Chapter 64
Maeve
THERE’S NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US now—not in mind, body, or blood.
Flames lick through my veins, set me alight from within. The bond between us feels like an uncontrollable storm, a chorus of thunder and lightning and pouring rain.
A cry rises in my throat. I feel everything—Severin’s fingers circling my clit, his length buried inside me, his fangs sunk to the gums in my neck, siphoning away my blood. I feel his own pleasure, the insatiable thirst that’s finally, finally being quenched. It’s all too much, and yet not enough.
“Severin,” I whisper, my fingernails finding his bare back, digging in, seeking purchase. “Please . . .”
It’s a whimper more than a word.
He starts to fuck me with vigor, driving himself into me harder, faster. His jaws tighten around my throat while his fingers rub and twist and tease my clit, making my legs shake, making me want to rage and cry at the same time as he guides me closer to the eye of the storm.
And he is everywhere: In the heat burning my skin. In the rhythm of my staggered breath. In the heartbeat racing inside my chest.
Another brush of his fingertips over my clit. Another thrust of his length inside me. My breath catches. My pussy squeezes tight.
But he doesn’t let me finish.
His fangs release their hold, leaving me gasping for breath. He pulls himself out of me, cock slick with my cum, and I feel empty without him.
Then his head is between my thighs, his mouth at my cunt.
His eyes—already turning a beautiful, brilliant shade of red—meet mine as he slides two fingers inside me, giving me a light stretch, then starts to lick, lapping at me, making me dig my fingers into the couch cushion as my head spins.
His tongue swirls around my clit, his fingers curling inside me.
I feel blood creeping down my neck, still dripping from his bite.
I spread my knees, then reach down, using my hand to press his mouth more firmly into my heat. My hips lift, begging for more. And against me, he lets out a low rumble of a laugh, seeming to revel in my desperation.
Gently, his lips close around my aching clit, and he sucks, drawing it into his mouth, each pulse making brilliant colors burst to life behind my closed eyelids.
My back arches. My mouth opens with a soundless moan. I feel like I might start sobbing.
And finally, the orgasm crashes through me. I curl my fingers into his long dark hair, bucking my hips up, pressing my cunt into his mouth. He devours me, licking and sucking and fingering me as my pussy squeezes and my body flinches with each delicious pulse of pleasure.
And inside, I feel him. His trembling need, his valiant attempts to hold himself back. And I want to taste him, to consume him. I need it like air, like water.
I press myself up on the couch, body still aching with pleasure. Then I ease off the cushions, sinking to my knees on the floor, and Severin sits up, stroking himself, looking down on me with those crimson eyes as I take my place between his legs.
His cock is hard and flushed red, a single bead of precum leaking from his tip. I lap it up with my tongue, then close my lips over his head and suck.
He groans, falling back against the cushions, surrendering to my touch.
As I drag my tongue along the underside of his shaft, tasting myself on him, I feel moisture leaking down my thighs, dripping from me, just like blood still drips down my neck.
With one hand, I reach between my legs, feeling my own arousal. And though my clit still aches, I begin to touch it, circling it slowly.
Then one of Severin’s hands is on the back of my head, urging me to take him deeper, to suck him faster. His fingers tangle in my hair.
I moan around his cock. He gets harder in my mouth.
One hand wrapped around the base of his shaft, the other teasing my clit with a featherlight touch, I take his whole length into my mouth, feeling him at the back of my throat. It makes my eyes water, makes my clit throb with another rising tide.
Faster. Faster.
His fingers tighten in my hair, and my legs begin to shake. My clit resists my touch, already spent, but I don’t stop. I continue circling it, moaning now, savoring the salty flavor leaking onto my tongue.
Severin’s body goes rigid, his breath catching. At the same time, my belly tightens. I take his whole cock in my mouth and thrust two fingers into my cunt.
And we cum together. His load fills my mouth as my pussy squeezes down on my fingers.
He groans with every rope of release. It’s slick on my tongue, and there’s so much that it drips from the corners of my mouth as I continue to suck him, slower now, coaxing him through it until he’s given me every last drop.
His fingers loosen, his hand falling from my hair and landing on the couch with an exhausted thump. I pull my fingers from my pussy, fully spent now, my muscles throbbing.
My hands and legs shake as I kneel there on the floor, still trying to catch my breath. Reaching up, I touch the fresh bite mark, and my fingers come away slick with red.
“Maeve.” His voice is low, weighed down with the sleepiness of release.
I climb onto the couch and settle myself in his lap, knees on either side of his thighs. We’re both slick with cum and sweat, our bodies trembling together.
And the bond.
It’s stronger, steadier, anchored inside me. And I know that it’s not going anywhere. It’s ours now. For good. For as long as our hearts still beat.
