Chapter Eighteen #2
“Because it will get people's attention. How often do you see a report on a myth? It will serve as a foundation of truth that people can refer to when we start spreading the real tale.”
He turned to face me. “And if it's too late?”
“It's not.” I took his hand. “You're still here. You still remember who you are. That means it's not too late.”
áedán pulled me into his arms and laid his forehead against mine.
We stood like that for a long time, breathing together, the cottage quiet around us.
Inside, I was seething with fury and tight with determination.
Whoever had done this to áedán and his clan was the true monster, and I would reveal that to the world. Their lies would yield to the truth.
áedán sniffed the air and eased away from me. “Dinner is ready.”
We went back to the table. I sat down while áedán filled two bowls with stew. He set one before me along with a glass of water and then joined me. We ate in silence, both lost in our thoughts and worries. As soon as I was done, I went back to my laptop.
áedán sighed, but didn't say anything. He washed up and put the leftovers away. Then he sat beside me with another cup of tea. I don't know how long we sat like that, but he finally reached over and closed my laptop.
“What are you doing?” I watched as he pushed it away.
“He cupped my face in his hands. “I'm right here, Ethan. Not in there. You want to save me? Then make me feel real. Right now.” He kissed me. Taking his time, tasting of tea and need.
I kissed him back, my hands finding his bare waist. His cool skin felt good, reassuring. He made a soft sound against my mouth and pulled me closer.
We stumbled toward his bedroom, mouths still connected, hands pulling at each other's clothes.
My shirt came off in the living room. His pants hit the floor outside the bedroom door.
By the time we reached the bed, we were both breathing hard.
I scrambled out of the rest of my clothing, too anxious to feel his skin against mine.
I was too hot, and only he could cool me.
áedán pushed me down onto the mattress and followed me, his body covering mine.
The weight of him felt right. Necessary.
I sighed as his skin took my heat, easing my fever.
He kissed my throat, my collarbone, the hollow at the base of my neck.
His hands mapped my ribs, my stomach, and the sharp jut of my hipbones.
“I want you.” He kissed my throat. “I need to be inside you, feel you holding me.”
“Yes.” My voice came out wrecked. “Please.”
He smiled against my shoulder. “So polite.”
“áedán.”
“I know.” He kissed me again, softer this time.
áedán took his time preparing me. He even had my lubricant there, ready for us.
Patient and careful, his fingers slick, he worked me open with a gentleness that made my chest shiver.
His long finger pumped as deep as it could go, sending tingles racing along my cock.
He watched my face the whole time, reading every expression I made.
When I was ready—when I was begging—he finally rose to his knees and picked up the tube of lubricant.
Before he could open it, I took it from him. “Let me.”
I squeezed some of the cool gel onto my fingers and then rubbed it over him, watching him as he had watched me.
His body tightened, his cock jerking in my hands.
I grinned, all my anxiety falling away. áedán wanted me to make him feel real, but to me, there was nothing more real than him. Nothing more alive.
áedán stilled my hand when I started to stroke him. “I told you I needed to be inside you.”
áedán's words made me shiver, my body clenching in anticipation.
I let go of him and lay back, then set my feet on the bed and angled my pelvis up.
Holding his gaze, I lifted my balls and rubbed my entrance with the remainder of the lube on my fingers.
His gaze broke free of mine and lowered to watch me rub myself, his lips opening on his harsh breaths and his magic moving beneath his skin in shining tendrils.
There was a bit more gel on my palm, so I rubbed it into my cock, still watching him watch me.
Then I hooked my hands around my knees and pulled back, lifting my ass off the bed.
There was no shame between us. I opened myself for him eagerly, wanting him to see all of me.
I'd never been so wanton with a lover. And áedán appreciated it.
He groaned and grabbed the base of his cock.
Biting his lip, he rubbed the tip over my hole, then pushed in slowly, breaching my outer ring.
Once he had lodged himself, he bent over me, supporting my legs with his arms. As wonderful as it felt to have him there, I needed him deeper.
Moving. I grabbed his shoulders and undulated my hips.
“Stop teasing me.” áedán bent to nip my lower lip. “Let me take you.”
“Then do it already.”
Chuckling, he moved in and out, slowly at first, letting me adjust, letting me feel every inch of him.
His eyes never left mine. There was something vulnerable in áedán's expression, something raw and unguarded.
It was as if he were giving me more than just his body. As if he were giving me everything.
“You feel incredible.” áedán raised his head and arched his back. “So tight. So perfect. As if you were made for me.”
“I was. I know I was.” I didn't even know what I was saying, just that I had to say it. “No one has ever made me feel like this.”
I held onto áedán as he moved inside me, taking me apart with careful precision.
My cock pressed against his belly, stroked with every thrust of his hips.
The pleasure was so great that I lost control of myself.
There was no me anymore, just this wild thing who needed áedán to survive.
Without him pumping inside me, I would die.
So, I had to do everything I could to keep him there.
My hands slid down his hard chest to his waist and then around back to grab his ass. I pulled him deeper and clenched my channel around him. áedán shifted the angle of his hips, and I cried out, pleasure spiking even higher as he hit the right spot inside me.
“Right there?” His voice was rough. “Is that good?”
“Yes. God, yes. Don't stop.”
He thrust harder, hitting that spot again and again, every bump sending a thrill up my back. áedán growled, his control starting to fray along with mine. His jaw clenched, his eyes darkened, and his breathing turned ragged. He was close. We both were.
“Touch yourself.” He shifted up onto his knees so he could see me. “I want to feel you squeeze me when you come.”
I wrapped my hand around myself and stroked in time with his thrusts.
The pleasure built fast, overwhelming and inevitable.
My toes curled, and my head lolled on the pillow.
The primal need for release grabbed hold of me.
I needed it even more than I needed áedán inside me.
I pumped my hand faster and shuddered when I caught him watching my glossy tip emerge from my fist. It sent me over, and I came with his name on my lips as my body clenched around him.
With my hand on my cock, my release arched up and hit áedán's belly.
He flinched and then came with a guttural cry, hands gripping my thighs to hold me to him as he arched forward.
The movement lifted me further off the bed, and I pushed down on the mattress with my hands to steady myself.
áedán's hips locked, and his cool release rushed into me, reminding me that he was more than a man.
I watched áedán climax in awe. With his back bowed and head thrown back, he looked like a sea god rising from the depths, primal magic flowing under his skin like water.
Then he jerked violently, and his body flowed forward and down as he jerked his cock free.
My legs fell from his shoulders and dropped out to the sides on the mattress.
áedán collapsed over me, breathing hard, and pressed his face to my neck.
We lay tangled together, sweat cooling on our skin, hearts gradually slowing. I could feel his spent shaft against my balls while mine was pressed between us.
“Do you feel real now?” I whispered.
áedán lifted his head to look at me. His eyes were bright, almost glowing. “More than I ever have.”
He kissed me then, gentle and sweet. Then he rose from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
áedán returned with a warm cloth and cleaned us both with tender efficiency.
When he was done, he climbed back onto the bed, lay on his back, and pulled me into his side.
Smiling, I turned onto my side and laid my head on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, steady and strong, and feel the rise and fall of his breathing.
Outside, the loch whispered against the shore. Inside, we held each other and tried not to think about the impossible task ahead. About the villain rewriting myths. About the truth being buried under layers of lies. For now, this was enough. This moment. This truth between us.
Everything else could wait until morning.