CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT #2
He felt his hips roll forward, almost as if on their own, like every single part of his body was craving hers.
And he was done holding back. Releasing her from his hold, he stood straight and began to unhook his belt, then his buttons, freeing himself as he slid his pants down.
A ravenous look sparked in Cadi’s eyes when he wrapped his hand around his cock and began pumping slowly, deliberately.
She propped herself up on her hands. A sly grin slid across her face as she reached forward and replaced his hand with her own before she leaned down to wrap her perfect lips around his hard length.
“Fuck,” he hissed, as he watched her take him. Her eyes never left his, holding him in her stare as she moved. If she kept that up, he was going to—holy fuck.
Cadi rolled her tongue against the head of his cock, and a pressure began to build at the base of his spine, creeping higher with each pass she made.
He never wanted her to stop. But he didn’t just want to feel this way because of her—he needed to share it with her.
So, with what was left of his strength and probably a little bit of his sanity, he reached down and gently touched his fingers to her chin.
She looked up at him, her brows pinched in confusion as he bent forward to kiss her and climb onto the bed. His hands cupped her face, his kiss turning more demanding as the fire between them grew, even though they both knew he would never take from her.
Unless she asked him to.
When Cadi pressed her palms into his chest with a pressure that was light but insistent, it was just enough to send a shockwave of panic into his veins.
Elias broke away, frantically searching her face for any hint of distress or uncertainty.
But instead, he found her smiling up at him as she lifted her hand to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead.
His eyes drifted closed at the softness of her touch, her fingertips practically igniting his skin.
“I want to do something,” she said, her voice breathless. “But I need you to trust me.”
Elias’s brows drew tight as he tried to decode her meaning, but her expression gave nothing away. In her eyes he only found a familiar determination that he knew meant she had made up her mind. And whatever it was, he would give it to her. He would give her anything.
So he nodded.
Cadi’s smile grew at his agreement, and she pulled him close to kiss him before turning around to frame his legs with hers.
So far, he was very much on board with her plan.
He ran his hands over her thighs, angling his head to brush his lips to her ear, then the spot just below. The one that always stole her breath.
But when she took his arm and crossed it over her chest, Elias froze. Images flashed through his mind, each one slicing through him as if he were still there living it. Their reflection in his mirror, his complete lack of control, the look of terror in her eyes as he held her pinned to his chest.
No. He couldn’t taint the beauty of this night with the jagged memories of the one that had nearly destroyed them.
“Cadi …” he said, his tone laced with gentle warning.
She twisted to meet his gaze, her palm drifting against his arm in a small gesture of reassurance.
“I know,” she said as she reached back to brush her thumb over his cheek. “But he doesn’t get to take this from us.”
For a moment, Elias didn’t move. He was torn between the desire to give her everything and the cold fear whispering to him that with just one wrong move, they might shatter again.
Cadi held his stare, and beneath her resolve, he saw the brief flicker of something new, and he began to understand.
This wasn’t just something she wanted to do.
It was something she needed. A way to take back her power, to prove to herself that she wouldn’t be broken so easily.
He wanted nothing more than to help her step back into that, so he shoved down his fear, smiled softly, and dipped his chin.
She let out a shaky breath and kissed him again before she turned back around, leaving sparks dancing across his lips.
He prayed that this would work and that the memories they were building now in his bed would be powerful enough to break any hold that night still had over them, but his worries were cut short when Cadi leaned forward to lift her hips.
Elias hesitated for only a moment before he reached down to align himself with her, then gently guided her down.
The way her body felt when it wrapped around him, welcoming him in, was like coming home.
His breath shook as he tried to contain himself while she settled, feeling her muscles relax around him to let him deeper.
After a beat of stillness, he angled his hips up to signal to her that he was ready, and she started to move.
The first, smooth roll of her hips had Elias seeing stars. Every thought was stolen from his mind as they moved together, their bodies syncing effortlessly in the dark in a familiar conversation spoken in a language only they knew.
Cadi tipped her head back with a soft moan and threaded her hand to the back of his neck, drawing him closer.
He dragged his mouth against her skin in answer, a low growl rumbling free at the salty tang of her sweat that clung to his lips.
It was primal and raw, and it completely consumed him as he moved inside her.
“Gods, I missed you,” she breathed, digging her fingernails into his nape. His arm flexed against her, holding firm as he rolled his hips harder to bury himself as deep as she could take him. And fucking hell, the noises she made had his vision going blurry.
Every fiber of his body ached to hear her completely undone again, to feel her unravel against him. Inching his hand up her thigh, he let his palm drift lazily over her stomach to tease her before dipping low to circle his fingers against her swollen clit.
“Oh fuck,” she moaned, sending a shock of desire down his spine to settle right where his body connected with hers.
He felt her muscles quiver around him, and the room began to spin when they gripped his cock tight.
Elias let out a breath that was anything but steady, but he couldn’t lose control, not yet.
Not until he’d given her all she could take.
It was his only drive. To feel everything, share everything, be everything with her. Since the first moment he saw her face. Not at the bar, not in the crowd at the temple, but in the middle of the night, when the world had gone quiet.
Ten years before he ever knew she existed.
And now, with her skin pressed against his, her thighs beginning to shake, he could only think of the one thing he’d spent the last two weeks wishing he’d told her.
Brushing his lips against her ear, he let his breath carry her name like a reverent whisper.
“I love you, Arcadia.”
She let out a quiet gasp, angling her head toward him so her mouth ghosted against his.
“Elias, I—”
Her voice broke when a helpless sound slipped free and cut off her reply. Elias pressed up into her, continuing to circle her clit while her breaths grew more and more ragged until she arched into him with a shuddering cry as he worked her past that final edge.
Pressure built low in his body, climbing higher until it completely dominated him.
He moved faster, holding her tight as he raced to join her with each powerful thrust until a rush of pleasure cascaded through him.
A brutal roar broke free from his chest at the euphoria that overtook him, and he buried his face in the crook of Cadi’s neck, anchoring himself to her. To them. And then …
Silence.
Elias just held her in the stillness as the waves of his climax began to recede. Cadi’s body shook softly against his as he leaned close and brushed his lips to her shoulder, up her neck, then pressed them hard to her temple before he lowered her down to the mattress.
He moved her carefully, as if she was the most precious thing he’d ever held.
Because she was. Pulling out of her, he settled onto his side, and drew his hand in soft circles against her back until she was ready to move again.
Even now, he refused to rush her, letting her come back into her body on her own time.
His eyes stayed fixed on her as she turned to face him and reached up to take his face in her hands. She kissed him hard and slow, with a fierceness that made something inside of him crack.
“I love you, too,” she murmured against his lips.
The flutter in his chest stirred with such wild intent it stole his breath, filling him to the point of bursting. This woman who was every piece of him, whose soul was irrevocably tied to his own, who was his entire world … she loved him. It didn’t feel real, but fuck, he was glad it was.
A wide smile stretched across his face, and he leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth.
“I love you,” he told her again, this time softer, almost a prayer as he drifted to her jaw. “Gods, I love you, Cadi.” His voice shook, the words breaking against his will as they spilled from him.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer and tuck her head beneath his chin. Her breath danced against his chest where he held her, its rhythm turning slow and deep.
Elias ran his hand over her curls, unable to hold back the images that flooded his mind.
Visions of a future he’d never dared to believe in until that night, one where they were happy and he could love her without the constant fear of what it might cost. Just a few more days.
The gods’ power would be restored, Oneirios’s bindings would be severed, and there would be nothing left to keep him from telling her everything.
They would be free.