Chapter 16
LILIA
Icouldn’t keep from touching Hadrien as he carried me back toward the castle, trailing my fingers over the back of his neck and over his broad shoulders.
He alternated between powering through the forest on his massive legs, then pausing to kiss me.
My body warred in desperation for him to stop moving so he could continue to kiss me and to hurry back to the castle.
He broke away an inch. “Not through the front door.” His breath came in rough pants that caressed my cheek.
“Why?” I asked, just as breathless.
“Genevieve and Victor.”
“Ah, right.” We couldn’t barge in, causing a scene as we practically devoured each other.
Hadrien carried me into a clearing and then paused. He stared at me from those intense eyes, which now gleamed with a silvery hue and more hunger in them than I’d ever seen. “There’s a better way.”
“How…” I began to ask but the question dropped from my lips as his wings unfolded behind him. They spread with silky grace, an expanse of gorgeous textured gray with tips that stretched out toward the foliage on either side of us. “No…” I whispered in breathless disbelief.
“You don’t want to fly?” The question flared with confusion in his eyes. “We can access the tower through my balcony.”
My mouth remained open as I stared up at him and the way the moonlight glided over his magnificent wings. I bit my lip as I debated his invitation, flickering through an unusual combination of fear and excitement.
I swallowed. “You promise you’ll hold on?”
“Of course,” he declared. “I’d never let you go.” His voice lowered to a velvet baritone that spread heat through my body as it repeated in my head.
I’d never let you go.
I closed my eyes and gave myself a quick pep talk to shove down my anxiety. When I reopened them, I fixed on his patient, searching gaze once more. “Okay, Hadrien.” I tightened my grip around his neck. “I’m ready.”
He nodded and gazed at me with approval. “My brave Little Sage.”
I blinked at him. “Not Little Thistle?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Now I associate you with sage. With all your work in the garden and the wards, clearing out the negativity to make room for the good.”
Before I could respond, he beat his wings, swishing them through the air, and then the ground left us.
My stomach lurched hard and I squealed, burying my face against his muscular chest and pressing harder against his body as if trying to burrow my way in.
The wind rushed over my arms and my exposed cheek.
“I’ve got you, Lilia,” he swore. “You’re safe with me.”
My pulse thundered and my heart pounded against his massive torso. I counted to ten, slowly, before I braved a glance. “Oh…”
La Forêt de Veillepierre spread beneath us below as we ascended, vast, as the trees appeared smaller. And around us, the sky unveiled, scattered with dozens, if not hundreds, of stars.
Exhilaration soared through my veins.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice a gentle whisper in the wind.
I swallowed. “Yes,” I said, in breathless wonder. “It’s so beautiful and…and…terrifying.”
He let out a low chuckle. “You’ll always be safe with me, Lilia.” He kissed my forehead.
Hadrien landed on a balcony with surprising gentleness and put me down on my feet, holding my upper arms and watching me to ensure I was steady. He folded his wings in and opened the glass doors.
“My room.” He gestured for me to enter.
The room enveloped me with warmth from the fireplace. I stepped over and relished the heat after the cool night air—or more so, after unwrapping myself from his body, which warmed me like a furnace. My heart slowly recovered from the flight.
His room wasn’t like I’d expected it to be, all stone and severe, like the exterior perch where he watched from during the day.
Aside from the comforting hearth, colorful tapestries and paintings in deep reds and forest greens added a softness to the stone walls.
A large burgundy throw was thrown over an oversized settee before the fireplace.
Books and candles were stacked on a table beside it.
But what stood out most was the massive bed with a rich maroon coverlet that took up the center of the room, large enough to fit a gargoyle, with dark carved posts that reached toward the ceiling.
I avoided staring at it, imagining what would happen next, but my gaze kept returning despite my best efforts to stifle it.
“Still okay?” Hadrien brushed a strand of wind-tousled hair away from my face.
“Splendid,” I said with a smile, to force away the last fluttering sensations from the flight. I knew why I agreed to come here, and I didn’t want my nerves to ruin it.
He caressed my cheek and trailed his fingers over my jawline.
Then he bent low and kissed me again, slower this time.
He moved his hands over my throat, the rough calluses of his fingers stoking a low-brush fire beneath my skin.
When they reached the side of my breast, a low sigh escaped me and he moaned.
His touch alternated from gentle to more possessive as his hands roamed over my body.
He undressed me slowly as we stood before the fire, the burnt orange reflecting in his silvery eyes.
They flashed with dark, possessive heat while the glow from the flames danced over the planes of his face, leaving him in light and shadow.
Dark. Hungry. Powerful.
I should be terrified. Hadrien was massive, a cursed being who was an entirely different species. But instead of running from him, I craved more.
I swallowed and lowered my gaze as the final piece of clothing fell from my body. The instinct to cover myself rose, but as I lifted my arms to cover my breasts, he rumbled, “You’re beautiful, Lilia.”
When I met his eyes once more, his gaze was full of want, almost predatory. I opened my mouth to say something, but only a shuddering moan fell out.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, his voice now lower with concern.
“No!” Desperation edged my voice.
