Chapter 26 Aethra #2
He obeyed, running his hand across my entrance before plunging two fingers inside.
I gasped, back arching. Knitting my fingers into his hair, I glanced down to see him flash a sly smirk before he returned to exploring my body with his mouth.
Contorting under the pleasure, my foot slipped on the smooth stone floor. Realizing the water was much deeper but a pace away, I twisted away from him, pulling us both off balance. Distracted, he followed me, losing his footing and slipping into the deep end with me.
Seth grasped my injured arm as we dipped below the surface and pulled us both back up. Scowling, he cradled my broken wrist and flipped his wet hair out of his eyes.
“Why did you—”
A giggling fit took me. Set, the son of a god, who hated getting his hair wet.
His scowl twitched into a smile. Grabbing my waist, he pulled me toward the wall, where the water was shallow enough to stand. I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling his hard length. He lifted me up and pressed my back against the wall.
Warm water trickled down the stone. I knitted my fingers into his waves, desperate to have him inside me. A desperation he shared. Grabbing my thighs, he wrenched them apart and pushed inside me.
A shuddering moan escaped both our lips.
“Seas,” he gasped. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted you?”
I tried to answer, but couldn’t. Trapped against the wall with him so deep inside me, all I could do was moan.
Seth captured my lips in his, silencing me. His hand pressed against the stone wall, fingernails digging into the rock where water trickled from the ceiling into the pond.
Fire raced through my veins, too much and not enough. Every thrust left me gasping, desperate for more.
Breaking my mouth from his, I managed a single word. “Deeper.”
Hand slipping from the wall, he carried me to the pond’s edge and laid me down on the smooth floor before climbing atop me. The brief moment where we separated was agony, and I grabbed his neck, pulling him back to me.
This time, he pushed far deeper inside me, but it still wasn’t enough.
I pressed my hips to his, draping my injured wrist across his back. My other hand traced over him, mapping the hard muscles in his back, the scar trailing down his side, the myriad wounds peppering his lower back and abdomen.
So many scars. He’d teased me, saying they’d come from a dragon, but now I knew the truth.
Grabbing my hand, he pulled it above my head, knitting his fingers through mine. The world faded away. There was just us, his mouth on my neck, our connection.
Seas. I’d never been fucked this hard before. His fingers entwined with mine, clenching my hand tightly. Leaning my head against his, I sought his emotions.
A whirlwind bled into my thoughts. Desire, need, relief. He’d wanted this since the night we’d shared in that cave. Craved it the night we’d spent in Naunet. Every woman he’d laid eyes on had been a blur, mere background noise he hardly paid any mind to.
All he’d ever thought about was me.
Me. The woman I’d thought worthless, undeserving of love.
My breathing came harder; his thrusts lost their steady rhythm. Pleasure bloomed through me. I never wanted this moment to end.
When his lips again met mine, my back arched, and I simply knew.
From this moment forward, I was his. Forever. For as long as I had left.
A beautiful moan escaped him as we reached release together. Panting, I closed my eyes, feeling his hand cup my face before resting in my curls.
I could have lain there forever like that. Content.
Seth lifted himself off me, and I pathetically reached out when I felt him slip out of me. He chuckled, brushing my fingers as he walked by.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised.
Dropping my hand, I lay there like the dramatic princess I was. He returned a moment later, draping a cloak over me before nestling by my side.
“I have something for you,” he said, unfurling his fingers.
A necklace dangled from his hand. Beautifully carved wood hung from a silver cord, shaped to resemble a Duathi rune. It looked like a deer’s antler, or the branches of a tree, flowing and elegant.
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“It’s a tradition, for couples,” he said. “A promise of devotion.”
Bracing myself up on my elbow, I met his eye. “You were carving that back in Therapne.”
“I was.”
“Even though you were planning to poison me?”
“Even so,” he admitted. “I never denied being an idiot.”
Unclasping the cord, he placed it around my neck, entwining its chord with the sapphire necklace from Eleos. Once the wood carving rested between my collarbones, a look of satisfaction flickered across his face. Cupping my face, he lifted my chin and kissed me deeply.
“I love you,” he breathed.
“I love you, too,” I whispered.
Pain tore through his eyes, but also joy. Pulling me to his side, he rested his head above mine, running his fingers through my hair.
“I’d trade it all,” he murmured. “My magic, my crown. Everything. To run away, and be with you.”
“I wouldn’t,” I mumbled. “I still want my house by the lake.”
He laughed. “We’ll steal some gold to buy it. The kids, though? I’ll happily give those to you.”
Pressing my hands to his chest, I ripped away. “Do you want to go again?”
“Woah,” he said. “I don’t want those kids now.”
“Neither do I,” I scoffed, “I just want your dick.”
A laugh erupted from him, and he flipped me over. “As you say, princess.”
Brushing my hair aside, he kissed the back of my neck. As he trailed kisses down my back, I curled my fingers into his cloak, eager to intertwine myself with him again.
His hands trailed over my breasts and hips tenderly—fueled more by love than lust. Nesting his head against mine, he spread my legs with his and slipped inside me.
Gasping, I found his hand and knit my fingers through his. Tucked safely in a loving embrace, my thoughts drifted to my past.
The house by the lake, a loving husband, and two kids—the dream I’d always known I’d never have.
Had things been different, perhaps in this moment it would have seemed real. But it remained but a dream.
A heavy ball of guilt formed in my throat.
My magic would claim my life, even if I never set foot in the Acheron.
But if I told him, he’d pull away again.
Maybe it was selfish, but I wanted to know happiness before the end. And I had a feeling Seth would regret keeping distance between us. Regret the time we could have shared, when the future was stolen.
Closing my eyes, I breathed out, forcing myself to relax.
I hoped he found the strength to keep going when I was gone.