Chapter Twenty-nine
WILDER
H e’d all but told Althea Zoltaire that he loved her, that she, the lost heir of Delmira, the living storm, owned him mind, body and broken soul. That his cold, weary heart was hers, if she would have it.
But he didn’t let those words fall from his lips.
Instead, he tried to capture them in every kiss, every touch as they stumbled back to the palace, tangled in one another like teenagers, consequences be damned. He drank in her sea-salt-and-bergamot scent like it was a drug and he was an addict.
Gods, he could feel the tempest building in her, his own unique magic answering its call with power of its own. There was no end to the wanting of her, the loving her. It was in his blood, etched in his bones, and it burned through him like wildfire.
Neither of them were drunk, but Furies save him, he felt like he was – drunk on her.
They ignored the guards as they rushed through the outer palace grounds and then the corridors, breaking apart only to catch their breath before they got lost in one another again.
Wilder couldn’t remember a time where he’d felt so alive, so young and so free. He pushed all thoughts of duty and vows, expectations and honour aside and decided that for tonight, he would live and live hard, with Thea.
When they reached their quarters, they burst in and Wilder swept her up in his arms, kicking the doors closed behind them and taking her straight to the bed.
A bed.
As much as Wilder had loved the Bloodwoods, the cave and the mirror in the bathing chamber, he had longed to take her properly in a bed, as he might do if they were another couple, if they were anyone other than who they truly were.
Her dress was a web of ties and buttons, and he was just about to tear it right down the middle when it fell to the floor around her feet.
She wore nothing underneath.
Wilder’s heart skipped. Gods, she was perfect.
He traced the red marks across her ribs from the bodice.
He kissed the scar where she’d been stabbed as a shieldbearer.
But that was where his restraint ended. He lunged for her, threading his fingers through her hair, her tresses slipping through his fingers like silk.
Her mouth opened beneath his, surrendering to him and the desperate strokes of his tongue.
Thea clawed at his shirt, and he broke their kiss to jerk it over his head.
He heard the soft breath that escaped her lips as she dragged her gaze over his bare, tattooed torso and the contours of his abdomen. Her nails scraped down his skin and he hissed at the contact, gripping her by the back of her neck and claiming her mouth again in a brutal kiss.
He nipped at the curve of her lower lip, hard enough to elicit a gasp from her. But she gave as good as she got, kissing him back fiercely. He relished every pass of her mouth over his, exploring her thoroughly with his tongue.
It had never felt like this before. Not with anyone else.
It was as though the Furies had made every inch of Thea just for him.
He dragged his hands down her curves, wanting to memorise every dip and hollow of her beautiful body. Thea arched towards him, silently begging him to touch her.
He kissed her hungrily and obliged her, cupping both breasts in his hands, rolling her nipples between his fingers, finding that sweet spot between pleasure and pain that made her breathless.
There was something utterly unabashed about them now as they devoured one another.
Wilder groaned at the feel of her beneath his touch as he pushed her back towards the bed while she fumbled at his belt, and then, the buttons of his pants.
He felt as if he’d been rock hard for hours – days, even; weeks.
He wanted her always. Gods, had she no idea what she did to him? His erection was damn near painful.
A deep noise sounded from the back of his throat as she freed his cock, her hands wrapping around the throbbing length.
She pumped him up and down, circling the crown of his cock with her thumb where that telltale moisture had gathered. Thea moaned into his mouth and the sound made his balls tighten in anticipation.
He let his hand fall from her breast, trailing down her stomach to ease between her legs, finding her wet and ready for him. As his fingers parted her, she whimpered and he nearly threw her onto the pillows, thinking of nothing else but driving his cock inside her.
Thea seemed to have the same idea, for she dragged him to the bed. Her legs hit the edge of the mattress and she fell backward, taking him with her.
He’d follow her anywhere.
Her legs fell open either side of him and his cock brushed against her as he braced himself on top of her.
‘Wait,’ he said, tensing suddenly at the realisation, cursing himself for his thoughtlessness, his carelessness. ‘We’ve never talked about protection, about —’
‘I’ve got it covered,’ Thea said, reaching for his cock.
‘You’re sure?’ he asked, his breath whistling between his teeth as she lined up the crown of him to her entrance.
Thea fixed him with a challenging stare. ‘Trust me. That’s the last thing I want. Ever. I’ve got it covered.’
