Chapter 26
MAKE ME FORGET
Seryn
We rushed down the hall toward the illusioned wall. His strides were so long that I could barely keep up, his hand gripping mine, my messy braid whipping behind me.
“Can’t wait to show me your chambers, Gav?” I teased. He abruptly stopped, and I nearly crashed into him before he grabbed my waist and shoved me against the moonstone wall.
He winced, and my eyes darted over the lingering bruises and shallow cuts scattering his face. “We should have Kaden take a look—”
“I’ll heal on my own. And the only thing I’m concerned about is my inability to keep my hands off you.”
“Your room seems a bit far away.”
His nostrils flared, and a wicked smile spread over his lips, threatening to reopen the cut in his lip. He rested his forehead against mine, his knee wedging between my thighs. I shuddered at the friction.
“Don’t tempt me.” His palm pressed beside my temple, the other curling around my nape. “Unless you’ve forgotten where we are—how everyone will hear you scream my name.”
I ran my fingers over his sides, pulling him harder into me. His chest heaved, straining against the leather strap. His jaw clenched, and I cupped it, thumbs brushing the hinge where it ticked. When his eyes searched mine, desire seeped over the jeweled depths.
I ran my teeth over my bottom lip. “Make me forget,” I breathed.
A growl rumbled in his chest before he scooped me over his shoulder, disregarding any of his injuries. A squeal fled from me, but he simply clamped his hand over the back of my thigh and strode ahead once more.
There was a dance of light and rippling moonstone, and I wriggled in his hold as the wall sealed behind us and he made his way up the spiral stairwell.
“Gavrel, put me down,” I demanded, the blood rushing to my head, and absently noticing the new sword he’d confiscated in the Void as the sheathed tip bounced below me.
He paused, lowering me, helping my body slide down his.
Every.
Delicious.
Inch.
Until I stood on the step above him. Sunlight shone through the quartz ceiling high above, the crystal prisms sprinkling rainbows everywhere.
My nape thrummed in time with my racing pulse, and a pleasant dizzy feeling swept over me.
Before I could get my bearings, Gavrel pushed me against the wall again, fingers ripping at the ties of my vest. His mouth crashed into mine, teeth clacking, and tongues clashing.
My lips met his again and again, the subtle taste of iron and salt mingling with the leather and sweat coating our bodies.
I clawed at his tunic, frustrated when it caught his baldric, wanting nothing more than to feel his warm, hard flesh against mine.
How fucking dare anyone or anything try to separate us.
I moaned into our kiss, my teeth scraping over his bottom lip. The tip of my vest loosened, and too impatient, he yanked it down, trapping my elbows against my sides.
He grinned before kissing his way along my jaw. His arm locked around my waist, cinching the garment tighter around me. “Don’t move,” he ordered.
Immediately, I struggled against my bindings, and he tore my tunic open to my navel, the crisp air sneaking under the loose material, pebbling my nipples.
“So defiant,” he murmured, nipping at the peak through the rough linen.
I cursed at the pain, and then moaned when he pushed aside the fabric and laved the bud, sucking it into his wet mouth.
His free hand roamed over my stomach, spread my leg to the side, propping it on the step above. He drew tortuously slow circles along my inner thigh with his thumb. When I quivered, his hold tightened around my waist.
Another garbled sound spilled from me as he sucked on my other nipple, untied my breeches, and slipped his touch beneath my underwear.
He groaned against my breast, dipping two fingers into my already drenched center. Sliding them back out, the sound of my lust echoed through the stairwell.
“Do you hear how fucking wet you are, Asteria?” His erection pushed into my hip, and I trembled. He pumped his fingers inside me, and then slid from me, my core clenching at the emptiness.
“Gavrel,” I whimpered.
He caught my lips once more with his and glided the tips of his fingers up my exposed stomach and chest, circling my nipple. Evidence of my desire trailed in their wake, goosebumps following. “Do you feel how soaked you are?”
“Yes.” I was ready to combust. He flicked the tip of my breast. “Fucking yes,” I cried.
“Good. I never want you to forget what I do to you.” He pinched my nipple and shoved his hand back into my pants. “But you will scream my name.”
Three fingers slammed into me, and my neck arched. His thumb pressed and rubbed and circled the throbbing at my apex.
He buried his face in my neck, finally untangling his hold, the vest going slack. I tugged my arms free, desperate to feel his skin as his fingers moved in and over my most sensitive parts.
I clung to him, nails digging into his back under his tunic.
Pressure built at the base of my spine. Unbearable heat raced down my flesh, my breasts, my stomach.
My channel clenched around his fingers, and he pumped faster, sucking and licking my nipples.
My neck. Whispering my name. His hot breath against my damp skin.
My whole body trembled, and his palm slapped against me, my achy clit pulsing.
“Come for me,” he whispered raggedly in my ear.
And I did. The wave finally burst, crashing violently, shaking me to my very soul to the sound of his name ripping from my throat.
Gently, he slipped his hand from me, scooping my limp, sated body into his arms before my legs gave out.
I was too depleted to object, so I rested my head against him and let myself be carried to his room. Exhaustion washed over me—born of what he’d just given, everything we’d endured these last days, and the ember I’d spent.
Sometimes it took a lot of energy to hold your head high.
But I didn’t want to waste a moment with him. “I’m not tired,” I uttered, eyelids fluttering as we entered his old room, and he set me on the bed.
He helped me undress and carried me to the waiting bathtub. I let the steamy water sink into my sore muscles, lulled by the popping, lavender-scented bubbles.
My eyes closed despite my best efforts. The water splashed over the sides as Gavrel slid into the water behind me. His length pressed into my backside, and I squirmed, eyes fluttering open a crack. Already wanting him again.
“Later, my star. For now, rest.” He positioned himself so that he was holding me in his arms, safe and cherished. His nimble fingers massaged and stroked my muscles until there was nothing left to do but surrender.
His touch glided in geometric patterns over my nape. And I ignored the thought of the golden lines he was tracing.
Because for the first time in a long while, I wanted to forget.
What came next.
What we needed to do.
What I’d promised.
But never him.