Chapter 25 Riley #2
He pulled back slow, almost all the way out, then slammed in again, hard and deep.
No gentleness, no easing in. This was raw need, two months of the bond pulling taut, aching to snap back together.
He pounded into me, each thrust jolting my body against the table, my pussy taking every inch of his cock as he drove deeper.
I met him thrust for thrust, nails digging into his back, scraping red lines down his skin. My legs hooked around his waist, heels pressing into his ass to pull him closer, harder. The slap of his hips against mine echoed in the room, mixed with the wet sounds of my pussy sucking him in.
“So good,” he groaned. “So fucking good.”
“Less talking, more...”
He cut me off with a brutal thrust, angling up to hit that spot inside that made my vision blur. I lost the ability to form words, replaced by a whine as pleasure spiked hot and fierce.
The war table groaned under us, wood creaking with every slam.
More figurines toppled off the edges, clattering to the stone floor.
In the back of my mind, I knew we’d wrecked hours of strategy, maps rumpling under my ass, ink smudging from my sweat.
But fuck it. I couldn’t bring myself to care, not when Caelan was buried balls-deep inside me, his cock dragging along my walls, hitting every nerve.
“My love,” he growled against my throat, teeth grazing the skin. “You look so good with my cock buried deep inside you, little menace. Scream for me. Make sure every fucking wolf in this building hears it.” He bit my shoulder, right over the claiming mark, and I shattered.
The bite sent me over, orgasm crashing through me like a storm. My pussy spasmed around his cock, squeezing tight as I came, waves of heat pulsing from my core, soaking us both. I screamed, the sound raw and uncontrolled just like he wanted, echoing off the stone walls.
Caelan thrust once more, deep and grinding, then went rigid. His cock throbbed inside me, hot cum spilling out in thick spurts, filling my pussy until it leaked around him. He groaned my name, hips jerking as he rode it out.
We fell against the table, his body heavy on mine, pressing me into the mess of papers and markers. I needed his weight, the solid feel of him pinning me down, our breaths syncing in harsh pants. Sweat slicked our skin, his cock still twitching inside me, softening slow.
“Better?” he asked after a moment.
“Better.” But the heat was already building again. I could feel it, a low simmer beneath my skin, growing warmer by the second. “But not done.”
His eyes darkened. “No?”
“The heat.” I was already pulling him closer again. “It’s not... I still need...”
“I know.” He lifted me easily, moving us, laying me down on the rug in front of the fireplace I hadn’t noticed until now. “I know what you need. And I’m going to give you everything.”
“Promise?”
“I’m your mate.” His hands gripped my hips. “Taking care of you is my only job.”
“I thought your job was being a prince.”
“That’s my second job. You come first. Always.” He whispered. “Come on, baby. I have two months of worshipping to catch up on.”
Round two was different.
Slower, sweeter. He took his time now, kissing every inch of my body, relearning me. His mouth traced paths down my throat, between my breasts, across my stomach. Every kiss felt intentional, purposeful.
“Were you thinking about me? During the war?” I whispered against his skin.
“Every second.” He pressed a kiss to my hip bone. “Every battle, every strategy meeting, every sleepless night. You were all I thought about.”
“Liar.”
“Never.” He looked up at me, gray eyes intense. “I almost got myself killed three times because I was distracted thinking about you.”
“That’s not romantic. That’s stupid.”
“Same thing, when it comes to you.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re beautiful.” He kissed my stomach. “And brave.” Another kiss, lower. “And mine.” Lower still. “Let me show you how much I missed you.”
I couldn’t argue, not when his mouth had moved lower, and all coherent thought dissolved.
He worshipped me with his tongue, taking his time, drawing out every sensation until I was writhing, begging, my hands fisted in his hair. He brought me to the edge twice, then backed off, making me curse his name.
“Patience,” he murmured against my inner thigh.
“I will murder you.”
“Empty threat. You love me too much.”
“Not right now I don’t.”
He laughed, the vibration making me gasp, and then his mouth was back on my dripping pussy, relentless. I stopped being able to form coherent threats.
Only when I was shaking, desperate, barely able to breathe, did he finally slide back inside me, watching my face as I took all of him, his thick cock stretching me open.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
I did. Held his gaze as he moved, as we moved together. It was intimate in a way the previous rounds weren’t. Not just bodies connecting, but souls. The bond thrummed between us, restored and strengthened, a golden thread binding us together.
“I love you,” he said. “I won’t leave you again.”
“You’d better not.” I pulled him down for a kiss. “Or I’ll come find you and cause a scene.”
“You already caused a scene. Showing up in heat, smelling divine, making every wolf in the castle lose their minds.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“No.” His thrusts deepened, speeding up, the sound of his body slapping against mine feeling filthy in the empty room. “It was mine.”
