Chapter 58
CHAPTER 58
VALARIC
A erlyx waves his hand and conjures a swirl of purple smoke, forming a large ring. He gestures for me to go first. “After you.”
With one last glance at Damar, I step through. The world fades into darkness, the strange sensation of nothingness is disorienting yet familiar. The air shimmers, and I find myself standing in the entryway of Greyvale castle.
Aerlyx moves to my side, each of us listening carefully for any sounds.
“The wards are still intact,” he whispers.
Our bootsteps echo throughout the space as we walk across the polished stone floor toward the hallway. My nostrils flare and happiness fills my chest when I catch a hint of Juliet’s delicate scent in the air. Quickly, I follow it to the castle’s study.
It has been two torturous nights since we parted, and I am eager to see her again.
A tall shadow steps into my path. “Valaric?” Lysander’s red eyes meet mine and relief flickers across his features.
“Thank you for bringing her here, Lysander.” I clap a hand on his shoulder. “I knew I could count on you to keep her safe.”
He dips his chin in a subtle bow. “She’s in the study.” He answers my unspoken questions. “She insisted on waiting for you there.”
“You’re back.” Reyla hugs me. “Thank the gods.”
“Where have you been?” Elsie chimes in beside her. She embraces me warmly and then glances over my shoulder. “Where’s Eben? Is my son all right?”
“He’s safe,” I say quickly.
Her shoulders sag forward in relief. “What happened to all of you?”
“It was my fault we didn’t return,” Aerlyx explains. “I used too much magic transporting so many. I meant to take them to the manor, but we ended up at my home instead. And we’ve been waiting there for my strength to return.”
He scrubs a hand across his jaw. “I’m still exhausted, and my powers are not completely replenished. I’ll go back for Eben and Damar, and then portal them here when night falls again.”
Elsie looks at him. “Before you leave, I’d like to send you with some food for my son. No doubt he’ll have been missing a home cooked meal.”
Aerlyx laughs. “I assure you, he is being well-fed at my bakery. In fact”—he grins—“when he returns tomorrow you will probably notice that he’s put on a bit of extra weight.”
“It’s true,” I add, suppressing a grin as I think of Eben wolfing down plate after plate full of pastries.
Desperate to see my wife, I glance toward the study.
“Juliet’s asleep,” Elsie says. “But I know she’s been anxious to see you. She was worried. We all were. Go to her, my Lord. I’ve already closed the curtains to keep out the light.” Elsie puts a gentle hand on the middle of my back and guides me to the study. “She’ll be glad to see you.”
When I enter the study, I find Juliet lying on the plush sofa. I move to the couch and kneel beside her. Her long blonde hair is draped over the pillow like a golden waterfall, and her full pink lips are slightly parted as she sleeps.
Gently, I brush a stray lock of hair back from her forehead, marveling at her beauty. She is truly lovely, my human wife. Her eyelids flutter open and a radiant smile spreads across her face.
“Valaric.” She sits up and cups my cheek. “Is it really you?” Her eyes search mine. “Or am I dreaming again?”
“I am here, my Juliet.”
She throws her arms around my neck and presses her lips to mine in a tender kiss. “I was so worried.” She traces her fingers lightly across my brow, staring at me as if she still has trouble believing that I’m here. “What happened? Where have you been?”
I curl my wings around her as I hold her close, reveling in the feel of her body against mine. “Aerlyx took us somewhere safe, where he could replenish his magic,” I murmur into her hair, inhaling deeply of her delicate scent. “We had to wait until he was strong enough to return.”
As if the sound of his name has summoned him, Aerlyx appears at my side. “As much as I hate to interrupt,” he says with a mischievous grin, “I wanted to tell you that I’ll be leaving to return to the others.”
Juliet smiles at him. “Thank you for bringing him home, Aerlyx.”
“Of course,” he replies smoothly. “I’ll be back later tonight with Damar and Eben.”
With a casual flick of his wrist, a ring of purple smoke swirls around him, and he disappears once more.
Juliet returns her gaze to mine. “I missed you,” she whispers.
