Chapter 26 #2
“I don’t mean the house.” He lowered his mouth to the swell of my breast and planted a gentle kiss there too. “Here,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling my skin an instant before his tongue lashed out to lick around my nipple. “Here.”
I sucked in a burst of air as he withdrew before slamming back in to the hilt. “ Here .”
I whimpered, clutching his neck and pulling him in for a rough, wild kiss.
Kaden devoured me with teeth and tongue as his body moved in a frenzy. He set a punishing rhythm, driving into me harder with every snap of his hips.
My hands raked down the hard muscles of his back, gripping his ass and pulling him deeper.
“More,” I growled.
Kaden obliged, sweat beading along his chest as he entered me again and again.
With every thrust, I was sure he would break me — both from the sheer desperation of our joining and the unbearable pleasure coiling inside me.
His name tore from my throat as my climax crashed through me, and Kaden roared as he found his release.
We collapsed in a tangled, sweaty heap, our chests heaving together as we fought for breath.
The combination of the orgasm and the warmth of the fire dragged me into a peaceful sleep. Kaden roused me sometime later with a plate of fresh fruit, cheese, and bread. He fed me bites between tender kisses and offered me sips of a tart, syrupy drink that tasted like crushed berries .
The rest of the night passed in a blur of unhurried kisses and brief bouts of sleep as we explored each other’s bodies. By the time the first glimmer of daylight peeked through the trees, I was sated and pleasantly sore.
“I think it’s time I showed you my favorite part of the house,” said Kaden, kissing a trail down my spine.
“The mirror?” I teased.
I yelped as he nipped the swell of my ass.
“That mouth,” he growled, covering the sting of his bite with a kiss. “I have seen what that pretty mouth of yours can do, and I enjoy those things so much more than your sass.”
I gave a noncommittal hum. “I think you enjoy my sass too.”
“Perhaps.”
Taking my hand, he pulled me to my feet and led me through an arched doorway, which I’d assumed led to a bathing chamber.
It hid a stone spiral staircase lit by a small window, though I couldn’t see the bottom. Kaden tugged me down the sun-warmed steps, both of us still without a single stitch of clothing.
We reached a break in the rounded wall of the staircase and emerged in a cozy grotto formed by moss-covered stones. Flowering vines crept along the walls, and the rustling leaves of the sheltering trees let in a dappled golden light.
A small waterfall gurgled into a shallow pool, where lily pads floated along the crystal-clear surface. I dipped a toe in, expecting the water to be cold, but found it the perfect temperature for a bath.
Lowering myself onto the rocks, I slid into the water and came down on a smooth stone bench with a curved rock to support my back .
I sighed. “I can see why it’s your favorite part of the house.”
Kaden's eyes flashed hungrily as his gaze fell to my breasts, which were barely visible beneath the surface. “If it hadn't been my favorite before, it certainly would be now.”
He slid into the water beside me, tugging me against his chest. I let my head fall onto his shoulder and breathed a contented sigh.
But then I felt that throbbing ache between my thighs — the need for him reawakening.
Pushing off the stone bench, I floated into Kaden’s arms and seated myself between his thighs.
“Is it always like this?” I whispered.
“Hmm?”
I squirmed, my cheeks heating at how badly I wanted him after an entire night of pleasure. “This . . . need .”
Kaden chuckled and wound an arm around my waist, pulling my back flush against his chest so I felt his hard length against my spine. “Among mates, yes. Especially when the bond is first solidified.”
I hummed softly, more than a little relieved that I could blame some of my frenzy on the magic of our connection.
“Though I think I would be feral for you even without the bond.”
I let out a shaky sigh. At least the feeling was mutual.
Unbidden, I rolled my hips, grinding my backside against him. Kaden groaned, and I felt him harden even more as his hand found its home between my thighs. His fingers began to move in languid circles, gliding over my slick folds.
“If we start again, love, I may never want to stop.”
The unspoken implication was enough to halt all thoughts of how we might spend the morning making use of Kaden’s grotto. “But we do have to stop,” I said, my voice quiet as reality came crashing back.
We couldn’t stay hidden away in Kaden’s rooms. Our mating bond didn’t change anything.
He was still the son of Semphrys, expected to do the Dark King’s bidding. And I was the last in the Coranthe line — the only one who could end his father.
But not before we’d found a way to diminish the demon king’s powers.
“Eventually, yes. We must return to Dorthus and find the hands my father took from the Death Bringer.” His skillful fingers began to move, coaxing little shivers of pleasure from my body.
Then he brought his mouth to my ear, his stubble prickling my skin.
“But not before I ravish you at least one more time.”
I parted my thighs, giving him better access, but a distant knock at the door to the prince’s bedchamber made him pause.
A low growl rumbled up Kaden’s chest, and I glanced toward the stairwell.
“That didn’t sound like Fione.”
“No, it did not.”
By the time we’d dried off and reached the top of the stairs, the knocking had turned to insistent pounding.
Even without the bond, Kaden's irritation was palpable. He yanked a towel around his waist and threw open the door to reveal Adriel leaning against the frame.
“Took you long enough,” said the royal guard, his face a mask of cool annoyance.
“It’s early.”
“The sooner I can make the journey to Cragsmuir and be rid of your sister, the better. ”
Kaden chuckled.
Adriel’s eyebrows lifted almost imperceptibly. “I see you two have finally . . . worked some things out.”
My skin flushed, and I pulled the soft robe Kaden had lent me tighter around myself. I wasn't aware that Adriel had even noticed me standing in the far corner of the room, but the prince’s royal guard missed nothing.
His gaze flicked between me and Kaden. He didn’t smile, but something like amusement flickered in those chaotic hazel eyes. “I’ll . . . give you a minute.”
Kaden slammed the door on his friend without another word and pivoted to face me. As he did, the argument I’d overheard between him and Sorsha bubbled up in my mind.
When are you going to tell her the truth?
The truth would make no difference.
They hadn’t been fighting over Kaden’s omission related to my mother’s death. Sorsha had known what we were all along.
They knew , I practically shouted down the bond.
Kaden grimaced.
“Did everyone know but me?” I demanded, hands curling into fists at my sides.
“No. Well, Adriel sensed that we were bonded. He knew the moment he found you in that basement.” A quiet, deadly rage simmered in his expression at the memory. “I assume he could tell because of the life bond between me and him. My sister, on the other hand, is just annoyingly intuitive.”
“So everyone did know.”
“Sorsha only suspected. Same as me.”
As if that was supposed to reassure me.
“I told her nothing. I hadn’t even admitted it to myself. There was a part of me that didn’t want to believe because I knew — at least, I thought — that you would reject the bond.”
I arched an eyebrow. “I didn’t know that was an option.”
“Cruel little huntress.” Kaden’s nostrils flared, and that was the only warning I got before he tackled me to the bed.