Chapter 58 Isi #2
My breath stuttered, my chest tightening.
“I will never ask you to stay behind or leave again.” He stroked my damp cheeks with his thumbs. “You’re my equal. My blade. My heart.”
Tears blurred my vision, and I did not look away.
My voice came out unsteady, breathless, but it carried steel underneath it too. “I was born for this. For you.”
“You’re not my weakness, Amarissa. You’re the sword I’d burn kingdoms to wield.”
Heat coiled low in my belly. Every vow he spoke tethered me tighter to him until I could hardly tell where my will ended and his began.
“I thought I’d spend my life trying to grant mercy,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to his. “But I was only made for this and for you.”
His breath hitched, a broken sound, half groan, half vow, and he kissed me like the battlefield had never ended, like every promise we’d just made could be carved into our skin.
The kiss shattered what restraint remained between us. Water sloshed as I twisted fully onto his lap, straddling his hips, sinking my fingers deep in his hair. When I bit his lower lip, he groaned.
He stood, water cascading from us both, lifting me with him. The world spun, my gasp lost in the intensity of his kiss. He climbed from the tub and strode toward the low stone bench near the hearth where thick cloths had been laid out. The fire crackled hungrily in the hearth beside it.
“Here?” I managed between kisses, already trembling with the need to get closer. “We’re still wet—”
“We’re burning,” he said, his voice husky with contained fire.
He laid me on the warm towels, the heat sinking into my back.
He followed me down, one powerful thigh slipping between mine, bearing his weight on an elbow to cage me without crushing.
The sheer size of him stole my breath. This wasn’t a king commanding his kingdom.
This was a starved man claiming the heart of his universe.
His golden eyes roved my face, then drifted lower, drinking in every curve glistening with droplets of water. “Fates, you’re gorgeous.”
He traced his fingertips down from my collarbone, slid slowly between my breasts, then continued across the flat dip of my belly. Leaning close, he kissed below my navel.
“Every breath you take belongs to me now.” His gaze locked on mine. “Do you understand?” I could only nod, lost in the ownership that felt like freedom.
He slipped lower. His hands hooked gently behind my knees, spreading me wider. Cool air ghosted across the intimate core of me. My throat went impossibly dry. Instinct made me tense. I felt suddenly vulnerable. Exposed.
His palms slid down my inner thighs, soothing my tremors. His eyes found mine again, shadowed by his wet lashes. “Tell me if I go too far. Tell me to stop, and we breathe.”
“Don’t stop.” The words scraped up my throat. I wanted this. All of him.
“What do you need?” he asked, forcing me to expose every bit of my desire.
“You. Only you.”
Heat flared in his gaze, primal satisfaction warring with reverence. “Good girl.”
He lowered his head, his mouth setting my nerves on fire in a slow, relentless exploration.
The tip of his tongue circled my clit, tasting, teasing, making parts of me I hadn’t known existed scream alive.
A gasp tore up my throat, and I arched my back off the bench.
One of his hands anchored me at my hipbone, keeping me in place.
The other slid beneath my thigh to hold me open, exposing me to his lips and tongue.
“Trew—” His name was a broken plea. My hips lifted instinctively as I sought more pressure, more friction, more of this exquisite torture he gave with such tender care.
He answered with a deeper stroke, a flickering rhythm that drove me higher. “Like this?” he breathed against me. His tongue delved deeper, teasing, circling, pressing firm. “Tell me.”
“Fates… Yes…” It was too much and nowhere near enough. Each deliberate lap sent bolts of lightning through my veins, heat coiling tighter and tighter low in my belly. I was dissolving, coming apart under the worship of his tongue.
He moaned against my flesh, the vibration sending another shockwave through me.
His free hand slid from my hip, finding my breast. His calloused fingers rolled my nipple, making stars burst behind my eyes.
The dual sensation of his mouth devastatingly tender, relentlessly focused below, and his rough-tender touch on my breast, tipped me close to the edge.
I sobbed, senseless noises of pure bliss escaping me as the coil in my belly stretched tight.
He didn’t stop. The pressure of his mouth increased.
His tongue flicked faster. Searching. Devouring the building wave until my muscles clenched.
All the tension, the fear, and the exhaustion of battle shattered, splintering into a thousand glittering shards of pure sensation.
My body arched, taut as a drawn bowstring, and his tongue pushed me over.
A cry ripped from my throat, and wave after wave crashed over me, stealing my breath, my sight, leaving only the rhythm of his mouth driving me to this ecstasy.
Slowly, slowly, the pulses subsided into deep, tremulous aftershocks.
He gentled his touch, lapping softly, tasting the echoes of my climax.
He brushed slow, tender kisses over my quivering flesh.
I opened my eyes, dazed, to find him watching me.
His gaze held a fierce, possessive pride, plus a hunger that only deepened at seeing me come undone.
He rested his cheek on the inside of my thigh, his breath hot on my damp skin.
“That,” he said. “Is a sight I will go to war every day to see. You came apart for me, Minx. I want you to do it again.”
I reached down, tangling my fingers in his damp hair.
“Your turn,” I found enough energy to say, my voice hoarse.
“Not finished.” He pressed a kiss to my thighbone. His gaze traveled up my body, lingering on the bruise on my side. My chest. The marks of battle he’d sworn to kiss. “I need to be inside you.”
He rose, positioning himself above me. The thick, hard length of him pressed against my inner thigh, hot velvet over punishing steel.
