Chapter Twelve #3
“You need one of these closer to the castle,” I said, sinking lower in the water and tipping my head back against the rock. “Avoiding the forest of misery.”
“Miserable for you, maybe,” Onyx responded, sitting beside me in the spring. Only a small gap separated us, but my skin still tingled at the memory of his body tangled with mine—rocking into me hard yet slow. “Some of us find the forest lovely.”
My gaze trailed over him. Yeah, the forest wasn’t the only thing that was lovely. Water droplets clung to his dark hair and beaded on his porcelain skin. A spike of arousal had me squeezing my thighs together. How was it possible to have just been fucked by him but already wanting more?
“Why do you stare so intently?” he asked, eyes narrowing.
I was moving before I made the conscious effort to do so. I slung my leg over and straddled his hips, facing him in the water.
“Hi.” I hooked my wrists behind his neck.
“You are quite insatiable, aren’t you?” he asked, his cock swelling between us. Proof that he wouldn’t mind going for another round either. “I now see why fate saw need to grant you six fated mates. One male wouldn’t last for long. You’d take every drop he had and still ask for more.”
“Are you calling me a whore?” I slapped a hand to my chest, clutching my invisible pearls. “I’m a dainty little muffin, I’ll have you know. Innocent and pure.”
“Mhm.” The smirk on his lips reflected in his crimson eyes. “The only pure thing about you is your power.”
“A power I can’t even control,” I mumbled.
“One you can’t control yet.” Onyx reached forward and lightly grabbed my chin, preventing me from dropping my face to his neck and hide like I wanted to. “The ability to harness it lies within you.”
“Wish I believed in myself the way you do.” I exhaled, hoping to dispel the frenzy of nerves along with the breath. “I have to drink the elixir first and face my fears or whatever. Doesn’t sound too fun.”
“I suppose not,” he softly said. “I’m sure it will be quite challenging in fact. But you have many hearts tied to yours. Lives you have touched. Let them give you courage to face what lies ahead.”
“Does that include you too?” I toyed with the back of his damp hair, my body tingling at the heat of his bare skin against mine. “A heart that’s tied to mine?”
The tenderness in his gaze fled as something somber took its place. “You don’t want my heart, little bird. It’s far too beastly and covered in thorns.”
“Roses have thorns too.” I touched the edge of his mouth. A drop of water trailed from my thumb and rolled down his chin. “Doesn’t mean they’re not beautiful or worth holding onto.”
“You think me beautiful?” He regarded me with a pinched brow.
“Very.” I ghosted our mouths together, not quite touching. “And not just because of your pretty face. Despite what you think, you have a kind heart, Onyx. I won’t let you hide away in your dark tower anymore.”
“You should lock me inside that tower and throw away the key.” He caught my bottom lip between his teeth and lightly bit down. “Because I will devour every inch of you if given the chance.”
“Is that supposed to scare me?” I breathed out a laugh. “Sounds like one hell of a great time to me.”
Onyx captured my lips for a soft kiss, then murmured against them, “You truly are a curse unlike any other. But I’m far too selfish to send you away.”
“I don’t want you to.” His woodsmoke scent strengthened, and I was powerless against him. Unable to fight my hunger for him, one that was far from being sated, I slammed our lips together and let the taste of him consume me.
Onyx returned the kiss with just as much fervor, twisting his fingers in the back of my hair and rocking his hips upward.
I whimpered as the head of his thick cock nudged my crack.
Nudged but not penetrated. I reached between us and took hold of him, guiding him into place. Right where I needed him.
But just as I began to sink down, he grabbed my hips to stop me.
“Such a greedy little bird,” he said with a smile slanting his lips. “Thinking you can fuck yourself on my cock whenever you like.”
“You don’t want me to?” I panted against his mouth. My body ached for him so deeply I couldn’t control the movement of my hips. I squirmed on top of him, almost maddened by the need to seat myself on his swollen cock. To feel him bottom out inside me.
“What I want is for you to shatter in my arms.” Onyx pressed his thick cock head against my hole and eased in just enough for me to feel a subtle sting.
The maddening lust burning through my bloodstream heightened even further as I felt him twitch.
“Over and over again. Until that fateful day comes for us and the flames consume us both.”
He shoved inside of me. All the way to the hilt.
I gasped and arched my spine, throwing my head back. His teeth found the base of my throat and nipped as he thrust up into me, hard and fast. No slow buildup like usual. Just a fast fucking that had my brain rattling in my skull and pleasure exploding through every nerve ending.
He stared up at me through long, black lashes, his lips parting. Lips I captured in a heated kiss, the action rough and fueled by lust just like the snapping of his hips. The water undulated around us, some of it rolling over the top and splashing on the cave floor.
To Onyx, our love was like an asteroid vaulting toward a lone, unshielded planet. Collision inevitable.
But to me? Our love was like an ember. The fire was lit but not yet strong enough to burn without carefully tending to the flames. But each kiss drew us closer to that point. Each touch fanned those flames, breathing life into them.
As his body moved inside mine, his lips skating over my jaw, chin, and down my neck, I reveled in the warm tingle of that glowing ember, hopeful that it’d burn brighter someday. A beacon to light the way for the happy ending he thought to be impossible.