Chapter 41
Drowning lessons
JUDE
I lounge in the warm water, enjoying its heat and the feeling of weightlessness. The steam rises around me, enveloping my body in mist, and I let myself forget everything. I’m released from the power swirling in my veins, the weight of the choices pressing down on me, and most of all, Lorien.
He’s finally been persuaded to leave me alone for a bit, probably because he’s doing what he does best. Running the damn kingdom. His duties. Politics. I don’t envy him, and I do miss him.
But still. I relish this solitude.
For now, anyway.
It gives me a moment to breathe.
It’s a fleeting escape, and I know it. But damn if it doesn’t feel good to just be for a while.
My thoughts drift, unhurried, to what’s changed in me, in us. The kelpies’ curse is broken, and I’m not the same man I was. Not by a long shot. There’s power inside me, and it’s like a living thing inside me, begging to be used. It pulses in time with the beat of my heart. And then there’s Lorien.
Lorien.
I exhale slowly, my head tilting back against the edge of the stone pool. He’s always there, like a shadow in my mind, whether I want him to be or not. His words echo, his touch lingers on my skin, and now I must make another choice.
The rings. The piercings. His. Mine.
I grind my teeth, feeling the pressure of it all settling in my chest. There’s no easy way to describe the level of permanence the piercings carry. Once done, there’s no going back. The commitment is as binding as the blood in our veins. And I don’t want to make a mistake.
I can still taste his kiss, his promise—his vows, darker and deeper than anything I’ve known. It’s not just a promise. It’s a damn eternity.
I run my fingers through my hair; the water cool against my scalp, but it does nothing to ease the tightness in my chest. I’d made my choice.
I knew that the moment I surrendered to the emotion in his eyes, that was it.
We bound ourselves to each other in the temple, and whatever Gods lurked there had sealed our fate.
I was bound to him. He is already bound to me.
But the piercings—his piercing—are another thing entirely.
They’re a symbol, a connection. A permanent mistake that can’t be undone if I choose the wrong ones. The thought of marking him, of marking myself is overwhelming.
And exciting.
The sound of soft footsteps breaks through the stillness, too deliberate, too familiar to ignore. My eyes open slowly, though I don’t move, not yet. I know it’s him before I even hear his voice.
“Jude.”
Lorien’s tone is low, almost a command, but there’s an underlying softness there. He’s standing at the edge of the pool now, his gaze dark and knowing. I feel it without even looking at him, that pull, that magnetic force that never lets me truly be alone.
“What?”
I hear him suck air in and note the wrath in the air.
I brace myself for the inevitable.
“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” His voice is tight. “Choosing my rings is a decision, Jude, not a fucking debate.”
I chuckle, finally looking up at him. “Does it look like I’m debating?”
The heat of his gaze wraps around me like fire. He steps closer, his movements steady and deliberate. I push myself up, letting the water cascade off me, the warmth of it meeting the heat of my skin. My gaze stays on him, the tension in the air crackling.
“I just want them to be perfect, Lorien,” I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper.
His lips twitch, almost a smile, but there's something more beneath it. Something darker, something more possessive.
“They will be,” he says, his voice rough. “Because you’re choosing them for me.”
I swallow, heart racing, as I watch him step closer, his fingers trailing along the edge of the pool, just shy of touching me. My skin burns with anticipation, and every second stretches out, slowed by the promise of what’s coming.
“Jude, do you remember the last time you took a bath without my permission?” Lorien says, his voice laced with a threat that sends my arousal soaring.
“How I almost fucked you until you learned who owned that perfect little ass of yours, and how the only reason I didn’t was because it was your first time? ”
I nod and sink back into the pool, the water a feeble barrier between us and the storm of desire he stirs. I try to hide my shudder of both fear and longing, retreating as if the water could shield me from him, even as every fiber of my being craves his touch.
“That no longer stops me, does it?” he growls.
Before I can answer, Lorien lunges forward, his form blurring as he dives into the water.
I watch, transfixed, as his human shape melts away and his sleek, sinuous tail emerges in its place, shimmering with golden hues and the promise of forbidden sins.
