*Ryatt*
We stood in silence against the beating of drums and the thrumming sounds of voices lifted in song. I’d watched the eclipse cast the entire world in shadow, the event making my own shadow powers sing. But my eyes were on the lake–still as glass–and my mate, who’d gone beneath the surface.
I waited. I tugged on our bond. She hadn’t closed me out, but the water acted like some kind of barrier between us regardless.
Then it happened. A few seconds after the first rays of moonlight returned, the lake began to glow and shift with soft, crimson energy that sent shockwaves across the rocky shore. I felt Ella’s power. It ignited my own like it had the moment she slid her hand in mine, and I brought her through the veil. It mingled, turning into something new, something ancient, something more powerful that I’d ever felt before.
My men had staggered to the lakeshore and fallen to their knees when she finally breached the surface of the water. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. The drums ceased beating. The songs abruptly ended.
I drew my sword and knelt, extending it in her direction. My Queen. My Luna. My Mate. I would protect her with my life.
And then she disappears under the surface of the water again, her power and body spent.
Without another thought, I rush into the water to retrieve her. I wrap my arms around her thin body and lift her out of the cool lake.
“She’s freezing,” I choke out, sopping wet and frozen to the bone as I carry her out of the water and onto the shore. “Help me–”
Artyom pulls off his cloak and drapes it over her trembling body as she coughs and curls her fingers into my shirt. She’s alive, but her lips are tinged blue and her hair is already starting to frost over. She’s too cold. Even with the frigid bite of late autumn hanging in the air, she shouldn’t be this cold.
“Stay here and wait for Granger and Princess Amanda,” I tell Artyom, my third in command. To Thorne, I say, “Round up the rest of the men. We leave for the Veiled Valley at dawn. No exceptions, no delays.”
They nod, but their eyes are on their Luna and full of silent questions even I can’t answer. I waste no time carrying her across the slippery, moon drenched rocks. The celebration starts anew, and music and merriment fill the air all around me as I rush toward the trail leading back to the city.
I ignore the hooded Mystics in their crystal masks who appear out of nowhere, watching us, watching her.
What did she see under the lake? What did it show her in its moment of freedom from the yoke of the veil and the magic that keeps its powers in check?
My house is warm when we arrive. The fires in each hearth are blazing. Ella stirs in my arms as I carry her upstairs and into the bedroom, into the bathroom.
“Stay with me,” I whisper into her hair as I hold her against my body with one arm and turn on the shower.
Mist fans out around us. I don’t bother undressing as I pull her inside.
She whimpers as the hot water touches her skin, soaking through her ice-cold white gown. I press her against the wall and tear the fabric into pieces trying to get the freezing cold lace and silk free from her body.
Her skin is tinged with blue but comes to life again as the hot water flows down her breasts and belly, turning her a rosy pink.
“Ella, Ella, open your eyes.” I take her by the chin, kicking away the bunched up pieces of her gown. Hot water seeps into my clothes as I hold her upright.
Her lips part as she exhales–a ragged, strained breath. She’s in pain. I can feel it through the bond. She used every ounce of her powers, blowing through reserves she had no idea were there. I’ve felt pain like this only once, and it had been worse than anything else I’d ever experienced. That dry, empty pain that came with using the last of one’s powers. The fact she nearly drowned in the lake isn’t fucking helping, either.
She wasn’t trained like I have. This could kill her.
“Ella, please, look at me.” My tone is edged with desperation as I keep her pinned against the wall. I rip off my shirt and toss it on the floor outside the shower then fumble with my pants, boots, and socks until I’m just as naked as she is. I press her to me as I sit on the stone bench in the shower, leaning my head against the shower wall. I cradle her tight, praying that my warmth and the hot water is enough to thaw her out. She’s too weak now for her body to do this on her own. She can’t shift, which would make this process faster.
I don’t know how long I sat there like this. Minutes, hours. The water remains hot enough to sting and mist hugs every inch of the room when I finally carry her out of the shower and wrap her in a towel.
She takes a few rapid, shallow breaths as I lay her in bed and slide in beside her, holding her to my chest and covering us with the blankets. My shadows dance through the room, taunting the fire in the hearth to keep it burning as hot as it can.
Having her naked against me is almost enough to make me lose focus. Her body calls to mine, and my cock is hard and aching between her thighs as I keep her fastened in my touch.
