Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
THORNE
The saucy smirk that twisted Sera’s full lips quickened my pulse, burning away the ache of ghosts and guilt until nothing remained but her.
Pain-filled thoughts sank beneath a haze of need.
Her slim fingers skimmed up my thighs to my belt.
In little time, she had me unbuckled, my pants unfastened.
My breath caught as her heated palm encompassed my throbbing length.
She nibbled her full bottom lip, eyes gleaming with mischief and hunger. “I want to taste you.”
Surely, I was dreaming. “I am all yours, Princess.” The words came easy, but the truth behind them went deep, touching an empty place inside me I hadn’t known still existed.
Her hot tongue slid up my length from base to shaft, and a low groan escaped my throat.
I raked trembling fingers through the curls spilling over her shoulders, desperate to see her face while she worked her magic.
When she took me deeper, my head dropped back, every wall I’d built threatening to splinter.
“Flames save me, you are divine,” I groaned.
Serafina hummed against me, her wicked mouth coaxing noises I hadn’t made in years. She wasn’t rushing to finish, wasn’t detached like many lovers of the past. She reveled in me. Worshipped me as though she wanted this as much as I did. As if I were worthy.
With Sera, it wasn’t a conquest. It was a surrender. And, gods help me, surrender had never tasted so sweet.
All too soon, I was out of control and on the verge. It was embarrassing how quickly I was ready to explode.
“Come here, Princess.” I cupped the back of her neck, and she released me with a long, slow glide before peering up at me.
“Something wrong?”
The way she gazed at me, desire in her eyes, lips glistening, I could have stared at her all night. Still, I pulled her against my chest. “Not at the moment,” I confessed, pulling her up from the floor and into my lap. “Tonight, all is right in my world.”
I tugged at the belt of her robe, kissing the tender spot beneath her ear. She shivered, tilting for me, and I drank her response like a starving man. Nimble fingers stripped the garment from her body, revealing silk and skin I’d hungered for since the bathing pool.
“That’s better,” I muttered, dragging the strap of her chemise down her shoulder and baring her breasts. Rosy peaks begged for my mouth, and I obliged, drawing a tight bud between my lips.
“So much better,” she said with a gasp, arching her back. The flame I’d gifted her began to glow, a soft light appearing between flushed mounds. My own flame responded in kind, warming beneath my ribs.
I ran my hands up her thighs, pushing her shift out of the way as I filled my palms with her generous backside.
The act had her pressing closer to me, her sex smashing against my cock.
I groaned at the delightful pressure. Soon, her hips began to rock, and I guided her actions, sliding her heated center along my length.
Hot and slick, she ground against my aching shaft.
Once more, I fought to withhold my release.
“You’re too much.” I held her to me, lurching from my seat.
Sera’s squawk of surprise rang out, and she wrapped her legs around my hips. I twisted and then deposited her into the chair.
“What was that for?” Her bottom lip rolled out in a sensual pout.
“This,” I said, hooking her ankles over the arms. Once she was splayed before me, I quickly shucked my pants down my legs and stepped out of them.
My turn to kneel.
Pink blossomed across her cheeks, and yet she didn’t move. “You are full of surprises.”
“You’re one to talk.” I grazed my hands up her body to her breasts, plumping their weight, reveling in the way she shivered beneath my touch.
A low growl pushed up from my chest. “Mmm. So many delectable treasures at my disposal,” I teased. “I think I’ll chain you to a chair just so and lock you in the family vault.”
She fluttered thick lashes. “Only if you stay there with me.”
An image took shape of Serafina splayed on a pile of coins, rare jewels decorating her generous curves. My cock twitched in response. “Perhaps next time,” I snarled, flames licking my throat.
Definitely next time.
Next time?
My beast stirred at my center, possessive urges rising. More than once, this female had proved she was our perfect mate in so many ways, her wit and courage a match for my own.
Rather than ruin the moment by overthinking, I kissed a path across Sera’s rounded stomach, my aim narrowing as I drew closer to her sweet sex. Her breath quickened with anticipation, her back arching. She was eager for this.
Savoring the moment, I paused to nuzzle her hipbone.
“Thorne!” She squirmed.
I gripped her hips. “Move, and this ends.”
“Tease.” The desperation in her voice licked flames up my spine.
“Siren,” I snarled before dragging my tongue through her sweet folds.
“Thorne!” she cried out. Only this time, my name was a lusty entreaty instead of an objection. Gods, the sounds this woman made. For several long minutes, I worshipped her with fingers, lips, and tongue until she was near mindless. Walking the edge.
