Chapter 20 #2
Slow at first, he let her feel every inch dragging along her most sensitive nerves.
Then he moved faster and harder, the bed frame protesting, the headboard knocking against the cabin wall in a primal rhythm.
His hand slipped between them again, thumb circling her clit in time with his thrusts, and the dual assault shattered her.
She came with a sharp cry, her inner muscles clamping down on him, riding wave after wave of blinding pleasure.
Seth’s rhythm stuttered. His head dropped to her shoulder, as his teeth grazed the tender spot where neck met shoulder and she had a sudden image in her mind, of him biting her.
The idea made her gasp, but not in fear. Somehow, it turned her on.
“Petra—” It was a warning and a plea.
“Do it,” she gasped, tilting her head in invitation. “Mark me.”
She didn’t know where the words came from. She didn’t even really know what she was asking for, but it felt right as his teeth sank into her skin on the very next thrust.
The sharp sting on her neck melted instantly into white-hot ecstasy that rolled through her blood like wildfire.
She felt him licking over the small wounds and the slight pain disappeared as a second orgasm slammed through her, even stronger than the first. It was then that she felt a mighty bond snap into place between them.
It felt shimmery and golden, unbreakable and perfect.
Seth roared her name, hips jerking as he spilled inside her, pulse after pulse of heat branding her from the inside out. The mark on her neck flared with intensity and pleasure that bound them so tight, she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.
When the storm finally passed, he didn’t pull out. He just rolled them gently so she was draped over his chest, still joined, and still trembling with aftershocks. His hand stroked down her spine, soothing and reverent.
“You okay?” he murmured into her hair, his voice rough with what sounded like awe.
She managed a shaky laugh. “I’m pretty sure I just saw the edge of the universe.”
He huffed a soft laugh, pressing a kiss to the mark on her neck. It tingled with awareness under his lips.
“Good. It’s already healing. This will form a permanent sigil that declares us as mates. Not every type of shifter still marks their mates this way, but my people are ancient and rare. We hold to the old ways. I’m sorry if it hurt,” he said, kissing her neck sweetly.
“It’s fine,” she replied at once, though she sounded weary and worn out even to her own ears. “I think I’m going to enjoy wearing your mark.”
Outside, the sun began to set, shining in orangey swaths across the cabin walls, but inside there was only the sound of their hearts finding the same rhythm. Petra noted the setting of the sun absently, wondering what time it was, but she didn’t wonder for long.
It became apparent that Seth wasn’t done with her. Not by a long shot. His fingers tightened on her hips, and she felt him hardening inside her again, impossibly fast, as if the first release had only whetted his appetite.
“Petra,” he growled, low and dangerous, rolling them until she was beneath him once more. “I need you again. Now.”
Her body answered before she could utter a word. Her core clenched around him, fresh heat flooding her veins. The mark on her neck hummed with heat, seeming to amplify every sensation, turning want into raw need.
“Yes,” she gasped, nails digging into his shoulders. “Take me, Seth. I’m yours.”
He withdrew almost completely, then thrust back in hard, deep, and sublimely possessive. She cried out, the angle hitting new depths, pleasure bordering on exquisite pain. His mouth found the mating mark, his teeth grazing it just enough to send sparks shooting through her blood.
But he didn’t keep them on the bed. In one fluid motion, he lifted her, still buried inside, and pinned her against the rough wooden wall of the cabin.
The cool planks bit into her back, contrasting with the delicious heat of his skin, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking him in place.
“Mine,” he snarled against her throat, hips snapping forward in a punishing rhythm that made the wall creak.
Each thrust drove her higher, his hands gripping her thighs hard, in the best possible way. She loved that she could make him lose control like this. That she could drive him to such passion.
Petra’s head fell back, thudding gently against the wood as she met him stroke for stroke, her body arching to take him deeper. His mouth claimed hers in a bruising kiss as one of his hands slid between them, fingers finding her clit again, circling with relentless pressure.
“Come for me,” he commanded, voice a guttural rasp. “Let me feel you shatter around me again, my beloved mate.”
That word—mate—pushed her over. Her climax crashed through her like a tidal wave, fiercer than the last, her inner walls milking him in rhythmic pulses. She screamed his name, the sound muffled against his shoulder as she bit down this time, not breaking skin but hard enough to make him roar.
Seth followed instantly, slamming home one last time, flooding her with heat as his release tore through him.
The new bond between them seemed to flare brighter, sealing them tighter, magic weaving through their souls.
She hadn’t known anything about magic before coming to the castle but apparently Judy’s teachings had penetrated.
Petra could feel the magic flowing between herself and Seth and knew it was something truly special.
They slid to the floor together, a boneless heap of sweat-slicked limbs and ragged breaths. Seth cradled her against his chest, one hand resting possessively over the curve of her ass, the other tracing the small bruises he’d accidently caused on her thighs with gentle apology.
“Was it too much? Did I hurt you?” he asked, though his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
“Never. It was perfect,” she whispered, nuzzling into his neck. “Everything I needed.”
“Petra,” he breathed against her neck. “You’re everything.
Everything,” he repeated, then threw his head back as he grinned so wide it changed his whole face.
“I never thought I would be so blessed as to find my one true mate, but now that you’re here, I’ll do all in my power to keep you safe.
To protect you and strengthen you in every way possible, so that we can spend the rest of our lives learning and growing together. As it should be.”
“That sounds beautiful,” she whispered, almost overcome with emotion at the real feeling in his words.
She could hear his heartbeat beneath her ear, strong and steady.
Outside, the sun was almost gone from the sky for another day.
She knew their temporary respite away from the castle was coming to an end, but she didn’t mind.
Somehow, with him beside her and their relationship deeper than anything she’d ever experienced before, she was ready to face whatever came next.
“I guess we have to go back,” she whispered to him, not wanting to speak too loud and break the spell of intimacy.
“Eventually,” he agreed, “though right now, I wish we didn’t. I’d much rather keep you all to myself forever and tell the rest of the world to go away.”
Petra felt boneless, satisfied, and slightly dazed by what had just happened, but Seth took good care of her.
He separated their bodies and lifted her into his arms, taking her into the bathroom and setting her under a warm shower spray.
He joined her there and his hands were gentle on her skin as he washed her.
When she would have reached for him, he scooted away. “I wish we could, but we just don’t have the time,” he explained. “But you can bet I’m going to be in your bed tonight and every night from now until forever, so hold that thought for when we’re alone, in your room, in the castle.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she teased, feeling a thrill go through her at his possessive words.
“You do that,” he replied, stepping out of the shower and grabbing towels for them both.