Chapter 67
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Evelyn
The Sun Goddess’s words haunted Evelyn for hours.
She stood with arms crossed, admiring the change in scenery as well as her heightened senses.
Ahead, steam rose from heated pools, their shores thick with moss.
To the right, a small waterfall roared over jagged rock.
An elk huffed as it trudged through the night.
Smaller critters rustled in the forest floor, and the drip .
. . drip . . . drip . . . of dew beat with the whistling breeze.
Evelyn breathed in the cool air of the Vadon Mountains. The hint of pine and the promise of rain relaxed her tired mind, reminding her of a certain werewolf. Here, back west, the sense of home anchored Evelyn after her time in the Otherworld.
Still, Evelyn and the team had two days of travel north before they reached the Drengr Village. Her body craved Kade’s cottage. Her feet ached for the creaky floorboards, her skin eager for the many layers of fur warming their bed.
As if her more promising thoughts conjured him to existence, Kade’s presence tickled her instinct, and after a beat, he wrapped his strong arms around her middle.
He kissed her temple in greeting. “You seem relaxed. Lighter.”
“It feels like home,” she whispered.
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.” Kade buried his face in her neck.
Evelyn shivered from the contact. Her body had always responded to Kade’s touch, but there was a heightened awareness now, like his mere nearness might set her aflame.
A pang of guilt shot through Evelyn, though. Despite the kernel of fire festering in her soul that tried to eclipse her emotions, her truth remained.
She cared for her friends. Or should care. Ugh. Protectiveness was a fierce streak that ran through her, but it lay dormant.
Evelyn rooted for who she was like one dug through sand. The deeper the hole grew, the more sand that fell, burying Evelyn’s sense of self and making it impossible to reach.
“Do you feel different?” she asked.
He remained silent, thoughtful until— “Yes.”
Something close to relief settled across Evelyn’s skin like the gentle kiss of dew. Perhaps she wasn’t lost, but new, and it’d take time getting used to it.
“How are the others?” she asked, finding the courage.
Evelyn’d left the campsite earlier, needing space from the sight of Linx tending to Belle who still hadn’t awoken since they left Cirrillo. Todd remained on edge, and Aster hadn’t muttered a single word, stuck in a state of shock.
“Everyone is resting,” Kade said. “As should you.”
“There’s too much on my mind.”
“Like?” Kade’s voice tickled the shell of her ear.
“I’m grateful we’re back together and home.” Evelyn swallowed, hating the taste of vulnerability on her tongue. “But I feel like I’ve brought back more mess.”
Mess put it so fucking flames lightly, Evelyn dug her nails into her arms. She’d stolen from a goddess. Brought her friend back to life. Doomed Belle to who knows what—
Kade turned her around, prying her fingers away from her arms and not only unraveling her tense mind but her body. He placed a finger under her chin, making her look up at him.
“We were successful in our task. We repaired your soul, and you’re alive, Ev. Yet, we always knew we’d return to mess. There is still the Blood Curse, after all.”
“Have I not made everything worse?” Evelyn breathed.
“No.” Kade tucked a stary hair behind her, and his eyes glistened like honey. “You did what you thought was right by saving Aster. The Sun Goddess is who hurt Belle.”
“Because of me.” Evelyn shook her head, unable to bear the kindness in his eyes.
“It doesn’t take away the fact it was her choice.
” Kade tugged her chin, refocusing her attention back on him.
“There is nothing more we can do, not until we return to the Drengr Village, but . . .” He stepped closer and dropped his hand to cup Evelyn’s cheek, running a thumb over her bottom lip.
“I’m not going to so easily dismiss that we did it, Evelyn. ”
She swallowed. They’d not traveled miles to find one another, but realms. They’d left this world, traversed an emptiness full of stars, and then endured what the gods had thrown at them. Together.
Kade was right. More hardship awaited them, and she’d not waste this moment of peace they’d found. Not with the trees so still, the breeze gentle and the night beckoning them.
“That is what I care most about,” Kade whispered, eyes fixated on her lips. “Perhaps I’m a selfish bastard for it—”
Evelyn grabbed a fistful of his shirt and dragged him into a kiss. Tenderly and eagerly all at once. Instantly, her wound-up being relaxed and buzzed and turned aflame.
Kade opened up her mouth wider, pulling at her bottom lip with his teeth. The delectable pain shot to Evelyn’s core, and a moan escaped her.
Kade pulled away and smiled. “Will you come with me?”
