9. Alira
Alira
Kalel buries his fingers into my arms as his teeth sink into my neck.
A soft sigh escapes my lips as the warmth from his chest seeps into my back.
He holds me tenderly, and it makes my heart ache.
He’s been nothing but considerate for me tonight.
Even after I chased the wisp. I think Tessa left because she’s pissed at me.
She was casting distrustful looks at me the entire way here, and then she left on her own.
The snow falls more heavily than it was a few minutes ago. I hope she’s okay out there alone.
My attention shifts to Nikolai, who seems to be sleeping already, but I try to keep my thoughts vague around him.
I’m not foolish enough to think about the events of tonight so close to him.
But the vision taunts me from the furthest corner of my mind.
Thank gods it’s not so hard to forget everything when Kalel is being so attentive.
My body relaxes in his grip, and he senses it immediately, letting his arms weigh more on me as he makes a small groaning sound into my neck. His teeth send ripples of pleasure through my entire body.
My lovely demon. He’s not a monster—he’s an apothecary, a knight, my husband, a soul. Whatever lies in his past is just that, the past.
He lets his hand move up my throat as he finishes drinking my blood and strokes his tongue across the wound. Then he tilts my chin toward his, and I meet those somber golden eyes I’ve grown to love so much.
“I thought I lost you when you fell from the cliffside, little godling,” he murmurs against my lips and presses his palm to my cheek. He sounds depressed, which isn’t the same as his normal serious demeanor.
I know something happened with Tessa outside. The three of them were arguing, not loud enough for me to hear what it was about, but I could hear the intensity of it. About what, though? The Gates of Mortem being open or me?
I have a feeling it’s the latter.
Kalel strokes his tongue over the bite as he finishes feeding and presses kisses to my skin.
Nikolai shifts up from the ground across the campfire and groans. “There’s no way I can sleep tonight unless I make sure Tessa gets to Devicit safely. I’ll catch up to her; you two leave in the morning,” he says without looking over at us.
An uneasy prickle moves along my spine.
Kalel doesn’t try to follow him. “We’ll be there just after dawn. Wait for me at the bridge after you speak with King Achill,” he says, looking over his shoulder at Nik.
I can’t see what expression he’s giving our friend, but it must be one he understands clearly because Nikolai nods and offers me a weak smile before exiting the cave. His horse whinnies as it takes off into the snowstorm.
Kalel is still wrapped around me, our limbs entwined. The fire seems warmer now that it’s just the two of us in the cave.
Not much of a relaxing trip together away from home, but we never actually had a honeymoon. This is the first time we’ve truly been isolated together away from everyone else. Even in his palace, there’s always a knight a hundred feet away at all times of the day and night.
“And then there were two,” he murmurs with a lick of humor tugging at his grin, pulling me up into his lap so that I’m straddling him.
Kalel’s scent is strong, mixing with the smoke from the fire, and it must fend off the last of the herbal potion I took this morning that keeps my heat at bay because an ache warms between my thighs. I wasn’t expecting us to camp out overnight, so I didn’t bring any extra bottles. Gods, help me.
He smells my scent and his eyes widen, flashing first with worry then with lust.
My core warms and my cheeks flush and burn as if I’ve had a sip of wine. My forehead is hot and my stomach twists painfully, making me wince and clutch my abdomen.
“Fuck, I didn’t even think about how feeding would affect your heat-repressant potion.” Kalel drags a hand over his mouth as if he’s trying to keep himself from biting into me again.
I press my chest to his, folding my arms around his neck and collapsing in his embrace. “I should’ve brought some just in case.” I barely get the words out through the emptiness that consumes me. I need him inside me now.
Kalel groans as my hips grind into him. He sets both hands on my ass and chuckles as he moves my hair out of the way so that my neck is bare to him.
“We can’t do it in here,” I whisper against his skin, staring at the shadows the fire casts onto the walls.
Kalel lifts me up with one hand just enough to pull his pants down a bit and to free his cock. I can feel the heat of it through my pants.
“Of course we can, little godling. You can sit right where you are, and I’ll do the rest,” he says confidently.
