Tobias
My face lifted as soon as I passed through the doorway, drinking in the sunrise.
We were set to travel to Morehaven later for Eva and Bash’s long-delayed bonding ceremony celebrations.
Quinn insisted on waking up before dawn so we had time to train together.
She had been a menace about me sticking to the physical therapy plan she had made for us as we recuperated.
My arms were aching after an hour of exercises and swordplay, but from the stubborn look in Quinn’s eye, I knew we were far from done.
She had been working with Eva daily as well on building back her speech and strength, spending so much time in Morehaven I had barely seen her.
I had also been busy taking a more active role with the daily duties of running Soleara—a job I had undeservedly been welcomed back to with open arms by Pari, Akeno, and Thorin.
While making sure our kingdom flourished was part of their responsibilities as representatives of Soleara’s senate, I had a newfound appreciation for everything they did while I stayed behind the scenes.
Akeno and Thorin had accepted my apologies as easily as Pari had, but I was careful not to throw my weight around.
Though I hadn’t been able to resist teasing Pari about her blush every time a missive arrived in a flare of greenish-gray magic—which was often.
Turnabout was fair play for all the ribbing she gave me about my obsession with Quinn’s most minor habits.
Akeno and Thorin mercilessly made fun of us both for how long it had taken Pari and I to realize that fighting the pull to our animas was a losing struggle.
I supposed we were all just idiots in love.
Pari’s speech occasionally stuttered, a lasting effect of the virus she hadn’t been able to completely shake.
I was careful not to point it out, knowing how much any hint of pity annoyed me.
But when my own words stumbled for the first time in a while, her look of commiseration was met with a smile.
Quinn’s next blow nearly knocked me over. “Where’s your head at today, Maris?”
“Just imagining all the better ways we could be getting sweaty this morning,” I drawled, raising my practice sword.
“You need to build back your strength.”
“What I need is to—” I lunged forward, ducking under her sword arm, only for her dagger to press into my jugular.
My hand found the nape of her neck, yanking her lips to mine.
She melted into me, though her blade stayed right where it was. My practice sword fell to the ground as I held her closer, plundering her mouth with my tongue until we were both flushed and panting—and not only from our workout.
“Let’s go home,” I murmured. I loved the way that word meant something mutual, something that was ours. “If you want me to continue my workout, I have another idea in mind…”
?
I carried Quinn out of the shower, jealous of the drops of water that got to touch her too.
She gave a little gasp as I sucked them from her skin, taking my time on her neck, her breasts.
The towel I had wrapped around us both dropped onto the floor.
I didn’t care that I was leaving a trail of darkened footprints, only that I wasn’t inside her.
Her eyes widened as she noticed the silk rope I had tied to the headboard.
“You seemed stressed,” I casually explained. “I thought I could help with that. I seem to remember promising to tie you to the headboard not too long ago, if you’re still interested.”
Her bright laugh made me smile. “Remind me to be stressed more often.”
My lips twitched. “Let’s try for the opposite.”
I laid her beneath me on the bed, my hands roving her body as I worked my way up her arms. Kissing each wrist, I wrapped the rope lightly around them before securing it in the middle.
It wasn’t our first time doing bondage, though this rope was new.
Her arousal heated our bond, urging me onward as I tightened her bonds.
Once I was done, I kissed her again before working my way down her throat, spending extra time on the spots I knew made her moan. I played with her until she was writhing, begging me both with her body and aloud. She tugged on the ropes instinctively as her hips moved, seeking friction.
I brought her nipple between my teeth, lightly biting down. Quinn gasped, her breathing heavier as I moved to the other, sucking it into my mouth. Then I kissed her roughly, her lips feverish as they moved against mine.
She let out a soft whine into my mouth as my fingers traced down her midline. Finally, my hand slipped down between her thighs, tauntingly avoiding the spot where I knew she needed me most.
“Oh sweetheart, I’ve barely gotten started,” I crooned. “And you know how I like to take my time.”
I pressed my lips against the pulse in her neck, and her heart thundered beneath my touch.
“Please,” she moaned. Her hips bucked as my fingers circled too lightly, seeking more pressure. Her eyes were half-lidded as she looked up at me. “I need you.”
She was playing dirty. Those three words never failed to make me fold.
“My fingers?” I slipped two inside her, making sure she was ready for me. “Or…”
“Tobias…”
Her desperation across our bond grew in tandem with her lust. It was almost enough for me to take pity on her.
Almost.
I kissed my way down her midline, taking my time as I took in every inch of her splayed before me.
“My mouth?”
I knelt between her legs. She let out a loud whimper as my tongue flattened against her clit.
“Don’t stop,” she begged.
I didn’t think I could even if the world was on fire. I pumped my hard length once, my grip nearly painful as my tongue swirled against her. She was getting close—so achingly close, her body already starting to tremble.
“Or my cock?”
I knocked her knees open with my own, spreading her wider, fitting myself against her entrance. I paused.
“Sir, please,” she keened, eyes glassy with desire.
“I love it when you beg,” I growled in approval. Then I plunged in to the hilt.
Quinn’s legs clamped around my hips as I drove all the way out, and I moaned aloud of the blissful sensation as I slowly thrust back in again. It only took two deep thrusts, and my fingers picking up where my mouth left off, to drive her over the edge I had left her on.
I bit down on my lip, holding myself back from coming along with her as she clenched around me like a vise.
She was so perfect; so beautiful as she came.
The flush on her chest, the arch of her back showing off her heavy breasts, her full lips parted as those breathy moans escaped her.
I slid out of her, glistening with her wetness, before gliding back in.
I was trembling with restraint by the time her tremors died down.
The sound she made as I shoved myself until I was fully seated was somewhere between a gasp and moan—and it was all I could hear. I needed more. Needed to bury myself so far inside her we could never be parted again.
My hands dug into her ass, tilting her hips to find that perfect angle to begin our next round. Then I paused.
“What time do we have to get to Morehaven?”
Quinn blinked at me, then smiled like a cat given cream. “Not until dinner.”
“Good,” I drawled. “Because I plan to make you come so many times that you can’t walk straight down the aisle tomorrow.”
?
When we were finished, I had carried Quinn right back into the shower to rinse off.
At least the marks clawing down my back from when I finally untied her and the love bites on my neck would still mark me after the water washed the rest away.
Quinn had, however, insisted on healing everything visible over my jacket collar
“Help me with this, would you?” Quinn turned around, offering me the hook and clasp of her amulet.
I took it from her carefully as she lifted her hair from her neck.
Her dress was backless, and, at my request, the same shade of yellow I often saw in my dreams. I wanted to run my tongue along the indentations of her spine…
“Don’t you dare start that again, Maris, or we’ll never make it out of this room,” Quinn said as I pressed a kiss to her back, then another. “We can’t be late for this rehearsal dinner. With how the last one ended, they deserve a perfect redo.”
I fastened the amulet, kissing the back of her neck before Quinn let her hair fall.
“As long as you promise me a dance,” I conceded.
She laughed. “You can have them all.”
Tonight was for us, Eva had explained. A celebration before tomorrow’s big event with the group that had ensured it would finally happen.
Tomorrow, I would walk my twin sister down the aisle in front of the entire realm. But this time, the thought of the open space and the marble floors of Morehaven didn’t scare me. Not anymore.
I hadn’t needed to hide away my fears. Not for a long while now.
Not when I finally felt safe.
Not when I finally believed in forever.