Severin pushes my hair back from my throat, then draws me in. I wince as he swipes his tongue across the bite marks, closing the wound, then licks the remaining blood from my skin.
When he’s done, he slips his arms around me and pulls me in, cradling me against his chest. His heart beats hard, perfectly in rhythm with my own. And for a moment, we simply remain there, hearts beating together, trying to catch our breath.
More clearly than ever, I feel Severin through the bond. I feel him in my blood. And what was once a feeling of hunger and unquenchable thirst is perfectly satisfied.
His voice a gentle rumble, Severin says, “Are you all right?”
My lips lift in a sleepy smile as I sit up. “I’m wonderful.”
His forehead furrows with gentle concern. “You . . . don’t regret it?”
I shake my head slowly, then reach out to brush one thumb beneath Severin’s eye. The dark circle is already softening, lightening, as if he’s a withered flower slowly coming back to life. “No. I will never regret you.”
His chest rises and falls with a comforted breath.
Slowly, Severin leans forward and takes my lips with his. They taste of my blood, coppery and sharp, with a hint of red wine beneath.
“How about a bath?” he asks.
“A bath sounds perfect.”
Severin slips his arms around me, and I let out a small surprised breath as he lifts me easily from the couch. He carries me out of the sitting room and into the small washroom beside the kitchen, where a clawfoot tub sits polished and waiting.
“Could you . . . ?” He nods to the tub.
He puts me down, holding me steady as I find my footing on trembling legs, the floor cool beneath my bare feet. And with Severin at my back, I call on my magic, using it to pull water from the air, starting to fill the tub.
“You are magnificent,” he whispers against my back, his breath tickling the nape of my neck, his fingers tracing the dips of my waist.
I let out a small laugh. “I know.”
After I light a few candles and heat the water with my fire magic, making it steam in the small enclosed space, Severin and I climb into the tub, sinking into its warm embrace together. I settle against his chest, his heart beating out a steady rhythm against my back.
“Would you like me to wash your hair?” he asks.
The offer makes my chest warm, and he must feel it through the bond, because he reaches for the small vial of soap on the shelf beside the tub.
It smells like lavender when he pours it into his hand, and my eyes close as he begins to work it into my hair, massaging my scalp, being careful not to snag his fingers in the strands or pull too hard.
“The bond is different now,” I say. “I can feel you more clearly. Like there’s no space between you and me.” Soap bubbles dance in the candlelight. Nibbling my bottom lip, I skim my fingertips across the top of the water and ask, “Do you think I’d feel it? My lifespan changing?”
Severin’s fingers pause for a moment, then resume their washing. “I don’t know.”
I turn to face him, making the bathwater slosh around us. “What does your life feel like?”
Hands covered in soap bubbles, he sits there quietly, seeming to consider this.
“It feels . . . like it’s not in a rush.
Time doesn’t move slower, but it feels less urgent.
Like I have time to wander.” He reaches for a cup on the shelf beside the tub, then uses it to pour warm water over my head, rinsing the soap from my hair.
“Though I’m not sure if yours will feel the same. ”
He sets the cup aside, and when I meet his eyes, I find that even without answers, I’m not afraid. Instead, I feel settled, okay with the not knowing.
With a sigh, I lean back against him, cuddling against his bare chest, reclining in the warm water.
“Severin?” I say quietly as he traces the line of my throat with his fingers.
“Mm?” He sounds sleepy, and for the first time since our bond started to fray, I feel a calmness to him, a sense of . . . peace. Like he’s a warrior who can finally lay down his sword and rest, knowing the danger has passed.
“What happens when we go back? I don’t have any classes with you next semester.”
“Then we will have to be more intentional with seeing each other.”
I tip my head back against his chest and look up at him. “I know a little inn where we can stay.”
The corners of his mouth tilt up. “Is that so?”
Rising up, I press a gentle kiss to his jaw. “The beds are comfortable.” Then I press a kiss to his throat, feeling his pulse beneath my lips and within my chest. “And they serve an amazing potato soup.”
He rumbles with a tired laugh. “Then I will ensure we have a standing reservation—every Saturday night, just the two of us.”
“And after that?” I lean back, meeting Severin’s crimson eyes. “What happens after I graduate?”
He reaches out and lifts a strand of wet hair from my shoulder, twirling it around one finger. “What do you want to happen?”
“I want to be with you.”
His lips lift in a smile. “Then you will be with me. Wherever you go, whatever happens, I will not be far behind.”
The tiny fluttering worry in my chest calms, like a bird alighting upon a sheltered branch after a long flight.
Whatever happens, we will be together.
And that is all the comfort I need.