Chapter Forty-One
THE SPY
“Where are you going?” Dom’s low voice pierced my drowsy haze as I headed toward my room in the healing quarter.
Turning, I stumbled, confusion marring my brow. “To my bed. Where are you going?”
Shadows collected around his knuckles. “I had hoped you might stay with me tonight. Just so I know you’re alright.
” He tucked his hands in his pockets. A lock of dark hair slipped across his forehead in response to hours of dragging his hands through it, his tell for both exasperation and deep thought.
I extended my hand. “Then take me home.”
He tucked me into his side, my head barely reaching his shoulder.
I didn’t mind it when his strong arm wrapped around my waist. We were walking as though we were in a drunken three-legged race, which elicited a delirious giggle from me.
He glanced down, a grin smeared across his own lips.
The stars glittered above us, mirroring the twinkle of the magic in my veins.
I didn’t have to look behind me to know that with every step I took, I left sparkling ice in my wake.
Dom opened the thick wooden door for me, and this time, the fire in the hearth was fully lit, casting a warm glow throughout his home. I followed him to the kitchen where he put water in a kettle.
I hopped on the counter, leaning slightly back to watch as he rolled back the sleeves of his shirt, exposing muscular forearms honed by years of physical training. He turned the heat up on his stove, and raked his hands through his messy hair that never ceased to appear artfully disheveled.
The silence between us grew heavy with the mounting tension of unspoken thoughts. Two warm mugs of spiced tea steamed with Dom’s preparations.
He brought them over, his face a careful mask as he moved to stand between my legs. Never breaking eye contact, he relinquished the mugs, then began kneading the coiled muscles in my shoulders. A groan escaped me as I leaned into his touch, and he paused.
He opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it, resuming his careful movements. I shifted closer to him, aligning our bodies. Peering up, I stared at his lips. “I want you,” I whispered.
He swept my hair away from my face in a tender, casual gesture.
“M’est kisertes.” He appeared pained. “I brought you here because my heart and my magic are restless when we’re apart.
I cannot be at peace if you’re not with me.
I am a jealous man and once you’re mine, I will not let you go.
I know I told you that whatever you chose to give me would be enough, but I was wrong.
” He clenched his hand around the countertop, eyes blazing. “I want everything.”
My magic purred.
Though I still sifted through programmed lies and distrust of myself, I wanted him to know I would give it all.
“I didn’t know how dangerous hope could feel.
” Fear still hovered in the background, but I could not deny how my hidden longing for a loving home, one that I had never truly had, found its culmination in this steadfast man.
His lips grazed my temple. His gravelly tone stoked the embers of my soul. “We can walk this path together. I will protect your heart with all my power and strength. With my very life.”
He exuded quiet reassurance as my fingers skated across his forehead to push the persistent lock of hair away from his brow.
I summoned my courage. “You cut through my shields and awakened something I thought was long dead. You laid to rest something I thought I had needed to survive.”
He reached for me then, twining his fingers with mine. “You have nothing to fear. Never from me.”
His declaration and my acceptance of it clicked something final into place. My own possession erupted. I was in my body, and yet not.
A tug in my chest had my hand grasping at my heart, which had momentarily palpitated. Dom coughed, his breath mimicking mine, his own hand reaching over his heart with a wince. The gold rings around his eyes pulsed.
He peered closer to my face, imperceptibly squinting. “Your eyes…” He trailed off, surprise overtaking his features. We both stood on the knife’s edge of desire, our bodies flaring and responding to our emotions.
Dom gripped my jaw, bringing my gaze back to his. “Tell me you’re mine,” he demanded.
I studied his face, full of everything I didn’t know I needed. “I’m yours, Dominus. I think I’ve always been yours. I just didn’t know it.”
His fingers scored my scalp, tangling with my hair. He tugged on it, angling my head up as his other hand stroked down the side of my face. I licked my lips.
“You are mine, Liora, and I yours. As sure as the dawn.” Reverently, he leaned forward, his lips brushing mine.
I sighed into him, my hands snaking their way up his chest, savoring the wall of muscle beneath.
Hope burned through the fear that tried to coil around my tentativeness.
