CHAPTER TEN #3
Then his tongue flicked against my clit. I screamed. He devoured me, relentless and frantic, until I was barely functioning. My body arched, wave after wave of ecstasy shattering my composure.
He lifted me off his shoulders, pinning me against the steamy tiles. I was wrapped around his waist again, shaking. He took his length—thick, gleaming, and heavy with need—and pressed the tip to my entrance. I sobbed at the contact.
"Gods, Ava," he groaned.
He lunged forward, burying himself inside me in one deep, staggering thrust. My head fell back against the tiles. He moved with a violent, rhythmic intensity, each thrust claiming territory, marking me.
My thoughts scattered. Pleasure rolled through me like crashing waves until I was unraveling in his arms. He followed soon after, a low, animalistic roar escaping him as he spent himself inside me.
He had claimed me. Every inch of me was marked by the earth, even as the shadows waited for the sun to set.
After Jeremy finally pulled away, his kiss possessive and lingering, he pressed his forehead to mine, his breath still ragged.
"I'll come find you after. Tonight."
He was gone before I could even find my voice, leaving the room a humid, chaotic wreckage of discarded clothes, drifting steam, and my own frantic heartbeat. I was barely hauling my robe over my sensitised skin when the bathroom door flew open. The girl squad burst in like a fae hurricane.
"Holy shit," Ember gasped, her eyes scanning my flushed face and the heavy, kiss-bitten look of my mouth. "You two totally did it."
"Of course they did," Maddy groaned, throwing herself dramatically onto the bed. "The walls were practically vibrating."
I flopped down next to her, burying my face in a pillow to hide the heat crawling up my neck. "You won't believe what he told me…"
They hovered over me like predators scenting fresh gossip.
"He said… because I'm the future Queen, the blood bond means I could basically use Asher like a godsdamn sex toy if I wanted. Spiritually. Physically. Any way I want."
Ember let out an ear-piercing squeal, fanning herself with both hands. "By Veyros' crooked grin, I have never been more jealous! A fae-sanctioned loyalty kink? With him?"
"No strings attached?" Maddy's jaw dropped.
Darcy sprawled across the chaise and barked out a laugh. "This is going to be absolute carnage."
Jules looked mildly horrified, clutching her skirts. "I… feel like I shouldn't be here for this conversation."
"Nonsense!" Ember clapped her hands, her eyes glittering with mischief. "Let's get you ready for the most scandalous ceremony this Academy has ever seen. Who are your witnesses?"
I groaned into the mattress. "Fine. You and Maddy. My ladies-in-waiting. Happy?"
They squealed in unison, already moving toward my vanity like a pit crew. Jules and Darcy headed off to fetch the ritual garments, leaving me with the two most chaotic fae in the west wing.
"Guys, stop it," I snapped as I dropped into my chair. "I am not going to use Asher like that."
They didn't say a word. They just mirrored each other with identical, wicked grins.
"Jeremy says I'll feel him instinctively," I muttered, watching Maddy begin to brush my wet hair. "But I'm going to fight it. I'm going to try not to feel a thing."
Ember cackled, turning on the dryer. "Oh, come on, Ava. You've almost combusted just looking at him. Literally."
"Fair," I muttered, closing my eyes.
By the time Jules and Darcy returned, I was glowing. Ember had dried my hair into a silken mane, and Maddy had applied enough gold shimmer to make me look like a celestial being. But when Jules held up the garment bag, the room went silent.
I took it gingerly and pulled the fabric out. I nearly screamed.
"Oh my gods," Ember breathed.
It was translucent. Gold. Ethereal. A sheer Veyshari veil designed to cling to every curve, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.
"I don't think he'll have any restraint, Ava," Maddy added, staring at the liquid starlight fabric. "He's going to lose his mind."
I groaned, clutching the gold-threaded lace bra I'd picked out to go underneath—a set enchanted to shimmer against my skin. "It's fine," I hissed, though my palms were sweating. "Wait… who did Asher choose as his witnesses?"
The realization hit me, and my heart plummeted.
"Two other males," I whispered, horror dawning. "It's going to be Ryven and Ezra, isn't it? The smugness will be unbearable. I'm going to be standing there half-naked in front of the three most arrogant males in the first-year class."
My breathing quickened, the corset of the ritual dress tightening around my ribs.
Then the balcony doors creaked. Aether padded in, his obsidian fur gleaming, golden eyes judging the room. He sat on the bed and let out an audible huff of amusement.
"Relax, little one," he murmured through the bond, curling his tail around his paws. "You are a lioness. Act like it."
"I can't breathe," I muttered.
"You don't need to breathe," Maddy said, giving the last golden thread a sharp tug to lock the dress in place. "You just need to survive the gaze of Asher Maddox."
Ember leaned in, her eyes reflecting the candlelight. "I cannot wait to see his face when you walk into that Temple."