“And I, you.” Emotions swell my chest. She is my heart, and I never wish to be parted from her again. “More than you could possibly imagine.” Gently, I lift her from the sofa. “Come. You should rest.”
I start to take her up the stairs to her room.
“Wait,” she says, and I halt abruptly, gazing down at her in confusion.
“Take me to your chambers,” she whispers as she touches my face. “You’re my husband, Valaric, and I don’t want to sleep apart from you anymore.” She lowers her gaze. “Unless… you do not want me to stay with you,” she adds a bit hesitantly.
I hate the uncertainty that crosses her features. She is everything to me and I never want her to doubt it. Ever again. “You are my heart, Juliet.” I drop my forehead gently to hers. I want so much to tell her that I love her, but the curse forbids me from speaking the words before she does. “I will always want you in my arms.”
Softly, she bites her lower lip. “Then take me to bed,” she whispers.
My heart hammers as her luminous green eyes meet mine. “As you wish.”
I carry her down the spiral staircase to my chambers and seal the door shut behind us. I walk us to the bed, but I’m reluctant to let her go. My fangs extend and venom fills my mouth. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I desire her. The need to claim her, to mark her and change her scent, so that every male knows she is mine, is nearly overwhelming.
It’s been three days since I’ve had her blood, two days since I’ve touched her, and my need is all-consuming.
“You’re still holding me,” she whispers, touching my face.
I brush my thumb lightly across her cheek, watching in wonder as a lovely pink flush blooms across her petal-soft skin. “I am.” I gaze down at her, completely mesmerized. “Would you like me to let you go?” I ask, even though everything within me wants only to hold her close.
She runs her fingers lightly across my lips. A soft gasp escapes her as she brushes the tip of one fang. The smell of her arousal thickens the air, threatening to overwhelm me.
My entire body is trembling with need. I am desperate to claim her.
“No.” She tilts her head to one side, exposing the column of her neck. Her green eyes stare deep into mine as she whispers. “I want you to make me yours, Valaric.”
Dark and primal desire unfurls deep within. The darkness inside me demands that I claim her even as my mind urges caution. “You do not know what you are asking.”
“I do,” she whispers. “I want to be yours.”
Desire burns in my veins as I struggle to maintain my control. “Are you certain?”
She nods.
I draw in a shaking breath, fighting against the ravenous need within. “I need you to be sure,” I barely manage. “If we start, I’m not sure I’m strong enough to—”
She presses a finger to my lips, silencing me. “I trust you.”
The darkness within claws beneath the surface. I want her so much it is maddening. “It has been three days since I tasted you.” I clench my jaw. “My need is great. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” She cups my face. “I trust you. Completely.”
Guilt and shame wash through me. “There is something you should know.”
“What is it?” Concerned eyes meet mine. “Tell me, Valaric.”
I touch her face. “You asked me once what ashaya meant, and I told you that it was the word for ‘beloved.’” I swallow hard. “And it is… but it also means so much more.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means you are my fated one. The other half of my soul.” I take her hand and pull it to my chest, directly over my heart. “I have been yours from the moment your eyes first met mine.”
“Why did you not tell me?”
“The fated bond is more than just a connection between our souls. It’s a tether to the dark creature within me. The darkness and I, we are one and the same.” I stare deep into her eyes so she may see the truth. “I need you to understand. If I mark you as mine, you will be bound to us both—the monster and the man.”
Intense need surges through me, demanding that I mark her, claim her, bind her to me forever. But I hold back, knowing that once I cross that line, there will be no going back.
“I didn’t want you to fear me,” I confess. “But the truth is that I want all of you. Your mine, your heart, your body, and your soul. I want you to be mine, for I am already yours, and I have been from the very beginning.”
“You are my husband.” Her luminous eyes stare deep into mine. “I know what you are and I choose you. Now and forever.” She leans in and tenderly brushes her lips to my own. “Claim me, Valaric. I want to be yours in all ways.”