The evidence of his desperate need robbed me of breath.
He braced himself over me on one forearm, his body a taut arch of straining muscle, his eyes fixed on mine with blazing possession.
His fingers found my clit and circled, starting a slow build all over again.
“Tell me when you’re ready. Tell me what you need. ”
I met his gaze, and my last bit of self-preservation crumbled into ash. “You. All of you. Now. Don’t hold anything back.”
A shiver ripped through him. His broad head nudged against my slick heat, and I lifted my legs, wrapping them around him. My breath caught at the pressure, the promise of being filled. He remained poised there, the tremors in his arm mirroring those inside me.
“Now, Trew,” I moaned, digging my nails into the hard muscles of his shoulders. “Please—”
He pushed inside with one long thrust. I gasped, my body stretching to accommodate the overwhelming fullness.
He was everywhere. Deep inside me, surrounding me with his heat and power.
He stilled, fully sheathed, his head dropping beside mine on the towel, a harsh groan escaping his lips. So wonderfully perfect.
“Isi…” My name tore from him. His body trembled above mine with the sheer force of control needed to remain motionless. “Too much, Minx?” he asked, pulling back a fraction, seeking my eyes. “Tell me.”
“No.” I wrapped my legs higher around his hips, pulling him deeper. “Don’t stop. Don’t you dare stop.”
Like my words broke the final chain, he withdrew almost completely, then surged forward again.
Harder. A growl tore from his chest at the re-entry.
I cried out, meeting his thrusts with a frenzy that matched his own, my body opening fully, craving the deep, powerful glide.
He set a relentless rhythm, my name spilling from his lips.
His eyes never lost focus. They searched my face constantly, reading every flicker, every gasp, ensuring every stroke resonated in my soul as deeply as it filled my body.
He locked one hand with mine, our fingers entwining.
His other hand slid under the base of my spine, holding me close as he drove into me with breathtaking power.
Each thrust sent sparks through my veins, igniting the flames begun by his mouth.
The friction was exquisite, building the heat deep inside me.
His name poured from me, a litany of pleas and praise. “Yes… Like that… Trew… Yes!”
He dropped his forehead to mine, his breath hot gasps, his gaze trapping mine with fierce, undeniable love.
“Every part of me belongs to you,” he rasped, his voice thick with strain. “Every thought, every scar… Every…fucking… breath.” The last word was punctuated by a relentless thrust that stole my cry. He held himself there, balls deep inside me, pulsing.
“And every piece of me belongs to you,” I choked out. “Together. Always.”
His control fractured. Uttering a broken sound, a needful, almost desperate groan, he surged against me again, his tempo fast, chasing the bliss we both craved. His hand released mine, sliding lower to find the place where our bodies merged. His thumb flew to my aching, desperate knot of nerves.
Blinding heat exploded inside me. My body rippled around him, shuddering as star-bright heat tore through every fiber.
My cry filled the chamber, echoing off the stone.
He gave way an instant later, a raw call tearing from his throat.
He slammed deep, releasing everything inside me in hot, pulsing bursts.
He held himself there, braced over me, shuddering through it, pouring himself into the soul-deep connection we’d forged together.
Slowly, the tremors subsided. He trembled above me, his breath coming in ragged pants that stirred the damp hair at my temple. Curling close, he kissed my forehead.
He eased his weight off me slowly and stood, lifting me into his arms, carrying me to the bed—our bed. There, he dropped down, taking me with him. I curled against his chest, wrapping my arms around him, my legs tangling with his.
Our breathing slowed. Only the crackle of the fire and the pounding of our hearts broke the silence. He slowly traced the curve of my hip, tiredness already starting to claim his movements.
I laced our fingers.
Firelight danced across the stone walls, painting shifting patterns like spectral tattoos. My fingers took a wandering path along the lines of powerful muscle beneath his damp skin. My gaze lingered on a bruise shadowing his collarbone. I kissed it.
He made a sound deep in his chest, half sigh, half hum of contentment, and pulled me even closer. His breathing deepened, becoming more regular, his tension finally beginning to melt away.
There was no kingdom needing his strength right now. No threats demanding his answer. No weight crushing him. Just this. Comfort. Warmth. My silent vigil over his rest.
Tenderness clamped around my throat. I loved watching him slip into sleep, seeing the king fade, leaving only the man who trusted enough to find true rest in my arms. I held on to him tighter. I would keep this quiet world safe for him. Every breath he took felt like a victory I’d fought hard for.
I yawned, my tired body begging rest. My soul had found peace, and I savored the feel of him beside me.
His breathing evened out entirely as he fell into a deep sleep.
My eyelids fluttered shut. For the first time since the battle horns rang out, I felt safe. Whole. Complete.
The night bled soft and blue through the balcony windows, the air smelling faintly of dew-soaked leaves, and for once, the world felt still. I lay listening to his heartbeat, the sound soothing me in a way nothing else ever could.
I traced shapes on his chest, circles, stars, promises. Exhaustion should’ve swept me away, but my mind wouldn’t rest. Not with him this close. Not when the future had finally stopped feeling like something I had to survive.
For the first time, I let myself imagine after. What life might look like when we’d defeated the Skathes, when we’d crafted peace between his court and my father’s.
Maybe we’d fly again on Lakast, this time savoring the beauty of the world we’d continue to build together.
The thought warmed me, soft and fragile as candlelight, and I drifted to sleep.