Chapter 37 #2
“I think she’s nervous,” he finally said. “She’s lived a hard life. To see her grandson… To find a piece of Morwyn…” He shook his head.
“Will you say something to him before we leave?” I asked, sighing as his thumbs slipped over the top of my foot before sliding up my shin and around my calf.
Kellan’s throat bobbed, and his gaze dipped to the skirts of the light blue, summer dress I’d donned in place of my leathers.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “But I’d like to wait until my mother does.”
I nodded, scanning his face as his brow creased in worry.
“We’ll see Evony again,” I assured him. “We’ll get back, and you can tell her.” His head bobbed, and I traced the lines of ink snaking up his exposed neck.
His hair had been tied back into a bun, the heat of summer forcing it off his back.
“You’re worried about returning to Lotrennia,” he murmured after a few minutes of silence.
My stomach twisted, and his pressure increased against my calf muscle.
“Can’t say I’m looking forward to seeing Queen Antares again,” I murmured, averting my gaze and failing to stop memories from the prior summer from surging forward.
“And Bayne,” Kellan continued for me, moving to my other foot.
I focused on the bookshelf in the corner and nodded. My chest tightened as an unspoken question lingered on my tongue.
“I’m coming with you,” Kellan continued, drawing my gaze back, his face calm.
My throat bobbed, yet an unwavering wave of relief washed over me.
“You don’t have to,” I half-heartedly argued. “What about the Marisarma fleet? The Hydra? Who will direct the work at the forge while you’re gone?”
Kellan’s lips quirked up into a smirk, the scar on his lip lightening as a wave of his scent drifted toward me.
“I’ll figure it out.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, unsure why I didn’t feel more guilty about pulling him from his duties.
“Overprotective asshole, remember?” He raised a dark brow and his tongue slipped over his lower lip. I tracked the movement, and I pressed my teeth into mine. His hand slid under my calf, and his thumb and forefinger made smooth, circular movements as they reached the space behind my knee.
Heat shot up my leg to my core as his gaze darkened, and he paused. My heart began a quick gallop as I traced the tanned skin peeking through his unbuttoned shirt.
Kellan leaned forward and his hands slipped to my knees, slowly reaching up my thin skirts. My legs opened for him as his hands gripped my thighs, his thumb and fingers squeezing gently as he slid further to my center.
My mouth parted as he dropped from his chair to his knees. His hungry gaze slipped from my eyes to my lips. My breath escaped in a slow and controlled exhale as his hands made their way to my hips, and he moved between my legs. His head tipped to the side as he examined me.
I took his face in my hands as I stared at the beauty in the darkness of his eyes, running my thumb over the scar on his lip. He twisted his head, kissing the eight-pointed star on my palm while keeping his eyes on mine. I slid my hands to the back of his neck.
I gave a gentle tug, and he leaned forward with heavy lids. The bridge of his nose brushed against mine, but he paused.
“My heart sings in your presence, Bonscaíh,” he said, his voice thick, the air from his lips kissing mine in little puffs. His forehead grazed my own as he took a deep inhale.
“And I could live off your scent,” he purred.
My skirts slipped to my hips as he lifted his forearms, and he pressed his thumbs into the sensitive muscle at the top of each thigh. My hands slid from his neck over the smooth slip of skin until they hit the pebbled brand at the center of his chest, and I unbuttoned the rest of his shirt.
“And what is my scent?” I breathed, sliding his shirt over his muscled shoulders. His hands released my thighs long enough to shrug out of his shirt, and he slid them back under my skirts, this time wrapping them around my ass.
“You smell like the fucking wind,” he murmured, his mouth moving to the space behind my ear. “Like I’m flying.”
Heat surged to my core as he sucked my skin into his mouth before his lips moved to my earlobe. I pulled back, needing to see his face, needing to taste his lips as a wave of cedar and leather filled my lungs.
Kellan stared at me for a moment before his lips crashed onto mine. My mouth parted for him, and his tongue swept in as his lips guided mine in a smooth, perfect rhythm.
“Fuck me, Kellan,” I urged between breaths, repeating my line from our shared dream.
He stood abruptly, heaving me up with him, and the velvet chair crashed to the ground. My arms slipped around his neck as I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he moved across the room.
My back hit the wall, and I braced myself against the side of the bookshelf as Kellan supported me with one arm.
The shuffle of sliding fabric cut through our heavy breaths.
His free hand slapped the wall beside my face as his body crushed against mine, and the loose sleeve of my summer dress slipped over my shoulder.
The fabric of my bodice lowered with the movement, the cool evening air chilling the top of my breasts.
His mouth slid to my collarbone before he buried his face against my chest, kissing the upper curve of my breast. I gasped as need zipped down my core, and he moved. His lips crashed against mine before he slipped me lower down the wall, and the wide head of his cock met my drenched center.
He slammed into me, pinning me to the wall while supporting my ass with his arm. Fire raced through my core, and it surged, wrapping itself around the proud length of him as he swore.
A moan escaped my lips as he withdrew and slammed back in.
The unyielding pressure of the wall prevented any retreat from the delicious sensations screaming through me.
My hand pressed against the bookshelf to maintain the connection, to keep the perfect fucking angle as he hammered against me.
His breath kissed my ears as he panted into my hair.
Muffled thuds thumped beside us as books tumbled to the carpeted floor, and I released my hand from the bookshelf, wrapping it around Kellan’s neck as he maintained that heavenly angle.
My hands slipped over his muscled shoulders as pressure built. The smooth steel between his legs stretched my soaked center, each thrust a promise to an unspoken plea. Fire built as he moved faster, my eyes closing as my head lolled, the edge of the universe so near I could see the stars.
“Eyes on me,” he growled softly.
My eyelids split to find his gaze hard on mine, his eyes darkened in feral dominance.
Stars exploded as I registered what sat beneath the primal need—the softness and devotion in the depths of his eyes…the love.
His name escaped my lips in a moan as intoxicating sensations swept through me, and my body convulsed against the wall as he moved faster.
My body shuddered as he pulled away from the wall, and my back hit the soft carpet.
He knelt between my legs, eyes sparking as they landed on mine.
His hands moved to my hips as I flipped over to my chest and hiked my ass up.
My skirts lifted, the air cooling my skin before his hand slapped against my ass. I bit my lip against my smile, heat siphoning back into my center as he plunged back into me. His hands rocked my hips against him as he slammed home, over and over again.
His movements became unbridled, his breathing heavy as he slipped a hand over my thigh and between my legs.
He pushed into me the same moment his middle finger rubbed a hard circle over my drenched clit, and we crashed into ecstasy together, the moan ripping from his lips the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.