25. Benedetto
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
BENEDETTO
With Luna and Rose safe at the villa with more guards, my mother a guest at the palace, and Sofia near Rose, I felt safe to leave. I needed to move, to think.
I walked to the Volonta, near the bridge, and stared over the water, in the direction it flowed toward the ocean.
Above, the sky shone a brilliant blue, the sunlight casting a golden haze over red and green tiled rooftops.
How would I handle the journey? With my mother in town, the political threat had lessened.
We had a solid lead. One day into the pass, turn left at the blasted oak, and follow the second game trail. Moonshifter will finally be within reach.
This could end Francesco’s long torment, freeing both of us. The end of this Void blasted half-life. From my previous travels, it would take me and Luna five weeks to reach the base of the Renhos Mountains, and another six days to navigate to the Ygris Pass. The terrain would be rough. Steep trails, dense forest, and the threat of snow even in early summer.
It'd be grueling. Could Luna handle it? Even if it were best for her, I didn’t want to leave her here. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. Since when did I enjoy someone's company like this?
To distract myself, I headed for the merchant district. While the servants would provide food, I preferred to get my own medicinal herbs in case of injury.
Passed a jeweler's stall, a whim to see if any of the wares would suit my wife struck me. She’s always worn the jewelry of our clan, not any she’d been given by me.
A strand of moonstones color of her eyes caught my attention. After a moment’s consideration I moved on, trailing the nervous apprentice minding the counter, and pointed at a pair of delicate opal earrings.
He pulled them out. Catching the light, the stones shimmered with flecks of blue and green and veins of fiery red.
A cool exterior with a fiery inside, like her.
"How much for these?" I asked.
The jeweler bustled out and beamed at me. "A fine choice, my lord. Look at the fire in those! They come from the Yeflad islands, the only place where you can get quality like this. Very large, rare stones. For you, a fair price, twenty gold coins."
Twenty gold coins for a pair of earrings? Dead gods waking, he was overcharging me.
He eyed me nervously, but I found I didn’t care about being overcharged. Luna would love them.
On the other hand, it went against the grain to not haggle at all.
I raised my brows. “It would be a fair price if I took the moonstone necklace as well and offered fifteen.”
The man laughed outright. “Overly fair! But I will throw the necklace in as a gift to a man who appreciates fine things for the twenty the earrings cost.”
“Done.” I counted out the coin and put them wrapped in a twist of cloth into my inner vest.
Back at the villa, I signaled the servant not to announce me and found Luna in the garden, once again drinking tea and sitting on the low stone bench beneath a blooming magnolia tree with Pip.
The drake was curled in her lap, and its eyes were quite close to the stones in the earrings in both shape and color. The scene was peaceful, almost idyllic, and I softened as I approached her.
"I have something for you." I tried to sound casual, and the words came out clipped.
Luna looked up, curious. "Oh? What is it?"
I pulled out the small velvet pouch and handed it to her. She opened it carefully, eyes widening when she saw the earrings and the necklace.
"Benedetto!" She lifted them out to examine them in the light. The stones caught the rays of the sun, shimmering with an iridescent glow. The necklace glowed softly, grey as mist.
"They're beautiful," she breathed.
The look on her face was worth every moment of doubt on the way to the villa. She was happy.
As Luna admired the earrings, I noticed the red veil twisted into her braided hair, a piece of delicate silk she often wore. I'd seen it many times but never asked about it before.
"You wear that veil often," I said. "Why is it so special to you?"
Her smile faded slightly, and she looked down, running a finger along the stones of the necklace.
"It was my mother's," she said after a moment. "The only thing I have left of her. She wore it on her wedding day. A few years after she died, my father decided to destroy all her remaining possessions. My stepmother hid it and gave it to me when I was old enough to understand I needed to keep it hidden."
Her mother's veil. She had carried that piece of her past with her all this time. Luna was a woman who didn’t forget those she loved.
I reached out, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "It suits you. You look beautiful with it, and with these."
I took the earrings from her hand and carefully clipped them to her ears. My fingers lingered on her skin, the warmth of her presence drawing me in. She looked up at me, a warm smile on her lips, and for a moment, the world stopped.
In that moment, my attachment to her crashed down on me like a wave in a storm. I wanted her, not just as a companion on this quest, but as someone I could protect and cherish. The thought terrified me.
She was another I could lose. Who could destroy me if I lost her, as my brother had come close to doing.
I stepped back, clearing my throat. "The journey is going to be a long one."
She looked up at me, her eyes shining with happiness. "Thank you for this," she said. "This means much to me."
"You deserve it," I said, fumbling for words. "You deserve more than I've given you."
When had this happened? When had I started caring so void blasted much?
Luna stood up slowly, stepping closer to me. She placed a hand on my chest, and I felt the rapid beat of my heart beneath her palm.
The silence stretched as she searched my face, looking for something.
I didn't respond with words. Instead, I pulled her into a fierce kiss, my hands threading through her hair as I deepened the kiss. It was rough and desperate at first, a culmination of all the tension that had been building between us. But then it softened, turning into something tender and almost reverent.
I poured every ounce of the feelings I couldn't express into that kiss, hoping she could sense the depth of my affection. Her lips parted, and she melted into me, her body molding perfectly against mine.
When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathless. I rested my forehead against hers, my eyes closed as I savored the moment. "Luna I..."
The words caught in my throat, but she seemed to understand. She placed a finger on my lips, silencing me. "I know," she said. "I feel it, too."
