Chapter Thirty-Nine
I said goodbye to all of my husbands and my children, laruking to Earth for Daxon and Caelum, to Unseelie for Raza and Shahzadi, and finally to Seelie for Tiernan and Falcas.
I also retrieved my scry phone and Demon sword.
The Anthousai and Seelie soldiers who'd been hurt by the blight were back to normal and had returned to their homes or, in the case of the soldiers, their barracks.
It was a relief to have things back to normal in Seelie. Especially my husband.
Tiernan sprawled naked on our royal bed, perfect against the backdrop of gold and cream velvet.
He motioned, and my feet rose from the floor, his magic taking me to him.
Laughing, I shed my clothing along the way.
As I reached the bed, Tiernan sat up to help me with my panties, his head bending to nuzzle me as he drew the silk away.
And then he lay back, taking me with him, his magic still holding me aloft.
Tiernan positioned me over his face and stared up at me as he gave me one last, erotic memory to take with me to Hell.
With those gleaming, metallic eyes staring up at me and Tiernan's elegant hands massaging my breasts, I let myself go.
We had saved Seelie together, and we deserved to celebrate.
I closed my eyes, braced myself on the headboard, and focused on the hot, wet feel of Tiernan's tongue working me into rapture.
I couldn't keep still; my hips automatically undulating over him until he grabbed them and held me firm.
Circling my bud, Tiernan brought me into screaming release, and I convulsed over him.
Thigh muscles gave way. I collapsed. But my husband was there to catch me with love and magic, laying me down on the velvet below him.
Eyes fluttering open, I watched him settle between my legs.
The hard length of him pressed against my aching center, but he only ground against me and slid over my sex.
Tiernan was more interested in kissing me through the aftershocks of my climax, feeling me shudder against him.
Only when my shivering stopped did he ease back and kiss his way down my throat to take the peak of my breast into his mouth.
“Tiernan,” I murmured.
“Remember me, Seren.” He sucked hard on my nipple before rising onto his knees.
“Always.”
“Look at me.”
I gladly looked, taking in my husband's glorious body—his sculpted chest drawing my attention down to his rippled belly, and then to the swollen piece of flesh he held in his hand.
As I watched, he rubbed the pink, plump head through my sex, making it glisten.
Then his questioning flesh found its path and pressed into me.
I cried out, my thighs spreading wider and my eyes automatically closing.
“Don't look away!” Tiernan grabbed my hips and pulled me to him. “Look at us.”
I opened my eyes and fastened my gaze on the joining of our bodies.
Once I focused on the erotic slide of Tiernan entering me, I couldn't look away.
It was mesmerizing, that glossing rod going in and out with my body clinging to it.
I propped myself on my arms to see better, and Tiernan pulled me astride his lap.
Moving his legs forward and mine around him, he slowly ground up into me.
We kept our upper bodies apart so we could watch our joining.
“We are one,” Tiernan said, pulling my gaze up to his face. “Even when apart.”
I kissed him, letting him feel what my heart had to say.
Sweet at first, the kiss quickly changed into something wild, and I got on my knees to ride him.
Ecstasy forced me to end our kiss so I could brace myself on Tiernan's shoulders and slam onto him faster.
His hands wandered, cupping my breasts, rubbing my back, and sliding up my throat.
But it was his silver gaze that made me shiver, the intensity in it magnifying my pleasure until it burst forth once more.
My muscles locked up as I clenched my husband's flesh inside me, and I threw my head back to moan. This was what I'd been missing—this sweet release without the taint of guilt. It was so good that I came down only to surge into a new round.
As I shuddered and mewled through the resurgence, Tiernan repositioned us again, turning me onto my stomach to enter me from behind.
My brain shorted out with the influx of pleasure, and I went wild.
Even though I was still at the end of a climax, I pushed onto my hands and knees, forcing Tiernan up onto his knees as well.
With a primal cry, I slammed back onto him.