“Good,” he rumbled with an appreciative gaze. He carried me to the bed as if I weighed no more than a pebble and placed me gently on the coverlet. The rich, velvety feel caressed my skin. He pulled the coverlet back and I scooted up, resting my head on the fluffy pillow.
Hadrien stood beside the bed, watching me with that hungry gleam in his eyes.
I’d never felt so seen before, in a way that both thrilled me and left me feeling exposed.
He loomed there, cast in firelight that danced over the contours of his muscular torso.
My gaze traveled down, eyeing darker gray marble-like lines that threaded his skin and the faded scars, and a pang of empathy struck me.
I wanted to kiss every one of them to soothe away the pain that had caused them, to apologize for whatever had caused it, but the words caught in my throat.
Instead, I gazed into his eyes, searching them, and held out my arms to him.
“Come to me, Hadrien,” I said, my invitation barely above a whisper.
He strode over on his massive legs and my gaze lowered still to the unmistakable bulge that stretched at his pants. I swallowed, wondering if I was well beyond my depth here.
Hadrien crawled onto the bed and bent over me with his powerful form, careful to brace his weight so as not to crush me.
He kissed me again, from my lips and over my throat, touching and licking me in ways that made my body arch up to him, desperately anticipating more.
He moved down my torso, caressing my breasts and teasing the nipples with his tongue and thumb.
My breath quickened as he moved down, the heat rising in my core.
He slid his hand between my legs, and when he touched me there, I was already slick.
“You’re so wet,” he growled with appreciation.
I sighed and ran my fingers over his broad shoulders. “I want you,” I admitted in a breathy voice.
He slipped a finger inside me, priming me as he kissed down my belly. He paused and inhaled. “Can’t wait to taste you,” he murmured.
He kissed and licked and teased my inner thighs until I was writhing and begging for him.
Finally, he relented and put his warm mouth where I needed him most. I settled deeper into the pillow with a relieved sigh, experiencing sensations like I never had before.
Oh, so good… His tongue was magic. His fingers so large.
Everything about him was huge and hard, yet gentle and soft.
I reached out, running my fingers through his hair, and higher…
Would he let me?
“Can I…” I began, hovering my hand an inch from one. “Can I touch them?”
He pulled away a fraction and glanced up at me. “My horns?”
“Ye-yes,” I stammered, not sure if this was okay.
“I’d love if you did,” he murmured in a velvety growl.
He went back to driving me wild, and my hesitation dropped.
I lightly touched one horn, sliding my fingers down it, and he let out an approving growl that vibrated against me.
Raising my other hand, I stroked the other horn as well.
As I touched and stroked both, he responded with more eagerness that stirred us both.
Soon I was writhing on the sheets, clawing them, clawing him, desperate to reach that pinnacle that hovered right before me… But it was too intense, too fierce… I didn’t think I could survive it.
And then Hadrien pushed me there, to my limits, and I shattered with a shaky cry. My muscles quivered and trembled, my skin was hot and slick, and every part of me hummed with exquisite sensation.
“Hadrien,” I whispered.
He crawled over me. “I have you, Little Sage.” He bent down and kissed me. I tasted myself on his tongue, so strangely erotic.
As he kissed me, I grew needy for him again and slid my hand down between our bodies. I reached for his hard length and the girth was a challenge for my hand. A flutter of nerves twirled through me, and I sucked in a breath.
He paused, glancing down at me. “We don’t have to if it’s too much.”
“Please,” I gasped out, pressing myself against him. I reached for the top of his pants, tugging them down. “Take these off so I can see you.”
He leaned back, watching me as he slowly undid his pants. When he removed them and tossed them to the floor, my gaze traveled lower. Sweet goddess, he was enormous.
I gulped and swallowed my reservations. “I want you.” I reached for him once more.
He stretched over me again, nestling his thick shaft between my legs, then paused. “I need to get protection.”
“No.” I grabbed him. “I take a serum,” I added, relieved that I had.
“Good,” he growled. “I don’t want to stop.”
“Me either,” I said, breathlessly.
He moved against me, teasing me where I was already so wet and needy. “I’ll go slowly,” he promised.
He did. Oh, how he did.
He worked me higher again until I was breathless with need and begging him not to make me wait any longer. He slid the tip inside me and I tightened.
“Relax, sweet Lilia,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “I’ll stop if it’s too much.”
I took three deep breaths. “I’m ready.” I pulled him to me once more.
He moved in, inch by slow, agonizing inch, watching to make sure I was okay. The stretch was undeniable, the way he filled me almost overwhelming, yet it was utterly exquisite. I’d never felt so much desire.
“You all right?” He paused.
“More than okay,” I managed. “Don’t stop.”
A low moan escaped him, and he pressed deeper.
“Yes.” I clutched his shoulders.
He cupped my face in his large hands and covered my face and neck with kisses. “Beautiful,” he whispered.
He released my face and moved in and out, slowly at first, and I matched his rhythm. As his pace grew fiercer, I clung on to him, rising, rising, as the sensations grew stronger, almost overpowering.
I grabbed his horns and broke with a cry, one that sounded more feral than anything that had ever come out of me.
He rocked into me, wilder, and fiercer. A feral moan rumbled out of him. He thrust harder, relentless, and then shuddered before going still inside me.
With a sound that was more beast than man, he growled, “Mine.”