I want to object because anyone could walk right into the cave, but he’s already unbuttoning my pants and pulling them down. He has me stand for a moment to completely remove them, then brings me back onto his lap. Our skin touches, and another painful throb rushes through me.
It’s become impossible to ignore my heat, and my body has become thoroughly addicted to him. It craves his cock just as much as he does my gilded blood.
The cave is filled with our heady kisses, and we disregard anything that happened in the last few hours.
The Gates of Mortem are open, and I received a terrible vision, but it’s as if we are both delusional enough to think that one short night of kisses and holding one another will make tomorrow go away.
And maybe, just for a few hours, it can.
Kalel rocks me in his lap, grinding my bare pussy over his hard dick in a tandem motion as we steal heated kisses from one another.
“Fuck,” he whispers between breaths, driving his hands down on my hips harder and making me grunt on him unyieldingly.
My wetness is spread all over him, and his cock slicks my center over and over as he pumps his hips up in rhythm.
He stops and glances at my lips, then meets my gaze.
“I’m starving for you,” he says, picking me up and setting me on my feet before he starts removing his sweater and placing it on the ground. He nods for me to lie down on it.
I do as he wants and try not to let my cheeks flush more than they already are as he settles between my thighs. He looks up at me as he drags his tongue, agonizingly slow, through my center with one long stroke.
My head falls back as the pleasure shoots through my entire body. My hands fist, and my thighs are trying to close together over his head. Kalel moans as he laps at my pussy, sucking on my clit between every few strokes of his hot tongue.
I cry out, trembling and trying not to be too loud. My eyes dash to the cave entrance, making sure we’re still alone before I let them fall shut again.
“Go ahead, Alira. Scream all you want; no one will hear the things we do to one another in this cave.” His breath is hot over my core.
I suck in my lower lip and bite it as he returns to feasting on me. He lets go of one of my legs and fists his cock, pumping it in time with his tongue and pushing precum to his tip.
My moans grow more uncontrolled, and he can tell. His smile is evidence of his amusement and enjoyment in hearing what he does to me.
“It feels so good,” I cry, threading my fingers through his hair and trying not to buck my hips into his face like I desperately want to.
He groans, and his fingers dig into my skin. “I’ve only just started, godling.”
Kalel shoves his tongue deep inside me, filling me partially as he swirls his thumb over my clit. My eyes roll to the back of my head. It feels so good, and being so far away from the kingdom only makes it better. Knowing that no one will disturb us is a nice plus.
My cries echo louder as he devours my pussy. He works me to my orgasm and groans deep in his chest as I come, hips shaking and legs trembling as I soak his face.
“That’s a good little godling. Now you’re nice and ready for me,” Kalel murmurs, pressing kisses up my thigh and chest until he reaches my lips. He palms my breasts as he rolls me on top of him. His back is against the ground, but there’s not a single care in the world in his eyes.
I splay my hands over his muscular chest and lean down to tease him, placing his tip at my entrance but not fully seating myself on it yet.
“You want to be inside of me?” I whisper against the shell of his ear. He groans and pushes his tip against my entrance more.
“More than you know.” His voice is raspy.
I giggle and slowly push back on him. His hands fly to my hips, and he grips me tightly and spreads me open.
My core aches with the need to be filled by him, and he must see the turmoil on my expression because with one big thrust, he shoves his entire length into me. I cry out and lean back so that I’m fully seated on him.
Kalel lifts his hips to meet each of my bounces, pounding into me from below. I brace my hands against his chest like my life depends on it. Euphoria blooms across my heart and my mind. Filling every part of my body and soul with him.
“I love you, my godling.” His voice is lustful but also filled with anguish.
I glance down at him and see tears in his eyes as his thrusts slow. His hands grip my sides harder, like he never wants to let me go.
My brows pinch, and I lean down so we are nose to nose. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
He wraps his arms around me and holds me close.
“Nothing. I just want you to know that I love you,” he whispers and picks up his pace again.
But I think about it well after our kisses have ended and we’re satisfied. I think about the vision and what Kalel’s hiding long into the night.