“May I?” he asked roughly, the whites of his eyes still red from grief.
I nodded, unable to speak, my body throbbing with the need to feel him inside me, to be joined with him completely, like no one else could join with him.
With his teeth, he ripped the side of my undies, then tossed them to the floor. He met my gaze, his green eyes blazing, fierce. If I hadn’t known exactly who he was to me, I’d have been afraid. But I wasn’t. This deadly alpha fae was my mate and he would never, ever hurt me. He would use his power to show me pleasure, to show his love and need for me.
Lucus drove into me with no hesitation and simultaneously pulled at my aura, feeding from my energy. I gasped at the glorious feeling of fullness and reveled in the warmth of him flush against me, hot and virile. Shivers ran down my back as the light of his fae magic unspooled from his chest and suffused me with a sense of power. I rocked my hips, wanting more. More of everything. For him to take more. For him to give more. More. He drew away, then thrust forward again and again, his cock relentlessly, shamelessly riding across the perfect places inside me even as he drew energy from me before turning it into a new magic to return to my body. I was drunk with it, elated, fully blissed. My fingers dug into his back, and I opened my mouth to taste his skin, kissing his chest, salt on my tongue. The scent of pine resin thickened the air, and I could almost taste the sunlight on the sap in the forest where he’d lived so long ago. It was heady, intoxicating, primal.
He set his forehead on mine, his body pausing. “I love you, Coren. Tell me what you want.”
“This. This is what I want.”
He withdrew and began to kiss his way down my body, past my navel. His tongue flicked over me, and I gripped his horns, pulses of pure delight flashing through my middle.
“I want you inside me,” I whispered. “Now.”
Raising his head, he set his gaze on me like I was prey. Moving too quickly for me to see, he was on top of me again. He drove into me, and I called out as wave after wave of intense pleasure crashed over me. The view of his wings and the room went hazy, and it was only us two in the world. Bonded. I knew he’d never leave me and that I would never leave him. We were as one.
We collapsed into another deep sleep, breathing at the same pace.
I had one thought as dreams took me: If only this could last forever.
17 Coren
When I woke, Lucus had left a note on his pillow.
I am in the courtyard. Join me if you wish.
I cleaned up in his bathroom, untangling my hair and washing the important bits. I wished I had clean clothing. If I went home, I’d have to see the place where they’d all died. I couldn’t do it. Not yet. I went to grab my dirty clothes and instead found a fresh v-neck tee, a black mini skirt, and even a pair of thick socks for my boots. I had no idea how Lucus had managed to get these things, but I loved him all the more for the sweet gesture. I wished I’d have done the same for him. After donning my muddy boots and my slightly roughed-up leather jacket, I made my way toward the courtyard.
Near the trees, Hekla and Kaippa stood on either side of Oliver. They were tossing an orange ball, and though Oliver’s hair was mussed from sleep and his eyes puffy from crying, he was smiling a little. Kids were so damned resilient. Adults really underestimated them.
Lucus whispered over his brothers’ graves. An element of resolution hung on his shoulders, and I was glad to see it.
We had a demon to fight.
He rose and joined me. “Did you notice how the demon reacted to Hekla’s bite?”
I blinked. “No. I couldn’t see well in the dark.”
Hekla set the ball down and lifted Oliver, who was rubbing sleepy eyes. “Me either,” she said.
Kaippa crossed his arms. He’d rolled his loose button-down shirt up past his elbows, and I did not miss Hekla’s wayward gaze at the muscles in his forearms.
“The bite blackened immediately,” Kaippa said.
Lucus nodded. “And that’s without a spell.”
I waved a hand. “Hold on. I missed a step.”
“As a fae, I think I can use Hekla’s blood to cast a specific spell that would perhaps not kill the demon, but certainly deter it.”
“Deter. Like he would steer clear of that spell?” I asked.
“Yes. We could confuse him with the shifter-blooded spell, and perhaps then you could shoot your arrow and hit his head straight on.”
Hekla tucked Oliver’s hair behind his ear. “How much of my blood would you need?” She was trying not to look nervous, but her fear showed up in the way her eyes crinkled at the corners.
“Lucus?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Lucus said. “But we’re certainly not risking your life for this strategy. We can try as little as a pinprick and see where it gets us?”
Kaippa lifted a finger and cocked a black eyebrow. “Could we experiment on the bits of the dragon I took from the site of the battle?”
My stomach rolled. “You have demon flesh? What, like in your back pocket?”
Kaippa removed a vial from his pocket and held it to the sunlight. The flesh was just as glittery and gray as it had been on the creature. “It might prove nothing, but I bet Hekla wouldn’t mind us seeing if a lesser amount of her blood