I didn't need to say the words. She knew and shared the connection.
Pulling her closer, I buried my face in her silken hair. The scent of her, the feel of her in my arms, it was almost too much. But I couldn't let her go, not now, not ever.
"Let's go on this journey together," I whispered against her hair. "We’ll face whatever comes our way, and we'll make it back to each other."
She sighed, moving closer still. "I think that might be the best thing that could ever happen to me."
I began to unlace her dress slowly, reverently, but when she looked up at me with her big, expressive eyes, I couldn’t hold myself back.
I pulled her closer, my lips finding hers again in a hungry, passionate kiss. Sliding my knife from its sheath behind my back, I wrapped it around her back and sliced through her laces. I needed her naked, now. Damn the gardens or anyone who might walk into them. Pulling back, I grabbed the front of her dress and yanked, the laces giving way as she cried out.
The dress fell to her ankles revealing her delicate underclothes, but with a feral grin, I slid my knife, dull side against her breast, under them and sliced downward, careful that not a nick would mar her milky skin.
And then, I was lost. Her breasts bounced slightly as she shivered. "Your scent, it drives me mad," I growled into the crook of her neck. "It's like sweet honey and warm spice."
She moaned softly, arching into my touch. "Then inhale deeply," she said.
Tearing my mouth away from her skin, I stared at her breasts, one in each hand now. They were perfect, with rosy areolas and small, knotty nipples that stood straight up in the cool air. Moaning at the sight, I took one into my mouth, sucking hard as I swirled my tongue around it.
Her hands found their way into my hair, and she held onto me as I nipped at her flesh.
She pulled away suddenly, taking my head in her hands, turning it to kiss me deeply. Her tongue tangled with mine as our bodies pressed together. Luna straddled me then, moaning against my mouth as she ground herself against my growing erection. Her hand found the bulge in my pants, and she growled in approval. "Impatient," she whispered against my skin, her breath hot on my neck.
She pulled back slightly to untie my pants, and I let out a shaky breath. My cock sprang free as she grinned wickedly at me. She looked up at me and grinned before taking it into her mouth. With one smooth motion, she sat down on it, taking him all the way into her throat. It was too much, too fast.
Her lips and tongue worked together perfectly, sending tremors of pleasure through me that made me forget everything but the feel of her mouth around me.
I slid one hand along her spine to cup her neck and pulled her closer, feeling the warmth of her body against mine as we rocked together. Her moans filled the air as I began to thrust up into her mouth, hips undulating with each stroke. This woman was going to be the death of me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
When I felt myself about to explode in her mouth, I pulled back abruptly, only to slam into her warmth once more before exploding into her throat with a growl. She swallowed every last drop greedily, stilling my hips with an iron grip when I tried to pull away.
Panting heavily, I slipped back onto the bench beneath us, pulling her down with me so that she was straddling me once more. "I missed you," I groaned against her neck. "I didn't realize how much."
With a roar, I lifted her off of my lap and plunked her feet on the ground. After unfastening it at the neck, I spread my cloak along the grass and grinned up at Luna. “Your turn.”
It didn’t take much to pull her slight frame down to the ground. None too gently, I pushed her knees apart and leaned forward, kissing her inner thighs and teasing her with soft bites.
“Benedetto,” she moaned, clutching the grass around her, “Must you?”
Smirking against her skin, I nodded, and parted her folds, breathing in the scent of arousal that clung to her.
"Yes," I growled before plunging my tongue into her slick heat.
She cried out as I lapped at her, nibbling lightly on her clit while thrusting two fingers inside of her. The taste of her was like nothing else; sweet and tangy and intoxicating. She smelled like wildflowers and sex when I pulled away, looking up at her with hooded eyes.
"I'm going to make you come so hard you won't be able to see straight."
Her eyes were heavy-lidded and full of desire.
I grinned, pulling my fingers from inside of her and pressing them against her lips. "Suck," I commanded, watching as she obediently sucked them clean of her essence. "That's it."
Then I dove back in again, licking and sucking on her folds as I slid my fingers deeper inside of her. She moaned into my ear "More..."
As much as I wanted to give it to her, I had other plans. Standing up swiftly, I pulled her to her feet and turned us both so that she was pressed against the trunk of the tree. With one swift movement, I replaced my fingers with my aching cock as it rubbed against her entrance.
"Ready for me?" I growled down at her through gritted teeth.
She jerked her hips forward, and I slipped into her inch by sweet inch. She gasped as I filled her completely, and I moaned at the feel of her tight walls squeezing me. Her sheer passion made me shudder.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, and she began to move against me as we swayed to an unheard rhythm. The world fell away as we lost ourselves in the heat of the moment.
Soon, it was too much. My hips pistoned faster, harder as I plunged deeper into her wet warmth with each thrust. Her nails dug into my shoulders, leaving red marks that would later fade but serve as a reminder of this moment.
I couldn’t hold back any longer; every muscle tensed as I came with a roar, filling her with my seed as she cried out her orgasm. We stayed like that for long moments, our bodies still joined. Then she pulled away slowly, leaving a trail of sticky fluid between us.
Luna looked up at me through her lashes, a small smile on her lips as she wiped them clean with the back of her hand. "I love you," she said quietly. "I have for a long time."
I couldn't form words to respond, so I kissed her again instead. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I held her close. We had found each other in this chaos of a world, and it was perfect.