‘Alright.’ Satisfied, he leant down to kiss her.
But this time she hesitated. ‘You’re not going to correct me?’
‘About what?’
‘About how I might change my mind. About how I might —’
Wilder’s brows furrowed as he drew back to peer at her face. ‘Why in the realms would I do that? You know your own mind, Thea. I sure as fuck have learnt by now to respect that about you.’
The tips of her cheeks flushed. ‘Oh.’
He leant in again, circling her nipple with his tongue before leaving a trail of heated kisses up to her neck, lingering where her pulse fluttered beneath her skin. ‘Can I fuck you now?’ he murmured into the shell of her ear.
She was already arching into him, already grinding her wet core against his cock. ‘Yes,’ she breathed. ‘Yes.’
Wilder sat back on his knees and looked at her, his mouth going dry at the sight of her flushed breasts and peaked nipples, and then lower, where her legs parted around him, leaving her utterly exposed to him. He dragged a finger down her centre, through the wetness he found there.
‘You ready?’ he asked, his voice thick with desire.
She writhed against him, seeking more friction. ‘Yes.’
Wilder gripped her hips, tilting them towards him, lining himself up to slide home, but not before he lifted her legs high, so that the backs of her thighs pressed against his torso, and her knees hooked over his shoulders.
Thea’s eyes went wide.
Only then did he push inside her, sliding in and in, watching as her mouth parted in a shocked cry of pleasure. He waited a beat for her to adjust to the size of him, knowing that from this angle he was deeper than he’d been before —
Thea jerked her hips against him, demanding more.
A slow, dark smile curved his lips. ‘Use your words, Princess,’ he said. ‘What do you want?’
Thea gave an impatient cry. ‘Harder,’ she panted. ‘Faster. Rougher.’
Wilder gripped her thighs, hard enough to bruise. ‘I can give you that,’ he murmured, sliding out almost completely, before he thrust back inside her, over and over again, exactly how she wanted. Gods, she was tight. So tight he could barely breathe, the sensation utterly overwhelming.
Soon, Thea’s moans echoed off the walls, and it was all Wilder could do to keep the feral beast within him at bay as he fucked her, her feet by his ears, his own pleasure building and building with every thrust. He drank in the sight of her breasts bouncing, of the hand that drifted south, down her body to her clit.
He’d never seen anything so beautiful, so sensual, as watching Thea touch herself while he pumped hard inside her, over and over.
Desire raced through him like a drug, leaving his skin ablaze and his heart near bursting.
He craved this – her – the heat of her driving him to a new place of madness, making him lightheaded with ecstasy.
When he was on the verge of losing it, he flipped her on her side and fucked her from behind, drawing ragged gasps from her.
The decadent sounds she made vibrated down his cock and through his balls, coaxing his own moans of pleasure from the back of his throat, and driving those carnal, savage instincts within.
‘Fuck, Wilder,’ Thea cried.
‘Are you going to come for me, Thea?’ He hardly recognised the low rumble of his own voice, darkened with need. He grabbed her by the inner thigh and hooked her leg back over his, spreading her wide, his fingers finding her clit, pressing down.
With a shout, Thea bucked at the contact and spots swam in his vision he sank even deeper inside her.
She rocked against him, meeting every one of his punishing thrusts.
He kissed her shoulder, scraping his teeth along her skin.
‘Wilder, I’m going to —’
She cried out amid the haze of lust, clenching around him as he fucked her through her climax, drawing out every last drop of pleasure, circling her clit until she was quaking beneath his touch.
‘I’ve got you,’ he whispered into her hair, holding her tight to his chest as a sob escaped her.
For a moment, all he could hear was her ragged breaths. But then Thea moved. Slipping his still aching cock from her, she pushed him onto his back and straddled him.
‘And I’ve got you,’ she said, trailing her nails down his chest, lowering herself onto the length of him.
Wilder’s eyes rolled to the back of his head.
‘Gods…’ he moaned as she took him, every inch.
Heat swelled at the base of his spine and in his balls as she rode him, dragging the pleasure from him just as he had with her.
A dark fever of desire took hold of him then, and he had to move, had to claim her with everything he had.
In a blur, Wilder gripped her backside and stood, taking her with him and kicking over the bedside table to get better access to the wall, crushing his body to hers.