Chapter 91 Keldarion
Keldarion
Itake in a shaky breath and look over my chambers one more time.
There’s a fire crackling in the hearth, and I’ve laid out piles of furs and pillows before it, though not at the expense of the bed.
It’s piled with velvet cushions and throws, silken canopy parted.
Candles rest on the tables throughout, burning with a soft blue light. Everywhere must be perfect.
On a chair beside the bed is a more somber note: Rosalina’s travel leathers, a thick linen cloak, and her bag of supplies.
After it all, she’ll need to change quickly.
There’s no telling how long it will take for the bargain to go into effect.
It could be anywhere from a few heartbeats to a few minutes.
The door creaks open, and Rosalina drifts inside. Red firelight paints her gown in a sparkling pattern. Curls have come loose from her hair and fall in front of her cheeks, flushed from a night of dancing and laughing and smiling.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful sight.
My wife. My wife in her wedding dress.
With a soft click, Rosalina closes the door behind her. “You’re staring.”
“It’s hard not to.” I cross the room to her, cupping her face with my hands. “I’m trying to remember you in this dress, figuring soon you’ll be out of it.”
She grins wickedly at me and places her hand over mine. “I’m so happy, Keldarion. Despite everything, today has filled me with so much joy.”
“As it has for me, my Rose.”
“Promise me tonight won’t be sad. I’ve been waiting for this for so long.”
I lower my face to her so we’re mere inches apart. “Promise. Tomorrow, you might belong to the Prince of Thorns, but tonight, you are all mine.”
Her breath catches, and she shudders away, but I grip her waist and crash my lips against hers. She wraps her arms around my neck as I lift her from the ground.
“Kel,” she sighs. “I don’t know if I’m ready. I want this night to last forever.”
“Do not worry. We’re only beginning. I intend to take a very long time satisfying my wife.”
She shivers at the use of that word, and I hope it brings her as much joy hearing it as I get saying it. Carrying Rosalina in my arms, I bring her in front of the fire and set her down.
“Well then, husband,” she says, then giggles. “I can’t believe I get to say that. I can’t believe I’m married. I can’t believe we’re married.”
Taking her hand, I lift it to my lips and kiss her rings. “Am I not how you imagined your future husband?”
She quirks her head. “Well, I always expected my husband to sparkle in the sunlight. I mean, all the ice around you does sort of sparkle.”
I have no idea what she’s saying, but I laugh anyway. “I’m glad you made an exception for me.”
“So am I.” She raises a brow and steps back, unfastening the cloak and dropping it. Then she unfastens her necklace and places it on the mantel before looking for me.
A low growl sounds in my throat, and I prowl forward. “Turn around.”
She does and I move her hair to one side and slowly work the laces of her corset.
I run my knuckles along her spine, and Rosalina shivers as I bend and place a kiss to her shoulder.
The dress slides to the ground, and Rosalina steps out of it, turning to me.
Her pale skin is luminous in the firelight, perfect breasts, the curve of her waist, and she’s wearing sheer white tights…
My cock twitches, straining against my tight pants, and I resist the urge to rip those tights and sink myself inside her.
I’m not ready to give her up yet. Don’t think I’ll ever be ready.
Rosalina raises a brow, then unclasps her hair. The tied back curls fall loose and wild. “Well, are you going to touch me?”
“Every inch.”
I wrap her in my arms and lower her to the floor, stretching her out over the furs. I drag my hand along her shoulder and the curve of her breasts, brushing the soft flesh with my knuckles, then over her stomach and down her legs.
She raises a knee and arches into my touch. “Kel.”
The sound of my name on her voice untethers something inside me. I grip her thigh, feeling the smooth fabric of her tights. “Want me to touch somewhere in particular?”
Nodding, she bites her lower lip. I clench my teeth together, wanting to take it in my own mouth. There will be time for that later. Instead, I give my Rose what she’s asking for and drag my hand to her inner thigh.
“Mmm,” she sighs, fingers tightening in the furs.