Safe. I was safe. The last vestiges of my resistance fell away. And I staked my claim.
Our lips touched, teased, pressed, exhaling their fervent prayers. His tongue caressed my softly parted lips. He was smoke and fire, honey and sharp edges. Our hands searched, gripping each other tighter, our bodies igniting. Our movements turned feral. For we were both starving.
Dizzy, floating, all of my senses zeroed in on the sensuous man before me—his masculine scent, his muscular arms, and broad chest—a firm, stabilizing presence. It was as if I were his precious metal, and I would let him melt me down in any way he pleased.
I ravenously felt my way around his mouth, savoring his tongue.
I bit his lower lip as I fought to contain my moan.
His forearms flexed, gripping my hips. He kissed down my jawline, nipping my shoulder while my hair twisted in his grip so he could move my head to the perfect angle.
He mercilessly licked his way up my needy throat.
We grew hungrier, our bodies heating the air around us.
If I was flint, he was the striker, and together we detonated.
His teeth grazed my jaw. I leaned back savoring the drag, but I wanted more.
So much more. He swallowed my moan with a devouring kiss as I rocked further into him.
His arousal pushed against me, igniting every nerve.
My heart literally skipped, jolting me. It was as if time had stalled, and it was only us, only ever us, and the stars. We paused, staring into the galaxies of our eyes. When I finally came back to myself, refocusing, I gasped.
Our magic swirled around us in an ethereal ballet.
His shadows and my water twisted, braiding around themselves.
Bands of light shot out in glittering strobes from amidst the undulating waves of magic.
Tiny pieces of metal and ice floated, suspended in the air like fireflies.
The glow of the hearth reflected on their shimmering surfaces, refracting the tiny bands of light that continued to intermittently zip out.
Dom and I intertwined our fingers, wondrously captivated by the strange magical dance unfolding around us, our physical explorations on pause.
In the midst of our enchantment a single magenta thread appeared, weaving its way around us.
It encircled our wrists, and curled around our waists, cinching us closer.
The thread separated, migrating to our collarbones.
It curled and swirled around itself, morphing into symbols, where it silently embedded into our skin.
A tender sting seared the delicate flesh on my chest, right below my clavicle.
I pulled down the collar of Dom’s shirt to get a better look, but as I did the thread dissolved into nothing, leaving behind a small, faint, glimmering silver symbol right above his heart.
It stood out even among the runic writing that now pulsed brightly beneath his skin.
Thoughts would not form when feelings overrode me.
I was a furnace, insatiable when it came to the taste of him.
I could feel the thump of his heartbeat as it synced to my own.
I needed it all. His lips crashed back into mine.
My hands devoured his body. His fingers traced every dip and curve of mine.
Our magic writhed. Heavy and energized, soft and aggressive.
Not releasing his mouth from mine, he scooped me up off of the counter. I spilled my cup of tea as he whirled me out of the kitchen. Laughter burst out of me, but Dom growled in response at my attempt to break our kiss.
My arms wrapped around his neck and my legs twined around his waist. He cupped the back of my head with one hand, the other tightly gripping my ass as we ascended the stairs.
I winced when he accidentally walked me into the side of the stairwell, a mumbled apology within the haze of our delirium the only response.
We entered his bedroom and I drew back for a gasp of air. I glanced around at his large room. Exposed beams framed the ceiling, and a glass door opened to a balcony facing the jagged mountain peaks.
Dom never took his eyes off of me, frustration pinching his voice.
“You should probably know that Xuri had organized for a coracite paste to be dropped off, to lighten your hair. Though I like it as it is, she seems to be aligned with your mother that hiding its color is imperative.” He followed my gaze out the window, then turned back to me, sighing.
“And since we have to leave tomorrow, we should probably take care of that now. But the choice is always yours.” His shadows grazed my body as he awaited my response.
I groaned at the thought of doing my hair at this very moment, when all my body screamed for was Dom. Or sleep. Or both.
“Xuri told me how it works; let me do this for you.” He bit my earlobe.
“You want to color my hair?” It sounded surprisingly dreamy, if a little bit of a letdown.