Chapter 44
Keira
The hour was late as they left the village festival and made the journey back to Northall.
Since Keira had used her magic to appear in town, there was only Caspian’s horse to take them back.
It made no difference to her though. She happily climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle.
This was how they had ridden when he had first brought her to Northall.
Yet, it felt different now. Then they had still been at odds, measuring the strangeness of the person they had once known better than themselves.
Now Keira leaned into him, at ease under his touch.
Caspian had grown and changed, yes, but his heart was still the same, and it still loved her.
Torches were hung outside the keep’s massive doors to welcome them. Caspian woke one of the grooms, who had fallen asleep against the hay. The boy took the horse, and Keira followed Caspian inside.
The keep was still in the late hour. His touch led her through the shadows and up the massive stairway as a strange fog lingered over her thoughts.
The wine had very much gone to her head, but there was something more to it than that.
Ever since Caspian had kissed her in the middle of the festival, her mind had focused on singular details, honing in as she ignored the rest of the world.
Even time passed strangely, unheeded as Keira’s mind centered on Caspian’s hold on her hand.
He hardly had to lead her to find her rooms, and yet, he did not release her as they climbed the stairs or as they passed down the hall with the tapestries.
Not even once they were standing in the unclaimed space between their two doors.
He turned to her, mouth opening speechlessly. Keira’s skin prickled as his thumb brushed over the back of her hand. His eyes fell to the touch.
“Caspian,” Keira breathed, needing to fill the silence between them with something.
His hold on her tightened, but he did not meet her eye.
“Cas-” His name was swallowed as he captured her mouth with his.
He pulled her deeper, his other hand brushing over her cheek.
There was something different in his touch.
It wasn’t like the sweet measures of affection he’d offered her these over past weeks nor the carnal insanity that had swept over them in the cave.
The movements of his lips, his tongue, the way his large body moved around her, enveloped her, it was sinuous and sensual.
There was a desire beyond words beneath his every touch, and Keira felt it echoing within her, kindling a heat in her core that spread through her whole body.
His hot breath painted her lips as he broke away. He studied her in a way she could hardly fathom.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Keira said, smoothing her hands over his chest, unable to keep from touching him.
He sighed, resting his forehead on hers. “I’m trying to find the strength to let go of you.”
Keira looked into the depths of his black eyes, glistening like the night sky. “Don’t.”
Doubt warred over his features, brows tensing even as need lit in his gaze.
She shook her head gently against his touch. “I don’t want you to stop.”
Caspian swallowed. A moment passed as Keira watched the final barriers of his resolve crashing down until only his hunger remained, unbound, untethered.
As he moved, she expected to feel his lips against hers once more.
Instead, she felt herself being lifted off her feet as if she weighed nothing at all.
Keira wrapped her arms around his neck as Caspian opened the door to his chamber without so much as a pause and kicked it shut with a definitive crack behind them.
The room was lit only by the warm light from the fireplace, casting their shapes to dance as flickering shadows against the walls.
Caspian set her down on the dining table, pushing two chairs out of his way until he was standing between her parted legs. Keira felt them clatter to the ground as surely as her own heart beating against her chest.
He crashed against her like an ocean wave, and Keira allowed herself to be swept away by him, his taste, his scent.
She’d been touched, been kissed, been fucked even, but none of it compared to this…
because it was him. It wasn’t just her body opening itself to him; it was her heart.
She’d never felt more bare, more open, more connected to another.
Within moments the heat of the fire, of their passions, had her sweating beneath her thick woolen coat.
Keira fumbled with the ties in the limited space between their bodies until she felt the fabric give.
She broke away from his kiss as she shucked off the coat.
She wore a loose white undershirt beneath, but Keira pulled that over her head as well until her skin was bathed by the warmth of the fire, only the band covering her breasts remaining.
Caspian’s eyes widened as he took in the sight.
She couldn’t wait another moment before setting her fingers to work on the ties of his doublet.
