Chapter 7 #2
The suction of the nozzle makes my clit swell to a new level, and I whimper, my hips jerking. Nick’s fingers circle my entrance, teasing but not entering. “You love this, don’t you? Love being my pretty little milkmaid. Love how beautifully filthy it makes you.”
“I do. I love it. It feels so good. So right.”
“It could be like this all the time, little one. Every day.”
He switches to my other breast, his mouth hot and demanding, and the dual sensations of his lips around my nipple and the machine milking my clit send me soaring.
I come with a scream, my back bowing, my milk pouring into his mouth as my pussy spasms wildly.
The golden light flares, snowflakes whirling faster, the bells ringing louder, and Nick growls, drinking me down like he can’t get enough.
I’m still shaking when he pulls the nozzle away, the suction giving way with a wet slurping sound. My clit is swollen and dark, throbbing obscenely. He drops to his knees between my legs, his breath hot against my soaked pussy.
“What a fucking sight you are,” he says roughly, his thumb brushing over my clit. I squirm, almost painfully sensitive. “So fat. So puffy.” He presses a kiss to it, his lips soft, reverent. “I could spend all day playing with this clit.”
I whimper, my hips writhing. I can’t decide if I want to chase his touch or run away from it. He pets my swollen, puffy clit with a single finger, and my eyes roll back in my head.
“Daddy,” I gasp.
The word slips out before I can stop it, and Nick’s magic flares to life. The fire burns brighter and hotter, the snowflakes turn to gold, and his eyes swirl.
“That’s right, little one.” His voice is low and jagged as he kisses my clit between each word. “Lover.” Kiss. “Protector.” Kiss. “Partner.” Kiss. “King.” His lips seal over me, gently sucking on my clit before releasing me. “Daddy.”
Nick stands and lifts me from the chair like I weigh nothing, his arms cradling me against his broad chest. The fire crackles as he lowers us to the thick fur rug in front of it, arranging me against him so my head rests on his chest. He strokes his hand up and down my spine, pulling me closer, and I cuddle into the solid warmth of him.
Never in my life have I experienced the kind of contentment I’m feeling right now.
I feel boneless, safe, and so cherished.
My body feels weightless, my skin tingling.
I can feel the magic pulsing beneath my skin, reacting to Nick’s touch as he traces patterns over my hip and lower back.
The scent of cedar and snow wraps around us, and I feel so utterly precious that I could cry.
This could all be mine, if I choose it. If I claim it. Do I want to say goodbye to my life in Evergreen Valley? I have a business, a home. A life I’ve worked hard to build. And yet all of this…it’s tempting. So, so tempting.
“You’re thinking too hard,” he says quietly, his voice warm and deep.
I let out a shaky breath. “I don’t want to leave.” The words—the truth—tumbles out of me before I can stop myself.
His hand stills on my back for a moment, then resumes its slow, worshipful strokes. “Then don’t.” He says it like it’s the easiest thing in the world.
My heart flips in my chest. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is.” His lips press to my temple. “Stay. Bind yourself to me. Let me love you the way you deserve.”
The words hang between us, shimmering with hope, and it takes me a second to register what he just said. “You…love me?”
His chest rises beneath my cheek as he sighs happily, and the sound of it makes warmth curl through me.
“I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you, little one.
Since your magic called to mine.” His fingers thread through mine, lifting our joined hands to his lips.
“But the choice is yours. Always. I’ll never take that which isn’t freely given. ”
I turn my head, pressing my ear to his heartbeat.
The steady thump of it is the most comforting sound I’ve ever heard.
It hits me then that I do love him. I can feel it in the way my body responds to his touch, in the way my heart aches at the thought of leaving.
But the words stick in my throat, held back by fear.
“If I choose the mating bond, what happens, exactly?” I ask.
“If you choose the mating bond, we’ll have a mating ceremony, and you’ll become my queen. Once you’re my queen, your fae lifeblood will awaken, meaning we’ll have hundreds of years together. You’ll live here with me, rule the North Pole, and fuel Winter—and Christmas—magic.”
“Will…will we have children?”
He nods, smiling softly. “If you wish them, yes.”
“What if we don’t? What happens to the kingdom?”
“Without heirs, the magic will pass to another line.”
“Don’t you want heirs?”
“I do. But mostly, I just want you.” He strokes his fingers over my cheek. “I want to know you, to learn you. To fall deeper in love with you with every day, every year, every decade that passes.”
I sigh and cuddle into him, loving the feeling of being in his arms. We lie like that for a long time, his hands roaming my skin, my fingers playing in his hair.
He tells me stories of the North Pole, of the reindeer and the endless winter sky, of the children who still believe.
His voice is like a delicious lullaby, and I drift, half-asleep, until his voice pulls me awake.
“It’s time, little one.”
I don’t argue, but my body tenses, reacting to the thought of leaving.
He helps me dress, his touch lingering on my waist, my wrists, like he doesn’t want to let me go.
Then a snow globe materializes out of thin air, and he takes it and presses it into my hands.
It’s heavy, and when I peer inside, I see an exact replica of the Winter Palace.
I tilt it, watching glittering silver and gold flakes fall around the gleaming castle.
“When you’re ready to give me your answer, you can summon me by shaking this,” he says. “You must make a choice as to where you feel you belong.” His kisses me, slow and sweet, and then brushes his thumb over my lower lip. “I pray it’s here. With me.”
I’m caught up in a swirl of glittering snowflakes, and suddenly I’m standing in my bakery, holding the snow globe.
It’s cold, and empty, and I already miss him.