Chapter 41
Rory grinned at the wildflowers spread across the massive museum floor.
“Hello, Miss Raven,” Caius’ seductive voice said, and she turned to find him standing bare-chested in a pair of grey, low-slung sweatpants. He was different, and she hurried toward him when she realized what it was. “The veins are gone.”
She examined his chest and arms, running her hand over the smooth skin. His chuckle drew her attention upward, and his smile made her panties melt. He was truly happy, and it was the best thing she’d seen since leaving Vincula.
“I took your advice.” His biceps flexed when he ran his hand through his hair, and she tried not to drool. “Instead of focusing on my anger,” he said in a husky voice as he closed the distance. “I thought about the way you came on my fingers.”
Her nipples hardened, and she clutched the bottom of her nightie. “Lust? I told you to think happy thoughts, and you went with lust?”
He laughed, and she noticed the slightest indent on his chin. How had she never noticed that before?
“I thought of you laughing with your friends and glowering at me in the deli when I said you’d be my wife; the way you took my breath away when I saw your short, brown hair because just when I thought you couldn’t get more stunning, you did.
” He trailed his hand down her arm, and a ball of emotion gathered in her chest. “I thought of every part of you because everything you do, everything you are, makes me happy. The strength to break free was never in me. It was always you.”
She fought not to cry as she sniffled. “Are you trying to get laid?”
His chest vibrated against hers with his deep laugh, and his hand moved down to the bite mark on her neck.
“Don’t even think about biting me again.” She withdrew from his arms. “It hurt, and have you ever tried to explain why someone bit you without saying you fucked? I have, and it’s not fun.”
His smugness only agitated her more. “It’s not funny.”
“You’re right,” he said, and she braced for the catch to his compliance. “It’s satisfying.”
Moving the front of her nightie down to expose the area over her heart, she gave him a smug look of her own. “You don’t have to mark me anymore. I took care of it.”
Earlier that day, she and Sam stopped by a tattoo parlor where she drew the exact mark Caius had but with a C in place of an A.
He reached out to touch it, but she swatted his hand away. “It’s still healing.”
“I think I’d like to take you now,” he said roughly.
“We have other things to discuss first,” she informed him. “Then I’ll ride you like a bicycle.”
His hand slid to his sweats, where he cupped the obvious outline of his dick. “Talk fast.”
Ignoring her growing need, she beckoned him toward the Coopers’ office. As if he’d only now realized they weren’t in a familiar place, he asked, “Where are we?”
“A museum in Erdikoa,” she told him. “Sam and I came to see Kit’s parents today.”
When they stepped into the office, Caius skidded to a halt with a look of horror. “Did someone ransack this place?”
She waved a hand around and crossed the room. “No, but somehow Meena knew exactly where everything was amongst the chaos. It was impressive, really.”
Hopefully, the last book Kit’s mother grabbed was still on her desk, the one about Lora’s power.
When they approached the two desks, Rory breathed a sigh of relief. The book was still open to the same story.
She and Caius leaned over the book, and he touched the page lightly. “Another story of Aemas and Lora?”
Rory glanced at him sideways. “Another?”
“Cat found a story about the two. Something about losing their sun,” he said mindlessly as he flipped the page.
Rory stared at him in shock. “Meena and Kellin told us the same story.”
He glimpsed at her before turning back to the book. “What are the odds?” he murmured.
“They think it’s about Sam and Lauren,” she said, feeling like she was telling him private information about their friends, and a bit of guilt trickled in.
“They think Sam and Lauren are Aemas and Lora?” His face said he thought they were crazy.
“No.” Remembering the blackboard, she pointed to the sentence still written there. “They think it’s a metaphor for that, and they think Sam is the son and Lauren is the knight. They also said her real name is Jophiel, and if that’s true, I don’t blame her for changing it.”
With how hard he was staring, Caius could have burned a hole through the blackboard. “What did Sam say?”
Rory ran a hand through her short hair and sighed. “He denied it, but it changed something in him. He barely spoke all day, and when I tried to ask him about it, he ignored me.”
“Good to know,” Caius noted and turned back to the book. “What did they say about this story?”
Rory’s excitement was palpable. “They said Lora created the Aeternum bonds and that she’s a Seraph and really powerful.”
Caius nodded along as she spoke. “What does that mean for the soulscape magic?”
