Lucille #3
He pounded into me again and again, my mind unable to form coherent thoughts as ecstasy pushed me over the edge and I throbbed around his cock, screaming his name.
“Fuck,” he groaned, his cock swelling as he came inside me, the pulses dragging one last moan from my mouth.
We both breathed heavily. Ronen slowly eased out of me, lowered to give me a heart-stopping kiss, then settled beside me. He pulled me against his chest, and I could feel him seeping out of me.
“Should I—”
He shocked me by taking his fingers and pushing his release back inside me.
“No. I rather like the mess I made of you,” he purred. His slick cock rested against my core, still hard, the metal studs grazing my bundle of nerves with every throb.
The thought and pressure sent another wave of heat through me—ready and wanting again.
I moved against him, and he caught my chin, twisting my neck at an awkward angle so I could meet his questioning gaze.
“Ruin me,” I whispered.
His eyes darkened, and he slammed into me again.
Once we were both sore and out of breath, we curled into each other, this time with undergarments on because we discovered without them we wouldn’t stop. Once Rune realized we weren’t about to go at it again, she joined us on the bed.
Ronen held me close, breathing me in, his heart a steady, beautiful rhythm beneath my ear.
The reality of what I could lose settled into our warm, fragile bubble.
The reality of what I would do if I did sank deeper, heavier.
My life—my body, my heart, all of me—had been irrevocably altered because of him.
He had become everything I was too afraid to want, and now he was everything I was terrified to lose.
I felt the soft hum of his happiness, the inevitable warmth filling him to the brim.
My eyes burned.
I had changed him as thoroughly as he had changed me.
“I am sorry, Lucille,” Ronen finally whispered as he ran his hand through my hair.
I could’ve told him to stop apologizing.
That he had nothing to be sorry for. Instead, I said, “The night will always be a safe haven for the stars.” I let him feel the unspoken emotion I’d sensed from him the day he first said that.
The one I was still too scared to say aloud, even if he already had.
He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “For all the days I breathe, and every silence after.”
We lay in silence, both too awake to sleep.
I kept thinking about the answers we still needed.
I’d need to shut my eyes soon and meet with my future self.
She held our last key, and I had a sneaking suspicion it was the answer to Aspen’s Severance Rune.
But what about the pentagram and Cato’s interpretation?
“Ronen?”
“Yes, gorgeous?”
“Besides our bond, was there any other reason you didn’t want to be king?” I asked.
He continued combing through my hair and sighed. “There was a chance the Unmaking Ceremony would kill Lucifer if I did. I didn’t want to steal another parent from you.”
Cato knew what I had to do. That was why he said it. For this moment. I finally had a way to kill Melanie. I pushed away the creeping dread seeping into my gut.
“Why?”
“Just curious.”
Ronen pinched my chin and tilted my face up. One corner of his mouth lifted, knowing full well that was a lie.
“I’m working something out. But I don’t have the answers yet. I need to dream-walk tonight.”
He nodded, accepting that response. Then he kept me there as his expression shifted, his lips pursing with determination and concern.
“What?” I frowned.
The grip on my chin tightened, and Ronen held me within the gold. The fluttering in my chest slowed, filling with more of him. His emotions danced through my head while his essence wove through mine, almost holding me hostage like his hand.
“Aspen was bitten.”
The invasive bond lurched awake, and I jerked. Its claws tried to dig in, only to hit an impenetrable wall of teeth, shadows, and the will of a male who would not bow to an inferior force.
“You still with me, Hellion?”
“Yes. But is he—”
“Aspen’s fine. Sam’s immunity worked to stop any serious cellular damage.”
I let out a relieved breath, and Ronen’s hand cupped my face.
“I just wanted you to know. That, and Aspen accepted Hadrian’s claim.”
I perked up at that. “So Hadrian has fur now?”
“Yes. And fire. He’ll be a good asset.”
“What’s he look like?”
Would his body be covered in blue flames like Rune’s was with Ronen’s shadows?
“You’ll find out tomorrow.” Ronen smirked.
I raised a brow and moved toward the edge of his bed. “Or I could find out now.”
Ronen growled and wrapped an arm around my waist, shoving me back into his numerous black velvet pillows as his shadows tore apart my panties.
Rune made an annoyed noise and jumped off the bed.
I giggled, and then sobered when I saw his humorless expression and the shadows pooling around me.
“Didn’t I warn you what would happen when you kissed me, Hellion?” He slid off his briefs, then crawled up my body until he pressed against my entrance, his mouth brushing my ear. “You’re mine. And I’ll kill anyone who thinks otherwise.”
Ronen thrust home, sating my need until we were both finally ready to close our eyes.