Just as her back arched, I drew away, smirking at her groan of frustration. Before she could curse me, I swept her into my arms.
“You’re impossible,” she snarled.
“And you love it.” My lips crushed hers, swallowing her retort as I carried her to the bed. Not breaking our kiss, I crawled up her body, dragging her further back on the mattress.
She twisted, glancing at the bed, then looked up at me, laughing.
I offered a mock glare. “Have to say, I’m unaccustomed to women laughing at me during sex.”
“It’s just that this is the first time I’ve had sex in an actual bed.”
A low growl rumbled in my throat. Sera was my treasure. I would not share her. Nor would she desire another after tonight. I settled my frame between her eager thighs, her legs encircling my hips.
“Then allow me to make it unforgettable,” I grated with a powerful thrust, seating my cock deep inside her slick depths.
“Thorne,” Sera cried out. Her back arched, hips rocking beneath me.
“What’s that, Princess?” I nibbled a hungry path along her jaw, burrowing my face into the place where her neck met her shoulder.
“Stop?” I filled my lungs with her spicy fragrance. My eyes rolled as her walls clamped down on me.
“No,” she gasped, hips lifting to meet my next thrust.
“No?” I withdrew until merely a breath kept us connected.
“Ah!” she cried out. “No. Not no.”
I gritted my sharpening teeth. “What is it then?” Again, I withdrew then slammed home, grinding against her sweet center just so. “Yes. Or no?”
“Ugh!” she shouted at the ceiling, dewy skin painted pink with frustration. “Yes. You bastard. Definitely yes.”
“Yes?” Thoughts blurred. My ability to torment her in any coherent manner, fading with each thrust. Goddess, but she felt good. Better than good. Fated. As if she were made for me alone.
“Just shut up and give me all of you.” Her heels prodded my ass, her body tightening.
I shuddered at the demand, not sure there was much left to give. Part of me died when my kingdom fell. When I’d betrayed those who depended on me. Regardless, whatever was left was hers.
“Yes. That. Right. There.” Sera’s sinful walls gripped my shaft, her head falling back. Her unruly red curls spilled across the pillow like wildfire.
The flame I’d shared with her glowed brightly beneath her breast. The sight of that golden light quickened my pulse, and my heart thundered. Lightning crackled in my veins, igniting my soul. My inner spark answered in kind. Reaching out. Taking hold. Reconnecting.
Sera’s sweet essence washed through my psyche, our souls gliding against each other. The feeling, exquisite. Like nothing I’d ever experienced.
Mine. My princess. My mate.
“Ah, Thorne,” Sera cried. “Do you feel that? The connection? I feel you…”
“Everywhere,” I finished for her.
Though part of me warned I should be afraid, pull back. Hide. Pride welled that she’d felt it too. I wasn’t alone.
Her cries of pleasure were music to my ears, her peak causing her body to arch beneath me. The sensation of her body clutching mine was too much to resist.
Pressure built at the base of my spine, my seed climbing until sparks exploded in my chest. My orgasm ripped through me. I pumped my offering deep into my mate, filling her womb. As it was meant to be. The two of us joined.
At last. After centuries of loss, I was truly home.
SERAFINA
Thorne’s hot body rested beneath mine. His chest my pillow. I frowned, eyeing his sculpted pectorals, unsure what had woken me. Being in his arms, our naked bodies intertwined, I waited for the jolt of panic, of regret.
And yet, there was only contentment.
It felt right, waking this way. So good, in fact, it sent my cynical mind packing.
There were so many layers to this man I’d never imagined existed. Each one I peeled back made me want to know more. To explore deeper. Know him better.
Last night wasn’t meaningless. Not lust or recklessness. More like two broken souls finding a place to rest. But what if it became more? Something lasting.
The idea both excited and yet scared the hell out of me.
Was it even possible for a man like Thorne to feel the same?
I was still debating that question when the safe little world we’d created fractured.
“Thorne!” Alaric’s voice boomed through the mental link like a thunderclap. His roar rattled the foundation of the mountain.
I jolted upright, heart slamming into my ribs. The peace from a moment ago, obliterated in a burst of fear. “What was that? Are we under attack?”
“I hope not.” Thorne was already moving, leaping from the bed with inhuman grace.
I slipped out on the other side, dragging clothing over my body as another feral bellow split the night. The entire mountain rumbled. Loosened pebbles rained down on our heads.
My pulse pounded in my ears. “Alaric is back. Maybe he returned injured?”