“Caelan...”
I came again as his tongue found my claiming mark on my neck, the pleasure rolling through me in waves rather than crashing. He followed, spilling thick and warm ropes of cum inside my pussy with a groan, my name on his lips.
Afterward, we lay tangled on the rug, the fire crackling beside us. The heat had finally subsided. Not gone, I suspected it would return, but quiet for now. Sated.
“We should move,” I said eventually. “We’re still in the war room.”
“Mm.”
“People will talk.”
“Let them.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I just got you back. They can all wait.”
“I suppose we should make ourselves presentable,” I sighed.
“I suppose we should.” He didn’t move. “In a minute.” He pulled me closer, tucking me against his chest.
I smiled against his skin. “Possessive.”
“You have no idea.”
***
Eventually, we had to move.
The fire had burned low. The heat under my skin had quieted to a manageable hum. And somewhere beyond the war room doors, an entire kingdom was probably wondering what the hell was happening with their prince and his mysterious mate.
“Come on,” Caelan said, rising and pulling me up with him. “My rooms. You can rest properly there.”
“What about the meeting you were in?”
“It can wait.”
“Can it? There’s a war...”
“The civil war is mostly over.” He was gathering my clothes, helping me dress with hands that lingered longer than necessary. “The coup attempt was stopped. What’s left is cleanup and politics.”
He pulled his own tunic over his head, and I mourned the loss of the view.
When we finally opened the doors, the hallway was mercifully empty.
I had braced myself for stares, whispers, knowing looks. But Caelan led me through corridors that were conspicuously deserted. Either the castle staff had been given very strict orders, or everyone was very pointedly giving the prince and his mate space.
I suspected both.
“This way,” Caelan murmured, his hand warm on my lower back.
The castle was enormous. Stone walls, arched ceilings, curtains that looked older than anything I’d ever seen. Suits of armor stood guard at intervals. Images of wolves and mountains and battles decorated the spaces between windows.
It was cold, I could feel it even through the borrowed jacket Caelan had wrapped around my shoulders, but beautiful in a stark, dramatic way. The kind of beauty that demanded respect. That reminded you of its age and power.
We passed through a great hall with a ceiling so high I couldn’t see the top. Through a gallery lined with portraits of what I assumed were past kings and queens. Through a corridor with windows overlooking a courtyard blanketed in snow.
Duskmere.
I was actually in Duskmere, in another dimension, walking through a castle with my werewolf prince fiancé after having heat-induced sex in a war room.
My life had gotten so weird.
“You’re smiling,” Caelan observed.
“I’m processing.”
“Processing what?”
“Everything.” I gestured vaguely at the stone walls, the torches, the snow visible through the windows.
“Almost four months ago, I was a struggling romance author with an abusive ex-agent and no idea that werewolves existed. Now I’m engaged to a prince, I can turn into a wolf, and I just had sex on a war table in another dimension. ”
“When you put it that way...”
“It sounds insane.”
“It sounds like fate.” He stopped at a massive wooden door, turned to face me.
“Everything that happened: the portals, the book signing, Damien being terrible enough that I wanted to murder him immediately. It all led here. To us. To this moment. The brought us together.” He cupped my face, thumb stroking my cheekbone.
“You’re my mate, Riley. Mine. Whether fate arranged it or chance allowed it, the result is the same. You’re mine, and I’m yours.”
I should have had a clever comeback. Some quip, some joke, anything to break the intensity of the moment.
I didn’t.
“Okay,” I said instead. Quiet, simple, true.
He kissed me. Then he opened the door to his chambers and guided me inside.
The room was massive. A four-poster bed that could fit six people, a fireplace already roaring with warmth, windows overlooking a snow-covered landscape that stole my breath. It was luxurious in a way I’d never experienced. Royal, in the truest sense.
“This is where you grew up?” I asked.
“This wing of the castle, yes. These specific chambers since I came of age.” He was watching me explore, a soft smile on his face. “Is it... acceptable?”
“It’s incredible.” I turned to look at him. “But I’d live in a cave with you if I had to.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
“I’m just saying. The location doesn’t matter. You’re what matters.”
His expression softened. “Come here.”
I did. Fell into his arms, let him hold me.
The heat stirred again, insistent, but it wasn’t urgent anymore. We had time. We had each other. We had forever, apparently, if the claiming extended my lifespan the way he said.
“Sleep,” Caelan murmured against my hair. “The heat will return, but for now, sleep. You need to recover.”
“Will you stay?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He guided me toward the bed, helped me under the covers, climbed in beside me.
I fell asleep in his arms, complete at last.