Chapter Sixty-Four
Castor Aegaeon
“Nyssa.” I spoke the name that would forever linger on my lips, dwelling in the confines of my scheming mind and eternally branded into my dreams.
Her dark oval eyes snapped open, stopping me in place. “Did you eavesdrop on my conversation with Zola?” she signed.
Shit.
“No,” I answered, in a half-truth.
She narrowed her eyes at me and tilted her head. Gods above, she held a gorgeous, calculating intellect that dared to match her beauty.
“Not all of it,” I admitted.
“I appreciate your honesty,” she signed, her expression softening. “I knew you could hear her questions. I was unsure if you knew my answers.”
“I stepped away,” I admitted with a touch of unease in my voice, something I was far from accustomed to feeling in another’s presence. “With you…” I said, daring to step closer, hoping she would catch my falling heart. “I will always be honest with you.”
“Thank you,” she signed, mercifully not moving away. “So, you’re going to Thira?”
“Yes,” I said, unable to meet her gaze.
That was until Nyssa reached out and cupped my cheek in her delicate palm, directing my attention to her stunning face that I’d dreamt about more times than I’d care to admit.
She licked her lips, and I felt myself leaning in, desperately wanting to taste them again. We’d spent time together since the night we shared our first kiss, not far from where we now stood, but it remained platonic.
Despite the dangers and the fabric of our world on the tip of a sword dangling in the balance of everything, I still wanted her. I still craved her like a fine wine, waiting for any signal to act on the desire pooling like magma underneath my skin.
Nyssa stepped closer, and I felt my breath halt. Her eyes locked on mine in a sea of endless emotions that were far too deep to express with words alone.
Did she—
A spark ignited within my chest, a secret hope kindling to life that I kept buried deep within the depths of my darkened soul.
“Nyssa?”
I was honest with her question. I hadn’t stayed to listen to her response or try to watch her sign her answers with Zola.
I’d never been on this side of things. Feeling uneasy and nervous around those I desired was far from my norm.
Fidgeting and shifting my feet, the unfamiliar waves of tension rolled over me as Nyssa’s arms circled around my neck.
On instinct, I wrapped my arms around her waist, my hands tracing over her delicate curves that sent my heart racing.
Gods, it’d been far too long since I’d had a proper lay, since I’d been able to feel the glorious sensation of my cock sliding between a woman’s thighs.
I bit my lip as I clenched my eyes. My cock pulsed, begging to be unleashed and allowed to satisfy the one female who consumed my every waking thought and dream.
“Did you want something?” I whispered, because Gods above, I sure as fuck did.
Nyssa’s brows rose as she smiled softly, rising onto her tiptoes before she pulled at the base of my neck and kissed me.
My hands ravaged her, pulling her close as her tongue wound inside my mouth. I moaned in response, our kiss deepening as I lifted her off her feet.
My, my… mate.
Our tongues danced as she threaded her fingers in my hair. I pressed her back against the divide in the rocks, her legs eagerly spreading to wrap around my waist. I ground my length between her willing thighs that were spread so beautifully for me to take, so eager for me to devour and worship.
This was my female.
Mine to take. Mine to claim.
The roaring drive to have her was deafening. The wilt would never touch her again. No fucking thing in this world would ever have her, aside from me.
Cupping my face, Nyssa pulled back.
“Wait,” she signed.
I stilled, willingly obedient only to her.
Her eyes scanned my face as her fingers traced over the contours that defined my nose, cheeks, chin, and eyes, lingering finally on my lips.
I playfully nipped and kissed her delicate fingertips, adoring her taste.
I swallowed heavily, trembling under the restraint to keep myself from kissing her.
My right hand silently slid up her thigh, cupping her ass and gripping it tightly as I rolled my hips and thrust my hardened cock against her sex.
My female moaned in delight as her eyes fluttered, chest heaving in response to my touch.
Fuck, yes.
I desperately wanted to take her right here, right now. I wanted to claim her mouth, her pussy, and then fuck her gorgeous ass that was clutched in my eager hands.
Nyssa bit her lip, fighting against the longing I knew she felt between us. This was no longer just a one-sided attraction. She motioned for me to release her back to the ground. I followed her command. However, my grip on her perfect ass did not move.
And, to my delight, I didn’t believe she minded it one bit.
“Come back,” Nyssa signed. “Come back to me, Castor.”
I raised my left arm against the stone above her head, leaning forward and shifting my weight to the side.
I released my hold, trailing my fingertips along the seam of her dress.
I watched her reaction to my touch as I traced over the body I desperately needed to bury myself within.
When I reached her breasts, I circled a hardened nipple as she inhaled a sharp breath.
Her body instinctively leaned against me, silently asking me for more.
“Oh, Nyssa,” I purred, dropping my lips to the shell of her ear. “Was this your way of incentivizing me to come out of this suicide mission alive?”
I felt her nod as her arms encircled my middle.
I cradled the back of her head as she buried her face in my chest, molding her flawless body against mine.
I felt her hands unlatch as she placed two fingers against my thundering heart.
She tapped it three times before removing it and resting on her own.
I mimicked her motion, tapping her heart three times before returning it to my chest.
“Castor!” Daxton called out. “It’s time.”
I pressed my brow to Nyssa, inhaling a sharp breath and holding it captive before daring to release it, willing time itself to stop. “I swear on the Mother and Father, I will return to you, Nyssa. Death would only delay my arrival, never stop it.”
I leaned in and kissed her. The overwhelming pull to remain with my mate countered my sense of duty to help my brother and Skylar. If it meant staying here with Nyssa, I was teetering on throwing it all away, casting my middle fingers up at the world, and laughing as we disappeared.
“Castor!”
“Fuck,” I cursed as I pulled back in a snarl.
Nyssa gave me a half-smile and a nod, encouraging me to fulfill my duty toward my brother. Understanding that if I turned away from him, I would never truly be able to live with myself.
“I’ll be waiting,” Nyssa signed with a devilish smile.
I returned one of my own, biting my bottom lip as my eyes trailed over the gorgeous figure and even more breathtaking soul I was forever bound to.
When my eyes met hers, I felt a connection begin to fall into place, and I knew—I knew I would carry Nyssa with me no matter where my path wandered in this life or the next.
I silently tapped my heart once more, and she smiled with a nod, doing the same. Pushing off the rock face, I forced myself to turn away, rejoining my brother and the shifters for the final trek of the trials to free our world.