Pressing the pad of my thumb hard against her, I begin to circle, slow enough I know it will be maddening for her. I’m rewarded by her quickening breath, the rocking of her hips to urge me on. I change the motion from circles to strokes up and down, and a pool of moisture forms on the tights.
“Yes, Kel,” she sighs. “We’ve just begun and I—”
I press harder, dragging my knuckles along her slit.
“Oh god,” she says in a shattered gasp. “Yes.”
I continue my motions, movements gaining speed as the fabric gets properly soaked. I drop my head to the hollow of her neck. “Will you wear these again?”
“I think I’ll like the answer if I say no.”
“Indeed.” I kiss her deeply, opening my mouth and sucking her tongue in time with the rhythm of my hand.
Then I break away and lower my whole body between her legs. She whines in protest as I temporarily stop rubbing her and delicately lift the white sheer fabric. Rose rises on her forearms to watch me, and I meet her gaze with a wicked grin and rip.
Rip just enough to access what I need, right at her center. Of course, my Rose isn’t wearing any panties, and I am rewarded with the sight of her lovely pink pussy.
Her scent envelops me, and my body trembles with an overwhelming desire for her. Her taste, her essence, her love. I want everything she can give me. Mate. Tonight, I will finally mate her.
I give a kiss to her thigh, then bite the soft flesh. Rosalina sighs and throws her head back. I drag my mouth higher until I get to the rip, where I begin to devour. I press my tongue against her, wanting to taste her entirely.
Rosalina calls out and threads her fingers into my hair, pushing me harder against her pussy. Good girl, I say in her mind. Harder, Rosalina.
She tugs on my hair, whimpering as I drive my tongue deeper. I’m near delirious with her taste. I’m going to go fucking mad tonight in her body. And mad is the only way I’ll get through this.
I alternate between quick flicks and long, languid strokes. When her thighs begin to tremble, I pull back and take her clit between my lips and suck.
She shatters, crying out my name in a broken moan. Her hands tug my hair so hard, pain radiates through my skull. But it’s nothing compared to the pleasure coursing through our bond.
Rosalina falls to the furs, a delirious smile on her face. I rise and kiss it off her. When I pull back, I see sweat dotting her brow and her skin flushed.
“Guess I’m getting a little warm by the fire,” she says.
“We can’t have that.” I grip her thighs and pull the tights off, leaving her completely bare before me. “I have an idea.”
I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder.
Rosalina laughs. “I thought we were over you doing this to me.”
I join her laugh and give her ass a light smack. “The last time I did this, it was because I found you with Dayton between your legs.”
“And you decided the best course of action was to steal me?”
“I was so envious of him, touching my mate before I did,” I say. “I could hardly stomach it. Then when you were in my bed that night, I wanted you so badly I could barely contain myself.”
“Well, I’m yours now, Kel.”
I open the balcony door, and she gives a cry at the shock of cold before I place her down, bare feet overtop my boots so as not to touch the ground.
“It’s surprisingly nice out here,” Rosalina says.
I wrap my arms around her. “You’re a princess of Winter now. I think you’re obligated to say that.”
“No, I mean it. Every snowflake feels like your hands on me.” She grabs my belt and leans back, neck straining to look up at the sky.
She’s right; it is beautiful out here. The full moon is backed by a scattering of stars.
Snow falls in chunky flakes, and I watch where they land on her, melting on the warmth of her skin, on her tongue, along her pink pointed nipples.
She is the most precious thing in all of Winter, in all the Vale.
Here stands the Sworn Protector of the Realms, the traitor who betrayed his people for love. The Enchantress’s words from all those years ago echo in my mind. The one who sought glory and passion. Here stands a beast who will let the entire Vale go to rot for the sake of his own selfish heart.
No more. Now my heart will guide us forward. Brought into the light by her. My Rose.
I sigh and pull her up. She kisses me and whispers against my lips, “Now I’ll have my husband under the sky of the Winter Realm.”