20. Chapter Twenty #4
His thrusts grow erratic, stuttering, the careful control he’s maintained all night crumbling to dust. He’s no longer fucking me with precision.
He’s grinding. Rutting. Chasing. I realize through the haze of pleasure that he’s lost. Gone.
He’s undone by want, grinding into me with broken, desperate motions, his forehead pressed to my shoulder and his fangs grazing my skin with every panting breath.
“Can’t—“ he grits out. “You feel too—I can’t—”
Pleasure rips through me and all I can do is cling to him.
His grinding grows even more frantic as he feels me come apart around him, his hips slamming against mine in short, jagged thrusts that prolong my orgasm.
There is nothing but him. Nothing but the heat and the fullness and the sound of his broken voice calling my name.
His groan echoes around me. His cocks pulse as his release floods through him.
Hot seed spills into me, jet after jet of liquid heat that paints my insides and drips down my thighs as another climax rockets through me.
His body shudders against mine, scales rippling with the force of his climax, tail lashing once against the wet floor before curling back around my leg and squeezing tight.
His fangs graze the vulnerable skin of my neck. I feel the points, sharp as needles, resting just above my pulse. He doesn’t bite. He just holds them there, trembling, breathing me in, and I tilt my head back to give him more room because I trust him with everything I am.
“Mine,” he rasps against my throat. “And I’m yours, my female. Forever.”
Forever. The word settles into my bones like it’s always lived there.
We stay joined, foreheads together, long after the shaking stops. His tail unwinds from my calf and winds around my thigh. A subtle shift. A tighter claim.
He stirs and moves his hips, withdrawing from my body. His seed spills down my inner thighs the moment he’s free, and a small, bereft sound escapes my throat.
His amber eyes flick to mine, and the corner of his mouth curves in that almost-smile I’ve come to treasure.
“I’m still here,” he murmurs. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He washes our release away, his touch gentle.
I try to stand steady for him, but my legs are jelly.
He shuts the water off. Steam curls around us in ghostly tendrils as he reaches for a towel and wraps it around my shoulders, patting me dry.
I sway on my feet, my eyelids drooping, and he catches me with one arm around my waist.
“Almost done,” he assures me.
He swipes the towel over himself in a few brisk, efficient motions, and scoops me into his arms, carrying me to the bed.
He lays me beneath the covers and climbs in beside me, wrapping himself around me. One arm slides beneath my head. The other drapes across my waist. His tail curls over my hip and anchors me to him.
My eyes are already closing when I spot a familiar shape on the table beside the bed.
Percy.
I realize I didn’t know where he was after Zavin had brought me here. Zavin took care of him for me. For a long while, neither of us says anything at all. His hand moves slow circles against my back as my eyes grow impossibly heavy.
“What happens tomorrow?” I ask.
His hand keeps moving. “The House needs rebuilding. The Council will want answers. Kazren’s tribunal has to be arranged.” His voice is a low rumble beneath my ear. “But for now I have my female in my arms. The world can wait for one night. Or however long I deem it to.”
My gaze drifts to where Percy sits dark and silent. Somewhere inside him are the maps I built. Every maintenance tunnel. Every unregistered dock. Every route off this planet that doesn’t run through House Sethrak’s checkpoints.
The maps are still there. I could still use them tomorrow if I wanted to.
But I won’t.
I close my eyes and, for the first time since Helix, I don’t listen for footsteps outside the door.
Zavin’s hearts beat steady under my ear. I am held. I am loved. I am home.
*