Her words dissolve the last of my control, and I crush my mouth to hers. Her lips part, and she moans as I stroke my tongue against hers in a passionate kiss.
Quickly, I remove my tunic, baring my chest and abdomen to her exploring hands. I kick off my boots, and we fall back onto the bed. I move over her, bracing my weight on my forearms as my lips mesh repeatedly with her own.
The delicate scent of her arousal touches my nostrils, and I am desperate to sink deep inside her.
Extending my claws, I slice away her dress, leaving her in only her lace undergarments. My breath catches as I gaze down at my bride.
Her cheeks flush bright pink as she looks up at me, her eyes full of trust. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. “You are perfect.”
I press a line of kisses down her neck to her chest and remove her bra, revealing the creamy mounds of her breasts. She arches into my touch as I cup one soft globe in my palm and then draw the peak into my mouth.
“Valaric.” My name escapes her in a soft moan as I swirl my tongue across the hardened bead and begin a gentle suction.
She runs her fingers through my hair as I trace my hand down her lithe form. When I reach the scrap of silk between her thighs, I fist it in my grasp. Need burns through me like fire and she gasps as I rip it away from her body.
Cupping the back of her knee, I pull her leg over my hip, opening her to me. Her entire form is so soft and giving, and I am addicted to the feel of her skin against mine.
A low groan leaves my lips as she arches into me, and I can feel the heat of her core pressed against my stav, only the thin barrier of my clothing preventing me from joining my body with hers.
She reaches between us, her delicate fingers slipping beneath the waistline of my pants, but I quickly wrap my hand around her wrist and pull her hand away.
Confusion mars her lovely brow. “Do you not want me to touch you?”
“I do,” I whisper. “But I want to give you pleasure before I find mine, my beautiful Juliet.”
I capture her mouth with my own, pouring all my need into our kiss until she is breathless and panting beneath me.
I move down her body, worshipping her with my lips and my tongue. When I reach her lower abdomen, a low growl of possession rumbles deep in my chest. The delicate scent of her arousal fills my nostrils, awakening the primal darkness within that demands I claim her in every way.
Fierce possessiveness surges through me. She is my mate. I will mark every part of her, so that everyone will know she is mine.
Mine to touch. Mine to worship. Mine to claim.
When I reach the apex of her thighs, I lift my head. “Open for me, my ashaya. I want to taste you.”
She stares at me with a half-lidded gaze as she parts her thighs. I guide her legs over my shoulders and settle between them. She gasps as I slick my tongue through her slick folds, arching against me when I reach the small bundle of nerves at the top.
I love how she threads her fingers through my hair, gripping the short strands tightly as she writhes beneath me.
“Valaric,” she breathes. “Please.”
“I have you,” I whisper as I concentrate on the small pearl of flesh that makes her moan with pleasure. A low growl rises in my throat when her fingers brush the sensitive tips of my ears.
Her entire body goes taut, and then she cries out my name as she reaches her climax, flooding my tongue with the sweet nectar of her release.
I move back up her body and capture her mouth in a claiming kiss. Primal instincts surge through me as the scent of her arousal grows stronger, need burning through me like fire.
Her delicate fingers fumble with the fastener of my pants. Desperate to be inside her, I push them down my hips and off my body. A sharp hiss escapes through my fangs when she wraps her hand around my stav and swipes her thumb across the tip.
I curl my hand around hers and position the crown at her entrance. A low growl rumbles through me as I struggle to maintain my control; it takes everything inside me not to spill when the tip of my stav bumps the entrance to her core.
“Are you certain?” I ask again, just to be sure.
She cups the back of my neck, pulling my lips down to hers. “Yes.”
It takes every bit of my strength to go slow as I begin to push inside her, joining my body to hers. I long more than anything to know her and be known in return, to claim her and be claimed, to make her mine as I am already hers.
A surge of possessiveness rushes through my veins as I sink deep into her warm, wet heat. It is the most exquisite torture I have ever known. Desire threatens to overwhelm me as I sheathe myself in her tight channel.
A low growl rumbles in my chest as I stare deep into her eyes. “Mine.”