Every scale glints in the pool's low light, a dark siren song calling me closer.
He nears with a force that makes the water churn.
In one powerful, possessive motion, Lorien slams me against the pool's edge, and it’s a cold, hard reminder of the intensity that binds us.
The impact steals my breath, my body trembling under his grip, as the shock of his transformed strength mingles with a fierce, consuming desire.
Pinned against the stone, I feel both the sting of the collision and the heat of his eyes.
In that charged moment, I know that everything has changed.
His dominance is undeniable, his promise of ecstasy as relentless as the tide.
Arousal and longing mix within me and I surrender to the dark, irresistible pull of his power, knowing that soon, this will become everything I need it to be.
“You will kiss me,” Lorien snarls against my lips.
His mouth crashes on to mine, fierce and demanding.
His kiss is a collision of heat and hunger, a command that leaves me breathless.
I feel his cool, powerful tail unfurl behind him, the smooth, glistening scales brushing against my skin as he presses me harder into the stone.
Every pulse of his body sends shivers through me, igniting a wild desire that teeters between surrender and defiance.
His hands roam over me, rough and insistent, and the water churns around us, echoing the intensity of our melding bodies. I taste salt and heat on his lips and know the dark promise of his kiss as it sears itself on to my soul.
This is no longer a choice.
This is an irreversible plunge into desire as deep and treacherous as the oceans he rules.
This is arousal building uncontrollably, and it’s a fierce, untamed storm that roils through me.
My pulse accelerates, each beat a thunderous declaration of need, as heat floods every part of my body.
I feel it rising, wild and relentless, defying every attempt at restraint.
I’m spiraling as out of control as the desire surging through me, and I want Lorien to shatter me and make me his.
His hand wraps around my cock and I groan into his mouth.
The pleasure is overwhelming. A surge of raw, unbridled heat that courses through every nerve in my body. Every determined stroke of his hand only fans the flames higher and there’s no point in even trying to hold this back. Hold him back.
Lorien’s fingers thread through my hair and he takes a firm grip, his nails digging in just enough to make me gasp into the kiss.
The sensation is both painful and pleasurable, a reminder of his strength, his dominance over my body.
My head falls back against the stone at an awkward angle as he manipulates my position to deepen the kiss further.
He breaks our kiss as suddenly as it began and spins me around faster than I can process. My front slams into the side of the pool and his teeth grate as they slide down the back of my neck.
Lorien’s everywhere, his hands and mouth and body touching all of me as he cages me in against the wall. I writhe and moan, groaning with pleasure as he grinds his cock into me.
“Ready?” he hisses in my ear.
I whimper and shake my head.
He lifts me half out of the water, forcing my head down onto the floor.
“This is not a fucking debate, Jude.”
His hand tightens its grip on the back of my neck, and I’ve never been so damn relieved that he left the collar off me. Lorien’s been less possessive since we returned, content to trace the markings branded onto my skin by the damn thing, and now it’s off, it means he can play with my neck.
And honestly, I love it.
I crave his touch there more than almost anywhere else, enjoying it when he’s soft and tender, and when he’s rough and forceful. His mouth plays over my skin as his claws dig into it, and every touch makes my cock grow harder and makes me need him more.
“Are you still fighting me?”
I shake my head.
God, I’m not.
“Then be a fucking good boy for me and spread your legs so I can fuck you until my cock is imprinted on your ass.”
I manage to swear before his free hand grabs my leg and forces my thighs apart. His cock runs down me and I need this, as I need him. My dick’s throbbing and when I try to move my hand to relieve the agony, Lorien growls, yanking my wrist away.
“You’ll get what you’re given, and you’ll fucking thank me for it.”
My body shudders, and he laughs behind me, pressing his erection into me.
I buck a little and his hands grip me tighter, holding me so that I no longer have the ability to move.
I could fight him, I could use my magic to push him away, but we both know I won’t.
We both know I want this, and this dynamic gets us both off.
Lorien’s as excited as I am, and when his cock finds my ass again, he groans in anticipation.
