him but getting a resolute glare for my efforts.
“Good.”
“Cair, no. Not good,” I said, but I gave up, dropping the rag as the soft crunch of footsteps on the sand outside approached. I wrangled my shirt over my head. My stomach was still wet, but I’d have to cope, and Cair finally— halle-fucking-lujah —started to get dressed. He was still sporting a very impressive erection, so how his skintight pants fit was beyond me.
I just hoped his long shirt would conceal the worst of it.
“Luca, are you?—”
I was manically smoothing out the creases in my clothes as Zadok rounded the stable door, stopping in his tracks at the sight of us. I straightened up with a nervous laugh, acting totally natural. “Hey, Dad-io.” I cringed. “What brings you out here?”
It was obvious to anyone with at least one of their senses what we’d been up to. Cair wasn’t even attempting to hide it. In fact, he preened, daring the older Fae to say something. There weren’t any mirrors out here, but I didn’t need one to know I was ruffled and flushed, my chest heaving a little, and my shirt may have been inside out. I glanced down, and yup, could confirm, definitely inside out. But hey, at least my pants were laced up. My father seeing my junk would have been even more mortifying.
The idea of being caught? Super hot. Actually being caught? Not so much.
Zadok’s eyes flicked between us, his own pointed ears blooming pink. He cleared his throat. “Well, I wanted to ask if you felt up to some magic lessons,” he said, and I didn’t know if seeing his embarrassment match mine made me feel marginally better or not. “I suppose if you’re healed enough to do... that , you are healed enough to learn.”
Cair looked like he wanted to smirk, but I truly wished the ground would swallow me whole. I spluttered indignantly, as if that would save the situation, and my mouth seemed to be forming words before I could stop it. “W-we didn’t even get to fu?—”
“I don’t want to know.” Zadok threw up his hands, turning on his heel to walk out. I groaned in humiliation. Lord, please let me hit my head and lose all recollection of this . Before he reached the paddock, he called out over his shoulder. “Meet me by the field on the hill when you’re presentable. And give the horses extra treats. They deserve it.”
I sagged against the sink, dragging a hand over my face. “Welp, now I can never look my dad in the eye again.”
Cair scoffed. “As if he has any room to talk. He and his lover are at it like rut-crazed goblins most evenings.”
“Scratch that, I’m just going to pass away. No resurrection this time, please.” I glowered at him. “Why the hell would you tell me that?”