Chapter 47 - Control
I could have said a thousand words to fill the small gap of air between us, but one unspoken word weighed on my tongue.
Finally.
Riyan held me close to his chest as he stepped through the snow. My heartbeat quickened as the heat in my hips intensified.
His warm body against mine shielded me from the sting of the wind. My eyes flitted from the strained muscles in his neck, the focus of his eyes, and the light from the full moon filtering through his eyelashes.
“I hope this will work,” Riyan said with a soft smile. He released my legs and pressed my back against a wall of ice.
I gasped and jumped forward. My legs wrapped around his waist and my arms locked around his neck.
“Riyan!” My back must have grazed one of the tall runes. “Cold!”
“Sorry.” He laughed and the hard muscles of his abdomen shook against me. The sensation sent heat to my core—the friction felt good.
Riyan’s eyes flicked down, like he also felt that sudden rush of heat against him. Suddenly I felt a nudge against my thigh. My cheeks blazed and my heart pounded. Even though Riyan was no longer a horrifying size, he still felt very large.
Would I even be able to wrap my hand around it?
His eyes dragged from my heaving chest to glance over my shoulder. “You think you could…?”
“Oh,” I breathed, forgetting what words were. I activated my magic in every ice crystal on the rune. I matched the heat of the magical tears to the heat within me, and within a heartbeat, every bit of frost melted away.
Riyan slowly rested my shoulders against the ancient stone. The muscles in his arms were stiff but his eyes were soft as they traveled up and down my body.
He leaned in and his words were warm against my lips. “I can’t decide where to touch you.”
I smiled. “Then touch me everywhere.”
His lips met mine and he groaned low in his throat. He kissed me tantalizingly softly, but I surrendered to his lead, letting him take his time.
He could take all eternity, if he wanted.
My legs stayed locked around him, so he freed one hand from my thigh. His fingertips left a trail of prickling gooseflesh on my skin as he caressed the curve of my hip, the edge of my stomach, and then finally my breast.
He palmed the side of my breast, his thumb tracing a circle around my nipple. I tilted my head back as pleasure spread through my chest at his touch.
“So pretty,” he said softly. He dropped his hand to grip my thigh again, his fingers digging into the soft flesh. “But these were always my favorite. And now you’ve given me even more to squeeze. Can’t even wrap my hands around them anymore.”
My laugh skated across his smile. “Your hands are just smaller—but I did eat a lot of pies at the palace.”
“I’ll get you more pies.” His voice was barely more than a rasp before he kissed me again. “A dozen.” Another kiss. “For breakfast.” Another. “Every morning.”
He hungrily kissed where my neck met my shoulder and I let out a throaty whimper. Pleasure wicked into my hips, but my belly stayed relaxed. With each kiss he pressed to my skin, my moans turned into exhales. Each heartbeat was a stamp, marking a joyous moment on a timeline with no end.
Riyan’s hands kneaded upward as he kissed me, his fingers gently caressing the creases between my thighs. With each little sweeping touch, his fingers moved closer and closer to my center.
Pressure built within me, winding around my spine as tightly as thread on a bobbin. I wiggled against him, desperate for friction to relieve the tension, but Riyan nipped my earlobe instead of focusing his attention lower.
His low rasp caressed the shell of my ear. “You writhing little thing…” He bit my ear again.
I wiggled against him hard enough that he groaned against my neck. His calloused palm dragged down my lower belly and his fingers gently swept across my pulsing desire. Each feathered touch brought a needy whimper to my throat.
“I didn’t forget.” His voice was breathy and ragged against my lips. “I didn’t forget how much you liked this…”
His fingers gently dipped inside me and I moaned through my clenched teeth. He stroked me from within, drawing my pleasure out, but I clenched around him.
His fingers were not enough. I needed him inside me.
“Riyan,” I begged in a soft whine.
He picked up his pace and smirked. “You’re close, sweetheart. You’re dripping onto my wrist…”
“No, I want to finish with you!”
He slowed down and looked into my eyes. “What was that?”
I bit my lip. The pressure inside me was so intense, I thought I was going to burst. “ Please fuck me, Riyan.”
His throat tensed and he let out a long breath. “You are not making this easy for me.”
I shuddered as Riyan slowly withdrew his hand. He met my half-lidded gaze and sucked every bit of me off his fingers before lowering his hand back to my hips.
Riyan’s voice was low with warning. “I don’t want to hurt you. I might be the size of a man, but I’m still a lot bigger than—”
“But I want it.”
His mouth formed a hard line and his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Same rules as last time. If anything hurts, we stop.”