Tiernan was done letting me take over. He grabbed my hips to hold me still and thrust into me so powerfully that I had to brace one hand against the headboard to keep from knocking myself unconscious.
Hair thrashing, body jerking, and eyes rolling back in my head, I was right back to loving Tiernan so completely that no one else mattered.
We came together, him roaring my name, and me screaming his.
Smoothly, as we had done thousands of times, we turned toward each other and settled into an embrace.
Only then did I remember I loved other men.
But it was all right. I was prepared for it.
This time, when my heart remembered it belonged to others, it didn't fill with guilt.
I knew I would be consumed by each of my husbands when I was with them.
Fully. Because I gave myself fully to them, and they to me.
That's why I felt this way when I made love to one of them.
It wasn't fickleness or inconstancy. It was devotion.
It was a love so deep that it could blind me to other love for a little while. And I had it with five men.
Yes, all right, maybe six. But knowing that was like putting on armor.
I was prepared for Star now. I knew I only felt consumed by him in our dreams because it was a place that made me forget and focus.
It wasn't my love for him that did that; it was the dream.
I hoped. Either way, I knew that he couldn't make me forget them.
Sighing, I looked up at Tiernan.
“Yes, I know.” Tiernan kissed me.
I kissed him back with everything I had, and then slid out of bed, away from him. Tiernan sat up and propped himself against the pillows to watch me get dressed. The last thing I put on was my belt, with my Demon sword attached. That's when he got up and came to me.
“I love you.” I went into his arms.
Tiernan held me tightly and then let go abruptly. “I love you too.” He smoothed my hair. “Bring me back a trinket from Hell.”
I chuckled. “I'll see what I can do.”
Tiernan stepped back, his expression turning grave.
“Don't be afraid. I'm not going to war.”
“You rather are, my love.”
“If I am, my win is assured. And that means your win is assured. Remember what Rowan told Killian.”
“Don't cry.” Tiernan smirked. “I won't. But I will miss you.”
“I'll miss you too.”
“Give 'em hell, Seren.”
I winked at him and laleked away.
Seconds later, in a swirl of embers, I arrived on Hell.
The King of Hell awaited me with his personal guards lined up behind him, all of them standing on the steps of Hell's Royal Castle.
I stood in the open courtyard, kept empty for my arrival.
Knights stood upon the castle walls, and several members of the castle staff watched from the sidelines.
Behind me, the massive gate showed only mist past its bars, its magic blocking the sight of Hell's landscape as well as the scent of sulfur.
The courtyard was minimal, just enough space for a carriage to come around from the back and roll through the gates.
Most of the area before the main keep was a garden, lush with exotic plants.
Seeing it reminded me of the Garden of Regret.
And of my dreams. King Astaroth lifted his chin.
This was the first time we'd seen each other in person in over eight months.
But we had seen each other every night in our dreams. We had been intimate, and that hung between us now.
I strode forward, right through the tension, and up the crushed shell path to Hell's King.
“Queen Seren.” Astaroth came down the steps to greet me. “Thank you for coming. Welcome back to Hell.”
“Thank you for having me.”
“Oh, for fuck's sake, this is ridiculous,” Sallales, one of Star's guards, muttered.
Star shot a nasty look over his shoulder at her.
“Hi, Sal!” I called.
“Hey, Your Majesty!” Sal called back. “You gonna make our king an honest man?”
“He's the King of Hell. No one can make him honest.”
Star snorted a laugh and held out a hand. “You might stand a chance.”
“No, Star. There's no chance.” I shook his hand instead of taking it, and the skin around Star's bright green eyes tightened. “I'm here for Hell. I hope that fulfilling my destiny will finally put an end to our . . . issues.”
“I see.” He dropped my hand. “Then, by all means, come inside, Queen Seren. We have plans to make.”
The King of Hell escorted me into his home, his guards falling into formation behind us, and as the massive doors closed, a tingling ran up my body from my feet to the top of my head.
Star paused. “Did you feel that?”
“Yes.”
He made a huffing sound. “Maybe you're right, Seren. It's time to end this.”