His lips brushed against her jaw as she worked, nipping her ear as he trailed down to her neck.
His hands smoothed over her skin, trailing her back and massaging her breasts.
A moan rose in her throat as he kissed her deeply.
It took all of her focus to keep from shaking with urgency, because curse her, she needed to touch him too.
As soon as the garment was loose, Keira pushed it off his shoulders.
He broke away, pulling off the outer layer and the shirt beneath without a pause until his pale white skin was cast in the warm light of the fireplace, the shadows defining every line of his muscular form.
Keira could only marvel for a moment before he was upon her once more.
His kiss was becoming more uneven, faster, his exploring hands ranged indecisively over her body.
She allowed herself to fall back against the table as he came over her until she was pinned between him and the cool, polished wood.
A hollow breath sucked from her lungs as she first felt his hard length pressed against her. It radiated with a heat that she could not resist. Her hips rocked as a low moan built in her throat. Caspian hissed, backing away just enough to remove the magnificent friction.
Keira reached for him, unable to help herself as she ran a hand up his burning shaft. A shaking breath left her as her muscles clenched just imagining him inside her. She was wet and ready…. So was he.
His hand snatched her wrist and pinned it to the table above her head.
“Keira, I’m going to-” Caspian panted. “Just let me- Please, just-”
He didn’t finish his thought, didn’t release his hold on her, before he’d buried himself in her cleavage. The band had already fallen some, exposing the swell of her breasts.
Her back arched into the sensation, hoping it might free her completely.
Now that he was drawing her attention, she realized her nipples were maddeningly sensitive, rubbing against the harsh material.
As if in answer to her desire, his other hand took hold of the band and pulled it down in two harsh tugs.
Her full breasts broke free, bathed in the warmth of his breath as he stilled at the sight of them.
His large hand molded around her, holding firm, rolling and squeezing until she was practically squirming beneath him.
A whine escaped her as he kissed down her neck, to her chest. Keira couldn’t help herself as she wrapped her legs around him and began to roll her hips against his cock.
Her head fell back against the hardwood with relief even as Caspian exhaled a shuddering sigh against her skin.
His gaze met hers, saturated with need.
“Keira,” he begged, closing his eyes as she ground against him again. “I can’t-” His words were almost indistinguishable through his panting breaths.
Keira stilled as understanding washed over her.
She should have seen it sooner, he’d told her there hadn’t been anyone else.
It just seemed so impossible that there hadn’t been anyone else.
At the time, she’d supposed he’d been talking about relationships of significance…
but it was clear enough now. This was his first time.
He was worried about lasting. Shame heated her skin as she realized she hadn’t been giving him an easy go of it.
“Hey,” Keira touched his cheek. “We’ll slow down, okay?”
Caspian took a moment to filter her words as she untangled her legs and settled them on the floor as best she could. His hand was still holding her wrist firm as he nodded.
“Why don’t you help me with my boots?” she whispered.
He nodded again almost drunkenly, his hands smoothing over her chest, her stomach as he sank to his knees before her.
Other ideas filled her mind at the sight, but Keira pushed them away.
She could teach him all about that another time.
Tonight was about connecting with him, making sure he felt loved and desired.
Keira tried to even out her breaths, resisting the overwhelming urge to touch herself under her leggings as she felt his hands running over her calves with far more attention than necessary to untie her boots.
Finally she felt the knee high boots slide off one after the other.
Caspian’s hands splayed over her legs as she shifted herself to the edge of the table, her bare feet settling flat on the bearskin rug beneath.
His touches had turned from frantic to slow and purposeful, but there was no hiding that he was every bit as erect as before.
They were going to have to keep this slow if she didn’t want him to reach his peak before they’d each had their fill.
“Let’s go to the bed,” Keira whispered, removing the pins from her hair one by one.
Caspian watched her, entranced, until finally it was falling free, curling wildly in every direction.