The Lovers
L ightning broke apart the sky, and the heavy rain cast the world into darkness.
It was as if the gods raged in the heavens and punished us on earth with this vengeance, so when Kaid pounded on my window, I stood motionless in shock, convinced I’d imagined him.
He beat on the glass again, timing his strikes with the storm’s power, and only then did I realize my thief hung outside in the flesh and not in my mind.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I flung open the window, water pelting my face. I had to shout to be heard over the downpour, but thankfully, its violence concealed our voices.
“I figured tonight was the perfect time to visit.” His smile twisted his scarred lips, and gods, was his smile enough to light up the world even on this stormy night.
“It’s growing increasingly difficult to find cracks in the temple’s defenses, but right now the guards are huddled away from the rain. ”
“For good reason,” I said, the cold droplets pelting my face as the Season of the Harvest stole the Growth’s heat. “Only a fool would venture out in this weather. You could’ve been struck by lightning.”
“I don’t care.” He leaned forward, pushing his dripping head into my room. “Kiss me and then I’ll leave.”
“Leave?” I asked as I captured his chiseled jaw in my hands, and I noticed the rain had washed his temples clean of Varas’ ashes.
I hoped his god’s protection hadn’t abandoned him because of it.
The stains helped him remain hidden, and while his skill could elude any mortal, I worried it wasn’t enough to hide him from Hreinasta. He needed his god’s shielding.
“I’m soaked,” he said against my mouth as I tasted his icy lips, and I kissed him deeply as if to force my warmth into him.
“My clothes will drip all over your floor if I come in,” he groaned as my tongue licked the seam of his mouth.
I’d grown bolder since our first touch, but no matter how many times I had his hands on me, his body pressed against mine, it was never enough.
I was starving, and only he could satisfy the hollowness in my chest.
“So, take them off.” I pulled against his jaw, urging him inside.
“Sellah.” My name was a warning on his tongue.
“I’ll wrap you in a dry blanket,” I said, even though the thought of covering his body disappointed me. I was curious to know if he was as beautiful as I imagined.
“I’m not sure…”
“The storm will shield us,” I urged, kissing him again, and he lost his will to fight.
He pulled himself through my window, and I shoved the couch out of the way to save it from the rain.
Kaid peeled off his shirt and hung it out of the window so it wouldn’t trail puddles over the floor, but he froze when he caught me staring.
I’d never seen a man’s skin before. I’d never witnessed the curve of a man’s chest, the plains of his abs, the hard ridges and magnificent contours of his muscles.
It was exquisite, and my fingers itched to run along his biceps, to brush against his peaked nipples, to trace every line of his stomach, every blue vein that rose on his forearms. He was divine, otherworldly, and he was mine.
“Sellah,” he chuckled so low my chest vibrated. “Do you want to turn around?”
“I…” My voice faltered. I didn’t know how to ask him for this favor. “Can I… never mind.” I turned away, but Kaid’s wet hand captured my wrist.
“Don’t be afraid to voice your thoughts.” He pulled me to face him. “You can trust me with them.”
“I want to see you.” I blushed with a soft giggle, and Kaid smiled silently, granting me the space to gather my confidence.
“I’m afraid to ask because my entire life has taught me to fear touch, but I don’t want this anymore.
I have no choice. I’m trapped in a life that was decided before I was born.
You asked if I had known the truth about my pledge, would I have chosen differently?
I have your answer now, Kaid. I would. I don’t want to disappear.
I want friendship, love, a family. So may I see you? ”
“You know I cannot refuse you anything.” With slow, deliberate movements, Kaid reached for his pants’ laces and undid them one by one as he kicked off his boots.
My mouth went dry as the waist fell below his hip bones, baring the angled muscles of his pelvis.
The cool night suddenly burned dangerously hot, and I couldn’t breathe.
I was suffocating as I watched. I knew Kaid was my male perfection, but seeing him like this was like witnessing a god among men.
None of the deities compared to the man before me, and I wanted to worship him with my hands, my mouth, my body.
“Sellah?” he whispered, the word a plea. His pants hung dangerously low, his arousal evident. He’d explained one night while we lay wrapped in each other’s arms the beauty of love, and so I understood what I saw beneath the fabric, but nothing prepared me to actually witness him.
