Chapter 41 #3
I breathe frost over its surface, and ice crystallizes in deliberate swirls—raised ridges spiraling from base to tip, each one designed to drag against the most sensitive parts of her.
She stares at me, pupils blown with need. Her breath comes in short, desperate gasps.
“Will you take him?” I ask, searching her face. “Will you let a piece of my beast fill you?”
She nods frantically.
“Yes. I want to try, ves’thraen.”
My breath catches.
Ves’thraen. My safety is yours.
She’s giving me everything. Her trust. Her body. Her safety. Putting herself wholly in my hands, no matter how crazy the idea.
“I’ll keep you safe,” I rasp. “Always, lumina’ka. I swear to you.”
I trail the smooth antler down her body slowly, between her breasts, over her twitching stomach.
“Tell me if it’s too much,” I murmur, positioning it at her entrance. I spread her open with my other hand before leaning down to spit directly on her kaelinae—icy saliva hitting fevered flesh.
She keens, hips bucking.
“Every part of me,” I growl, using my thumb to spread the frosty wetness down to where the antler waits. “On you. In you. Claiming you.”
I slide it inside her slowly—so slowly—watching her face as the cool, hard length fills her inch by inch.
Her thighs spread wider, head falling back against the edge of the tub.
“Oh God. Rh?ven.”
He claws at my control, desperate to shift, to mount her and make her scream both our names until she can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.
“Say it again,” I growl, working the antler deeper, watching it disappear inside her. “Say his name again, Lumi.”
“Rh?ven,” she sobs, hips rolling desperately to meet the next thrust. “So thick—I can feel every ridge. He’s perfect—you’re perfect—”
My beast preens at the praise. She loves us. Both of us.
“You have no idea what you do to us,” I snarl, pumping faster. “Take him. Take what he’s giving you.”
“So full—” she whimpers.
“Look at you,” I rasp, watching the way her body takes the antler, the way she’s so wet it glides in and out effortlessly.
“Harder. Please—”
I thrust deeper, faster, angling it just right. My thumb rubs hard circles against her clit, and her whole body seizes.
“You feel that?” I growl against her ear, leaning over her. “That’s your rh?ven’ka inside you. Marking you from the inside out.”
She thrashes in my hold, thighs trembling violently.
“And when I finally shift,” I continue, voice rough with lust, “when I finally claim you the way we both need—you’ll remember this... that I’d break myself apart just to ease your pain. That I’d give you pieces of my beast before you ever even asked.”
“I’m going to—” Her fingers lock into my hair, her back arching so sharply I have to brace her with my entire forearm to keep her from sliding under the water.
“Come for him,” I command, thrusting harder, working her clit faster. “Come on Rh?ven’s antler and scream his name, Sael?n. Let him hear you—let the whole forest know who’s inside you right now.”
She shatters with a broken scream, so breathtakingly beautiful I nearly lose my mind.
“Rh?ven!”
Her body convulses, clenching rhythmically around the bone as her orgasm rips through her.
I work her through it, watching tears stream down her temples from the intensity.
She collapses against me, forehead dropping to my shoulder. I slow my movements, gentling my touch as she gasps for air. Carefully, I pull the antler free. She whines softly at the loss as I toss it aside. I gather her into my arms immediately.
“Lumi,” I rasp. “Look at me.”
She lifts her head. Her eyes are glassy, still swimming with the aftershocks of what I just gave her. “Andrik... I think I just saw the center of the universe.”
“Not yet,” I murmur as I cup her face. My thumbs wipe away her tears. “Open for me, l?nhael.” (Sweetheart.)
She doesn‘t hesitate.
“Breathe with me,” I whisper as I press my mouth a hair's breadth from hers and exhale. I pull the core of the thr?n’vael, and push it into her—a slow, steady stream of silver-white mist that flows from my lungs into hers.
Her eyes go wide. “Just breathe with me, Lumi.” I feel her entire ribcage expand, my breath traveling through her airways, hitting her blood, and extinguishing the lingering fire inside her.
“Again,” I whisper, foreheads pressed together. “With me, Sael?n.”
Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.
She blinks, the fog in her eyes finally clears, replaced by a sharp, stunned clarity.
“There you are,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“Andrik, what did you just do?”
“Rhavari magic,” I say softly. “Shared breath. It cools you from the inside.”
“And you thought you’d wait to share that with me until now... because?”
“It only works immediately after a climax,” I admit, my hand slides down the back of her neck to hold her steady. “But... your Sael?n must be the one to give you the climax. I didn’t know if I’d be able to stay in control long enough—but I couldn’t watch you like that anymore. I had to try.”
The silence that follows is heavy. The water settles, and for the first time in hours, she isn’t writhing in pain.
She reaches out, her small, wet hand covering the mark on my chest, where her soul already lives.
“You stayed in control,” she whispers, a tiny, tired smile tugging at her lips. “Mostly.”
I look at the gouges my claws left in the tub. “Mostly.” I shrug.
“You broke off your antler again,” she whispers, reaching up to touch the place where the tine used to be.
“I’d break a thousand more if it meant easing your pain,” I tell her honestly.
She’s quiet for a moment, then whispers, “Thank you.”
I pull her tighter against me, pressing another kiss to her damp hair.
“You don’t need to thank me for taking care of you.”
We stay in the water a little longer—until I’m certain her fever won’t spike again.
Finally, I lift her from the tub. She’s exhausted, clinging to me as I wrap her in the softest towel I can find.
“Can you stand?” I ask gently.
She shakes her head against my chest.
“Alright, Hold on.”
I carry her back to the bedroom and set her on the edge of the bed. She sways slightly, so I steady her with one hand while reaching for one of my tunics with the other.
“Arms up,” I murmur.
She obeys without question. I slide the soft fabric over her head. Something in my chest tightens at the sight of her in my clothes. She smells like my magic, she's sitting on my bed, and Rh?ven is purring like a hellcat.
Kaemorin.
“Stay here,” I say, trailing my fingers down the side of her neck. “I’m going to get you something to eat.”
“I’m not really—” she starts, but I press a finger to her lips.
“No arguments, l?n’veshka. It's my job to nourish you. Let me.”
She sighs and nods.
I leave quickly—down to the kitchen, grabbing whatever I can find. It’s not the blessed meal from earlier, but cheese, fruit, crackers, and some water should do the trick.
When I return, she’s exactly where I left her, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her hands.
“Here,” I say softly, sitting beside her.
I offer her the water first. She drinks slowly, but finishes the entire thing.
“Eat. Please?” I urge, holding up a small piece of Tharnfruit to her lips. She takes it, and I don’t miss the way she licks my finger to try and coax a reaction from me.
After a few bites, color slowly starts returning to her cheeks.
We sit in silence for a moment—me feeding her small pieces, her accepting them without protest.
“Why can’t you just claim me?” she asks. “I know the general reason. You’re worried something like last time will happen again... but this could go on for years, Andrik. I can’t go through this for years.”
The question I’ve been dreading.
I set the plate aside and take her hands in mine, careful of my claws; they won’t retract after what just happened in the tub.
“Because,” I say quietly, “there’s something I need to explain about Rhavari bonds.”