Chapter 23 #2
His teeth sink into his lower lip as he finds the end piece of the fabric and untucks it before pulling it down.
The fabric slips free, pooling around my middle.
I tug on it, fully unfurling it so that it drops down from my hips and onto the floor.
My heart is hammering so hard that I’m almost certain it’s visible.
I’m all soft curves and no muscle while Tiernan looks like a god.
He’s already seen me in a complete state of undress before; gods, he’s helped me bathe before.
But this feels so different. What if he dislikes my body?
“You are breathtaking,” he signs. My ribs stop strangling my heart, but my pulse still pounds in my throat. I stare at the hard length of him straining within the breeches that now hang off his hips.
My mouth goes dry. “Should I … help you out of that?”
He nods.
With a cheeky grin, I lift my hand, replicating his early insistence on speaking rather than nodding. “Yes?” I sign with flamboyant emphasis.
He smirks and says aloud, “Yes, beautiful. Please help me out of these.”
With my mental shields firmly in place, I tug his breeches down.
I hope he doesn’t notice the shake in my hands.
My heart pounds with a dizzying mixture of desire and anxiety.
I fear my inexperience will shine through and magnify all my flaws, but everything he says and does makes my body hum with growing anticipation.
Both our undergarments soon lie on the floor while we take our time exploring each other’s bodies. Steam fills the room, but it isn’t until I’m pressed against the counter, lost in a haze of kisses and caresses that I feel something warm and wet at my feet.
Tiernan’s mental voice is nearly a purr as his knuckles lightly slide over the side of my breast. “Tell me if you need me to slow down at any point.”
I’m definitely standing in something wet.
“Uhm … Tiernan?” I whisper as his lips caress mine again.
He breaks away from me and looks down at the floor, where water is rapidly spreading around our feet from the overflowing tub.
“Shit,” he says, releasing me and running to stop the flow of the water while I try my hardest not to laugh.
I grab towels from the cabinet and lay them on the floor to soak up the flooding. Tiernan retrieves the plug from the tub, letting some water drain before replacing the stopper.
“You’d think that a magical system would know when to cease, right?”
I laugh. “Even magic has its limits.”
We get into the tub, indulging in soft caresses and kisses, lathering each other with soap, and signing sweet nothings above the water. Eventually, we leave the bathing chamber, restraining our giggles as we lightly pad past Chiyo’s chamber with our towels clutched to our bodies.
Ambient magelight greets us as we shut the door behind us, and it dims even more as we crawl into bed.
Tiernan tugs me to him, my towel falling away as my back meets his torso.
Thighs bracketing mine, his hand slides over my soft curves, teasing, caressing, making my breath hitch and my eyes flutter closed.
My head falls back against his shoulder, and I feel him smile into my neck. Tiny tingles dance along my skin and throughout my body.
“Just tell me when you want me to stop.” Even his mental voice is laden with such longing that I nearly turn molten in his arms
His hand trails up my thigh, pausing.
Every part of my body is abuzz, longing for more, but the faintest hint of hesitation buds in my chest. I have no doubt by now that he’s attracted to me. I see it in his eyes; I feel it in his touch. I even feel it in the flitter of his Empath powers across my skin.
Yet something still hinders me—a warring within myself. As much as I think I want this man, I wonder how much I truly know him.
But then his fingers find a spot at the apex of my thighs, stroking in tight circles until my thoughts are consumed and my hips develop a mind of their own. He repositions, his arm supporting my back, the other hand still moving against that sweet spot.
“I wanted to see your beautiful face,” he says. His fingers still tease and stroke, causing my breath to grow shallower. I grip the bedding beneath me and try to keep myself from squirming. Cool vapors begin to flood my hands, my powers eager to unleash.
My shadows respond to my emotions; what if I lose control and unwittingly hurt him? The thought makes my heart hammer and my body cool.
I bite back a moan that threatens to break free as I fight to regain control of my body.
What if the sounds I make are awkward or off-putting? What if my inexperience ruins everything?
I clutch my arms to my naked torso as a band of shadows wraps around my wrist. My thighs lock up, my chest caving in at once as panic fills my mind and my heart pounds with enough intensity to break through my chest.
I can’t do this. I can’t let go … I can’t—
“Durvla?” Tiernan says into my mind. “Do you want me to stop?”
Do I? No, I think. I shake my head, but my body feels as tight as a bowstring in more ways than one.
“Durvla …”
“I don’t know,” I say aloud.
He immediately withdraws his hand, and a shudder rolls through me.
Tears fill my eyes, the pleasure morphing into embarrassment and confusion, cold seeping into warmth.
Just as I felt on the brink, I’m left shockingly bereft, my body desperate for more while my mind berates me for allowing the indulgence.
I squeeze my thighs together, the throbbing between them pitifully ebbing away, and I take a shuddery breath.
To my dismay, the tears flow hot and fast down my cheeks.
I pull my legs to my chest and wrap my arms around them, dropping my face into my knees.
Tiernan doesn’t waste a moment before pulling me to him, my face now buried against the downy hair on his chest. He fumbles for something then soft fabric covers my body.
How did my mind convince me to stop enjoying that moment? Why is it that, even when I’m shrouded in pleasure, the doubts drop in so forcefully? I ruined the moment. Epically.
“I’m sorry.” I swipe away tears.
“Don’t be. It’s alright.”
“I think …” My cheeks burn. “I guess I’m not as ready as I thought I was.” I shut my eyes and immediately feel his hands on my face. My eyes open tentatively to find him smiling with such affection that it’s hard to hold on to the shame and annoyance.
“You never have to apologize for something like this.” He kisses my nose. “We’ll take our time.”
“We’re leaving in two days.”
“And?” He winks at me. “We’ll find moments.” He slides his fingers through my hair, and I wince as they catch in my curls. He pries his hand free with a sheepish grin that makes me smile.
“Tiernan … do you think you would be able to deflect my shadows well enough if …” I’m not sure how to word it without my entire face turning red. “If I—”
“If you lose control when we’re intimate?”
I grimace. “Yes, that.”
He smiles with understanding. “Yes, but also I don’t believe you’ll hurt me.”
I sigh, starting to climb out of bed, but he gently presses a hand against my shoulder to stop me.
“If it makes you feel better, it’s normal for your magic to slip and respond differently in times like this. I know mine does. You know mine does. My Empath powers don’t stand a chance when your body is against mine. It’s always too late when I realize I’ve cast all my feelings onto you.”
I don’t know whether to blush or laugh. “I should get dressed and get Taig,” I sign.
“Well …” A look of focus comes over his face—his magic likely reaching out to them. “They’re both fast asleep.”
Tiernan rolls onto his side facing me and I sidle up to him, tugging the covers up to our waists.
For a while, we study each other’s faces in silence, his hands idly caressing my sides and hips.
All the while, I wish things were different outside the Verge—I wish we had more moments to simply explore each other—not just physically.
I’m not ready to leave. Not at all. But we have a mission to fulfill, and the fate of the entire kingdom may depend on us finding out more about the prophecy.