“This might sting a little, babe.”
I nod.
“You’ll take me like the good boy you’re so fucking desperate to be for me anyway.”
His dick presses into me and the burn catches, its sting sharp and unpleasant. Lorien keeps moving, thrusting into me in one smooth, slow, excruciating motion that makes me scream as the pleasure of having him inside me clashes with the pain of my body trying to accommodate the sheer size of him.
“Fuck, it’s too much, Lorien.”
“I don’t care, babe,” he rasps. “Strangle my cock. You feel too fucking good to stop.”
My fingers turn white as he moves and I start to catch my breath, my chest cooling on the cold marble floor.
I pant as Lorien fucks me so damn hard that I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same again.
I feel each and every thrust in the back of my throat, and every moment is an exquisite blend of pleasure and pain.
“God, Lorien,” I rasp.
He growls against my mouth, a raw, animalistic sound that vibrates through me. His eyes flash with a dark promise as his pace never falters.
“Beg for me, Jude,” he commands, certain I’m utterly at his mercy.
Every thrust reverberates down my throat, melding pain and pleasure in a symphony that shatters my control.
My knuckles ache as I grip the cold marble, trying in vain to anchor myself against the overwhelming force of his desire.
The sensation of his powerful tail flicking behind him, the slick, glistening scales sliding over my skin drives me to the brink.
The heat, the relentless pressure, and the delightful torment all converge into a single, inescapable moment of pure abandon. My entire being trembles, teetering on the edge of something raw and irreversible.
Lorien's hands move over me with possessive precision, stoking the inferno that rages within. I’m burning and he’s stoking the flames, determined to consume me, and the pleasure coursing through me is undeniable and uncontrollable.
“Beg, or I won’t let you come.”
“You wouldn’t—”
“I fucking would,” he snarls. “Don’t test me.”
“Please, Lorien. This feels too good. You feel too good. Don’t make me wait. Don’t make me—”
My pleas trail off as his dominance controls every inch of my body. My pulse pounds in my ears as his hand wraps firmly around my cock, stoking the wild inferno within me. I groan, the sound raw and desperate, while his gaze locks onto mine with a fierce, unyielding command.
“Beg, Jude,” he orders, his voice a mix of threat and promise.
The water churns violently around us, echoing the frantic rhythm of my heart as I teeter on the edge of control. I close my eyes, letting my overwhelming arousal take hold, letting it set every nerve alight with a need so potent it borders on madness.
“Lorien, please. Please. I need you. More than anything. Please.”
A primal snarl vibrates from him as his thrusts intensify and my arousal becomes a tempest I cannot control. Desire and surrender intertwine as he holds me at his mercy, and I struggle to breathe, doing little more than clinging on for dear life.
His moans deepen behind me and his hand fists my cock furiously. We’re both too close to turn back now and we move together, both ecstatic as we careen over the edge of oblivion and freefall into our orgasms. My cock jerks as his throbs and we scream each other’s names as we come together.
We collapse, both spent, both sated.
Lorien slips out of me and pulls me back into the water, his body cradling mine. The warmth of the pool makes the lingering heat of our encounter linger longer, each drop of water a reminder of the fires we’ve both endured to be here.
For a long, suspended moment, we lie there, our breaths mingling with the gentle lapping of water.
My heart still pounds in wild, uneven beats, and my body sings with the memory of his touch.
I feel the echo of his dominance and the tenderness as his fingers trace lazy, deliberate patterns over my damp skin.
In this quiet aftermath, as the water wraps us in its embrace, we know that everything has changed.
Lorien’s shattered the boundaries that once defined me, and I rewrote the rules that governed his world.
All that’s left is an irrevocable promise of unity and a bond forged in the depths of desire that was sealed by our sheer will and reckless abandon.
“Choose my rings,” Lorien whispers in my ear. “Before I have to fuck you so damn hard that you have no choice but to come to your senses, Jude.”
I let a small, tremulous smile cross my lips as I surrender to the tension between us. We are forever bound, heart and soul, in this endless, dark, and beautiful tide.