“They said if the soulscape changes us physically in reality that she designed it that way on purpose. It’s powerful magic.”
The biggest smile spread across her mate’s face, and she wanted to know his thoughts. Reaching for her hand, he led her back into the museum’s main corridor, but before they made it, he stopped and backed her against the wall.
His hands were braced on either side of her head, and his eyes blazed a bright gold. “What are you doing?” she asked, breathless.
“What I should have done last night.” He moved his gaze down the length of her. “And how lucky for me you dressed for the occasion.”
Please let my period disappear tonight, she thought as hard as she could. He dropped down quickly and ripped her underwear off, gazing up at her. “Tell me. If I fuck you hard enough to split you open, would you be able to walk tomorrow?”
Aether, she hoped not. “Why don’t you try, and we’ll find out.”
His smile turned feral as he grabbed both of her legs, slung them over his shoulders, and pushed her against the wall, standing slowly. The wall behind her was smooth and bare, and she slid easily as he stood.
Tilting his head back, he licked his lips. “You know I like sweets at night. Lift the hem.”
She grabbed the bottom of her nightie and lifted it, exposing herself to him. He hummed, bending his head forward, and she gasped when his tongue licked the length of her core.
“Fuck, I’ve missed doing this whenever I want,” he said against her with another long lick. “And whenever you want.”
She gripped his hair as his head moved. He wasn’t just licking; he was pressed into her hard enough for her to feel every bit of his face as he lapped up her arousal like a dog.
The warmth of his tongue across her sensitive skin was heaven, and it glided smoothly through her pussy like it was made to be there. Seraphim, she wanted it to stay there.
He sucked on the upstroke, teasing her clit just enough to leave her wanting more.
“Fuck,” he groaned against her heat. “You smell so fucking good. I could stay buried down here forever.”
“Shut up and eat.”
Grinning against her, he continued with the sweetest torture. Not once did he flick his tongue fast like some men. No, he licked long and hard, and it drove her crazy. His hot tongue flattened against her as it drifted across her skin, and she begged him to go faster.
When her thighs clenched around his head, and she tried to move her hips, he pushed his tongue into her entrance. She made sounds only he would ever hear.
He moved to her clit and sucked so hard and fast that her stomach clenched as tingles spread out across her body. And when she orgasmed faster than should have been possible, white dots danced in her vision.
He slowed his strokes as she came down but still ate everything she gave him.
Kissing the inside of her thigh, he leaned his head back and smirked up at her, licking the shine from his lips as he lifted her off his shoulders.
She wrapped her arms around his neck on the way down, and he let her go, making her yelp. Before she hit the ground, he caught her with a devious smile.
“You could have warned me,” she muttered.
“Then I wouldn’t have gotten to hear you make that cute little noise,” he said, slapping her ass.
After lowering her to the ground, he pulled her along, looking around the room until he led them to a giant marble replica of the Umbra throne, sitting next to a replica of the Lux throne.
In one swift movement, he slipped her nightie over her head, and the silk rubbing against her sensitive nipples made her shiver with need.
Her small, erect breasts begged to be licked, and he groaned, picking her up again to take one into his mouth. She whispered his name and rocked against him, needing the friction as he switched to the other side.
“I’ll never get enough of you,” he murmured against her. “Never.”
Setting her on the cold, black throne, he stepped back to stare at her with a wicked grin. “Turn around and raise to your knees.”
Scrambling to turn around on the large seat, she faced the back of the throne on her hands and knees, dropping her head to see him under her arm. The throne’s cushions were also made of marble, and it was freezing against her skin.
He grabbed her hair and pulled her straight. “I didn’t say on all fours. I said on your knees.”
Needing to be touched, she ran her hands over her breasts. “You always said you liked me on my knees.”
“Don’t touch what is mine,” he ordered and grabbed her wrists. Pulling them gently behind her back, he secured them with one of his large hands. “Do you remember your safe word?”
She looked over her shoulder with a sly smile. “Yes, my king.”
“Good girl,” he praised in his deep voice that went straight to her core. Bending her forward slightly, he slid two fingers into her from behind and groaned. “Your cunt is always ready for me, isn’t it?”
She pushed her hips back, but he removed his fingers and grabbed one of her hips with his free hand. “So eager,” he teased and aligned his hips with hers. “The acoustics are nice in here. Use them well.”