It took me hours to only slightly recover after I spent my powers coming back through the veil with her. Granger had been prepared. He knew what to do, what tonics to offer to speed my recovery enough that I could shift and recharge. But still, to this very moment, my powers aren’t recovered enough to spirit the maid back to her own lands.
Ella might not make it through this if I don’t do something. I have to wake her up.
I press my lips to hers, feeling that they’re warm and soft. Her taste is sweet as honey, just like it is between her thighs. The memory of sliding my tongue inside of her, tasting her, exploring every sweet, hot inch of her has my wolf begging for its mate. I hadn’t marked her this morning. I’d held back, knowing that act would bind us together in a way that made what we’d been experiencing thus far seem miniscule in comparison.
“Ella,” I rasp against her lips. “Come back to me.”
Her fingers twitch against my chest. I kiss her again, harder this time, parting her lips with my tongue. I tangle my fingers in her hair and pull, forcing her head back and exposing her throat.
“Come back to me,” I demand, and graze her tender neck with my teeth.
She exhales in a whimpering moan that sets my soul on fire.
“Come back to me,” I repeat, nudging her legs apart and reaching between us.
Another soft moan as my fingers slide against the wetness pooling her thighs. I shiver with desire, unable to stop myself from kissing her again, wishing my tongue was between her legs instead of lapping down her throat. I bend my neck, trailing my tongue over her breast, grazing my teeth over one nipple and sucking until it hardens.
She curls her arms around my neck, her fingers trailing through my hair.
Thank the Goddess.
I don’t stop. I don’t think I can. Each stroke of my fingers aligns with my ministrations to her breasts. Her hips grind against my hand, and she makes that noise that causes me to want to pin her down and fuck her until screams with ecstasy and the only sound in the room is my name on her tongue.
“Come back to me,” I tell her before kissing her again. “Come back to me.”
She lays her leg over my hip, arching her hips against mine and writhing. I’m losing control. I know we’re a match physically. Her body is euphoric. The way it feels to be buried inside of her and having her come undone around me is like something out of a dream. If this is all she wants from me, so be it. I can live with this.
I’m not sure I can live in a world without her in it. Not again.
“Ryatt,” she whispers, her eyes opening to slits.
I inhale sharply, teeth bared, as she grinds her pussy against my cock, the head sliding over her entrance.
“Please,” she begs, reaching between us, but I grab her wrist.
“Is this what you want?”
She nods, her eyes heavy and hooded as she grinds against me again.
“Say it,” I rasp, bringing her fingers to my mouth and brushing my lips over her knuckles. “Say it, Ella.” She’s warm to the touch now, light returning to her eyes. Lucid enough to snap out of this haze of desire and shove me away like she loves to do.
“I want you. Please, Ryatt. I need to feel you inside me. I can’t take it!”
I roll her onto her back and pin her wrists above her head. I nudge her knees apart, her legs splayed wide. Keeping her wrists bound, I lean down so my lips are hovering over hers.
And then I press into her, stretching that sweet, hot pussy with the head of my cock until she bites down on her lower lip and writhes beneath me. “Is this what you want, Princess? For me to fill you up, to claim you over and over again tonight?”
“Please–”
I grunt, gritting my teeth, and thrust hard. Her lips part and a soft, whimpering moan cuts through the air between us as she draws her trembling knees up. I don’t move even though it’s nearly impossible. Goddess, she’s so tight. She clutches me hard as I slowly pull all the way out.
I release my grip on her wrists and look down at her with a cocky smile.
And there it is. There she is. There’s that fire burning behind her eyes again. Fire that tells me she’s beyond irritated with me. I lean down, brushing my lips over hers. She bites my bottom lip hard, her hips arching to meet mine. “Do you want to play, Princess?” I tease, withholding the pleasure she wants so desperately. “Do you think you can really take all of me? Do you really think you can handle it?”
“I want you, Ryatt. I’ll do anything.”
“Prove it.”
She pushes me away. I lean back on my knees as she sits up, fire burning behind those beautiful blue eyes. Her cheeks are burning that rosy color that drives me fucking feral.
But she’s awake, and lucid, and her arousal wraps itself around our bond and yanks hard, digging into my mind like claws.
She turns around and clutches the headboard with both hands, her long, thick hair falling all the way down to that perfect ass.
She looks at me over her shoulder, nothing but pure desire flaming behind her eyes. “Mark me, Ryatt.”