A naughty thought tugged at my mind. “Well, it can hurt a little…”
“ Sera. ”
“ Riyan. ” I mocked his dark tone with a smirk. “I am the most powerful sorceress in the world. You cannot break me.”
His eyes darkened. He adjusted himself, the tip nudging at my opening. I whimpered as just that feathered touch sent a shot of pleasure into my hips.
And then he started to push.
I gasped, gripping his shoulders to brace myself. He paused and I settled into the stretch.
I let out a breath when I realized he was holding in his.
“Keep going,” I whispered against his cheek.
He kept his eyes on the rune and slowly pushed again. My heart thudded as he alternated between pushing and giving me time to adjust. I hummed little noises of encouragement into his skin.
Riyan pulled back, just enough to feel him slide inside me, before pushing in again. He hit me in just the right place, sending sensation up my spine.
“Oh fuck, ” I gasped.
Riyan continued his easing rhythm, but his eyes were intently focused on the rune. His muscles were so tight they were vibrating.
He was holding back.
“Riyan,” I huffed out, “look at me.”
His fierce eyes met mine and every thread of control within him snapped.
His lips crashed against mine as he thrust into me. He bit my bottom lip and I arched my back, my breasts smashing into his chest.
Fuck yes.
His rhythm turned into a pulse, growing faster and faster.
“Yes…yes…,” I whimpered into his neck.
Pressure built inside me, but my blood was glowing. My heart was screaming like a triumphant battle cry. The power of our bond surged through every vein, every heartbeat, and every heavy breath that escaped our lips.
After the moon had waned and waxed in the night sky, watching over us as we fell deeper in love, Riyan and I had finally sealed our blood bond.
But Riyan was not done and neither was I. He yanked my hair back and I screamed into the night. His hips slammed into mine over and over. Harder. Deeper.
“More,” I cried. “ More. ”
“You want more?” he rasped. “I’ll give you more. I’ll give you everything. ”
He pushed into me with his full force. The rough stone scraped against my shoulder blades. Every bite of pain instantly melted into pleasure.
So I cried out for more.
The stone shook behind me with every thrust. Any words he tried to say shredded into a growl against my forehead. My nails dragged across his shoulders as I screamed.
A crack echoed in my ears. My stomach dropped as I fell back.
Boom.
I hit the cold powder. The snow hissed under the magical heat of my body, melting under my back, then my knees, and then my feet as I shakily brought myself to stand.
Half of the rune lay in the snow. Riyan was on his back and panting.
His eyes examined the jagged edge of the broken rune. “Fuck, how hard was I—”
Snow melted away from my feet as I ran to him. A storm of ice and white fire raged in my chest along with the pressure between my legs. The words on his lips vanished the moment I sat on the hard wall of muscle on his lower abdomen.
“I need more,” I panted. I wrapped my hand around him—my fingers did not even touch my thumb, but I would not stop. I lowered myself onto him and my eyes rolled back as he filled me up again.
I pressed my hands against his chest and slowly moved my hips.
My turn to have control.
I had practiced on my pillow enough times at Ashmore to know the motion, but Riyan’s hands gripped my hips and helped me.
“You take me so well, Sera,” he said with a wicked smile. “Keep going.”
I pressed my fingertips into Riyan’s chest as I grinded against him. The sensation was reaching its peak. My legs started to shake. His muscles tightened and shuddered in response.
“Sera,” he breathed, “I’m about to—”
At last, I sailed into that sweet release. My legs trembled around him as I rode into it, higher and higher.
Riyan gripped my thighs hard enough to bruise and hissed out a breath, but I did not stop. I was about to explode. A second orgasm rolled through me and I lost control of my muscles.
With a gasp, I came out on the other side of my climax. The stars danced in my vision. I could only register the soft hair on Riyan’s chest beneath my hands as I folded forward.
We panted, listening to each other’s heartbeats slow down as I laid on his chest. Riyan’s arms wrapped around my back, his fingers slowly drawing soft little circles on my skin. A quick sweep of my magic cleaned me off and I let myself rest.
No more cracking or rumbling stone. No echoes of screams. Even the wind was still.
My head was swimming and my body was limp, but I mustered the strength to speak. “I love you, Riyan.”
“I…you…” he said with a thick tongue, too dazed to talk. He chuckled lightly and kissed the top of my head. Suddenly the sound of a wave washed into my mind, carrying his voice with it. “ I love you too. ”
I propped myself up on my elbows as I looked down at him. No light was shining between his eyes, but it did not need to.
We had a blood bond—a permanent tether into each other’s minds.
I just hoped that would be enough to keep us together when my bargain would soon force us apart.