“Tell me to stop,” he begged. “Tell me to leave.”
“Why?” My voice emerged raw and thick. Just moments ago, he’d been eager to grant my wish, and I couldn’t imagine why he suddenly wanted to escape my presence.
“Because if I do this.” He tugged at his pants as if to draw my attention, but it was unnecessary because they had already slipped lower, a hint of his curve escaping.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be able to stand over here alone.
I know you simply wished to see me, but it’s too much.
Please, Sellah, tell me to go. Make me go. ”
“No.” I stepped closer, made bold by the fear of losing him to the darkness. Kaid hissed as if in pain, but my one step altered the course of our future. That single movement rewrote our destiny, and he released his pants.
They fell into a wet heap on the floor, and he snatched them up to hang out the window, but I didn’t see his movements. All I saw was him, bare and glorious. So impossibly tall. Chiseled as if made of stone, and when my sight dipped to his legs, I saw just how magnificent he was.
“Sellah,” he groaned, as if he was suffering. “Please, my love, grab me a blanket. I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t stop drinking in the sight of me like that, I’ll take you until you know who you belong to. Please don’t tempt me.”
“I want to belong to you.”
“Sellah, stop.” I watched his control snap thread by frayed thread.
“I already belong to you.”
“Sellah…”
“I always have. I always will.”
Kaid's restraint snapped, and he lunged for me so fast that I barely inhaled before his lips crashed against mine. This kiss wasn’t like the others.
It was rough and hungry. He was dying, and I was life, and he pushed his tongue into his mouth.
I moaned at the claiming, not bothering to stifle my cries.
No one could hear us over the war in the heavens, and I finally let him experience my voice.
“Gods forgive me for this request, but will you let me take your clothes off?” he asked against my lips. “I feel a thief for asking, but I need to see you before you leave me. We don’t have to do anything besides look, but will you grant me this memory?”
“You’re here to take and plunder and own,” I said with a smile. “But what you want, you can’t steal. A man cannot steal what’s already his.” I grabbed his hand and placed it on the collar of my dress. “Can you do it, though? I’m nervous.”
“I don’t want this if it scares you.”
“Good nervous, Kaid,” I assured him. “Please, don’t stop. Just help me.”
Kaid kissed me gently and then slipped his fingers below the dress’ neckline.
He stood to his full height, smiling at me as he pulled the fabric off my shoulders.
I had the sudden urge to fold my arms over my chest, but I took a deep breath and placed my hands atop his.
I squeezed him tight, and together we slid the garment off my body.
I was too nervous to look down and see my nudity, so I watched Kaid’s awe instead.
He studied every inch of me as if I was priceless gold.
Love and longing filled his eyes, and after a long minute, he lifted his gaze.
His smile grew wider, and the kiss he pressed to my mouth was devoted adoration.
“I’ll never love another woman,” he said.
“I’ll wait for you. I’ll swear a vow of celibacy, and when your spirit returns, I’ll be here because I don’t want anyone else.
” His fingers drew abstract designs on my clavicle.
“Thank you for trusting me. Would you like me to help you put your dress back on?”
“No.” I stepped into his gravity, pressing my bare chest against his as I wrapped him in my embrace.
He froze at the sudden contact, but I didn’t let go.
I moved until our hips touched, until I felt every inch of him against my belly, and I gazed up at his impossible height with bold purpose.
“I want you to wait for me. I hope you’re here when I reemerge, and I selfishly don’t want you with another woman, but don’t swear a vow of celibacy just yet. ”
Kaid’s eyebrows pinched at my words, but the second understanding hit him, his eyes widened.
He stood frozen in my arms, as if trying to process the moment, and I couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling out of me.
I rose onto my toes and kissed him, and that unlocked him from his shock.
He hoisted me up against his chest, capturing my lips with a burning need, and strode across the room until my calves hit the mattress.
He released my waist, and I toppled onto the bed, my form gloriously on display for his eyes to feast upon.
“Goddess,” he growled as he stepped between my legs, nudging them wider with his knees. “For that’s what you are,” he continued, his eyes devouring me. “There’s nothing on this earth or in the heavens as perfect as you. Your beauty is unmatched, and it’s mine. Say it, Sellah. Tell me you’re mine.”