Evelyn’s insides warmed. How could she say no when he looked at her like that? As if nothing else mattered. As if war didn’t wait on the horizon.
“Always,” she said.
Evelyn took his hand, and Kade led her towards the waterfall. It fed into a waist-deep pool, steam lapsing over the mossy shores like waves. Without a word, Kade started unlacing his boots and stripping his leathers.
This male. Carved from stone and etched by the gods, his muscles rippled as he tore off his shirt and exposed that delicious V-shape outlining his abs. Scruff lined the center, disappearing past his waistline, and Evelyn’s mouth turned dry.
“Done staring?” Kade asked, dropping his trousers and undergarments in one swift move, revealing his taut ass and half-ready length.
Evelyn smiled, a real one, and it had been so long, her cheeks ached.
In the best way.
Evelyn took her time as she removed her leathers, pulling the laces one at a time. She chucked her boots off next.
Kade’s stare didn’t leave her as he stepped back into the thermal pool.
He submerged waist deep, and his eyes roamed every inch of skin Evelyn revealed by tossing off her trousers and throwing off her tunic.
Her chest wrapping came next, and Kade’s eyes darkened as her breasts met the cold, nipples peaked.
She abandoned their pile of clothes at the edge of the pool and entered the steaming water, following Kade’s lead. Warmth tickled her toes and climbed her legs. The water reflected the scattering of stars in the midnight sky, like moonstones floated through the steam.
But the most breathtaking sight wasn’t the sky, waterfall, or the forest but Kade. He ran a wet hand through his hair, drawing his sun-kissed waves off his face. Jaw tight, eyes set, muscles on display. They way he looked at Evelyn had eagerness rushing through her veins.
Kade’s patience snapped when she stood an arm’s length away. He gripped her bare ass in his strong hands and lifted her. Evelyn hooked her legs around his waist. His rigid length glided through her folds, and a small breathless whimper escaped her lips.
Evelyn drew her legs tighter around him to gain more access, relishing at his size and needing it now—
Kade nipped at her jawline, his next words tickling her ear. “You’ll have to wait for that, love.”
His guttural words reached Evelyn’s baser instinct, and that thread between them pulsed.
She dug her hands into his hair and pulled Kade into a kiss. He answered, devouring her mouth with sweeping strokes of his talented tongue. The thought of it in another place, like her pulsing sex, almost sent her over the edge.
Their kiss tasted of the past, present, and future. How they’d once kissed with rain-coated lips in Callum, with snow falling around them in Drystan, and now in a land they called home, the red sands of Cirrillo washing off them, like they shed death and were reborn in each other’s arms this time.
Kade broke away from their kiss, and for a moment, they stared at the other.
The power Evelyn had stolen was no match for the love teeming in their hearts.
It could not outshine the truest emotion she possessed.
Nothing came between her and Kade. Not even a power she still had to grow accustomed to.
Evelyn yelped and giggled as Kade held her tighter and moved deeper through the thermal pool. Steam parted as they reached the waterfall. It roared around them, and as Kade carried Evelyn under the cascading water, she understood why he’d picked the spot.
It’d drown out the sounds of their pleasure.
Past the waterfall was a cave. The pool continued a few more feet, bumping up against a smooth, rocky ground.
Kade lifted Evelyn and planted her on the ledge.
Around them, indigo-colored moss coated every inch of the cave, soft and plush under Evelyn’s bare skin.
Tiny holes carved into the ceiling revealed the starlight, illuminating their wet skin.
Kade gripped Evelyn’s ankles and tugged, and she squealed as he brought her ass to the edge. He leaned over her, peppering kisses down the slope of her neck.
“Kade . . .” she said, drawing her fingers down his cheek.
His face hovered inches over hers. His hand skated across her stomach, traveling closer and closer.
“Fuck,” Kade growled as his fingers dipped between her folds.
His golden eyes bore into Evelyn, and her chest rose and fell. She couldn’t utter word, could barely think as her body tingled from head to toe with such promise.
“I plan to make you come three times,” he said, lips brushing over hers. “First”—Evelyn’s back bowed as he delved into her core—“with my fingers, then”—Kade swept his tongue over one of her nipples—“my tongue, and lastly . . .”
He didn’t finish but smirked as Evelyn’s sex tightened around his pumping fingers.
Fucking flames, she was already so close. She writhed for more, but Kade removed his fingers. Slick with her readiness, he glided them upward. Kade drew torturously slow circles over her swollen clit. He kissed her, and all Evelyn could do was surrender to his lips and touch.