Ella
Ryatt edges closer, slowly undoing the clasps and hooks keeping his leathers fastened to his body. There’s so much hunger in his eyes right now. Gone is that distant look of resignation, of sorrow, and of disbelief that clouded his vision the entire time we were healing in Maatua and the isles. It’s like coming home has brought my mate back to life.
I feel it too. My body’s no longer heavy with grief and despair. My wounds have healed. My mind is no longer plagued by Kane and what he did to me and my body.
My body only reacts to the way my mate is looking at me right now. Like I’m a meal. Like he’s been starving, and I’m the only thing that will satisfy him.
But it’s been a while since I’ve seen that primal look in his eyes that makes them darken to steel. Ryatt won’t go easy on me this time. He won’t hold back. He’s not afraid to hurt me now.
Because we made it home. Because we survived.
And because we have time he never thought we’d have together.
“Come here,” he growls as his arm guards fall to the ground at his feet. I step out of my panties and walk to him slowly, my hair brushing against my lower back with each step. I stop roughly a foot away from him as he unfastens his vest. His eyes remain on mine, then drop to my chest, my breasts, and then my legs. “Turn around.”
I obey, but chuckle, “Are you checking to make sure I made it through the veil in one piece?” But then his hands clutch my waist and he pulls me against him so my back is flush with his abdomen. His mouth is on my neck, his teeth grazing my skin. His hands are rough as they slide up my belly to my breasts.
He lets out a shuddering breath.
My mind is empty. There’s nothing but me, and him, and this moment. This new beginning.
I close my eyes as he presses a kiss against the new mark on my shoulder which sends an electric zing through my entire body.
“Shower with me,” I breathe, unable to help the soft moan that laces through the words as his hands travel back down my body and over my thighs. “I’m covered in dust and soot, Ryatt. I’ll get your clothes dirty.” My words as rushed as his touch becomes more demanding. He’s edging us closer to the bed. I know once we get there, there’s no going back.
“I don’t care. I just need to touch you,” he whispers into my ear as his hand slides between my thighs.
My breath catches in my throat as his fingers glide through my core. Heat barrels through my body at his touch. He knows exactly where and how to touch me. “Gods, Ella,” he rasps, roughly thrusting two fingers inside of me, his other hand pressed flat against my belly to stop me from moving.
I choke on a moan and throw my head against his chest.
“You smell like smoke,” he says into my hair.
I can barely form a coherent thought as his fingers stroke me in all the right places. “That’s because I’m pretty sure I was on fire at some point coming through the veil. Oh–” My breath catches as he sinks his fingers inside of me again.
He chuckles low in his throat and removes his fingers, whirling me to face him. “You’re incredible.”
“I’m filthy,” I tease, backing out of his arms. “I want to shower, and I want you to come with me.”
“Do you know how long it takes to get into this armor?” he says, prowling toward me as I back toward the door to our bathroom.
“You poor Alpha baby,” I pout, and his eyes flare with predatory lust that always has me on edge.
I used to push all of his buttons just to see that look on his face.
Nothing has to change, right?
He rips his shirt off just as I squeal and rush toward the bathroom door, but he catches me around the waist as I cross the threshold. He shoves us inside, the door slamming shut behind us, and the shower starts running as if on instinct.
I love this magic house.
His lips crush mine in a rough, heated kiss full of passion, longing, and the joy of just being alive and together. It’s like everything we’ve done and had to endure led us to this moment.
We could do this slowly. I could run my fingers over his skin, outline each scar and tattoo. I could memorize every move he makes and every heated, possessive word he whispers against my skin, but right now, I just want him. I need him.
I pull him toward the shower. He rips off his shirt while keeping his eyes locked on mine, tossing it to the side. His pants go next, and then he’s naked in all of his glory in front me, shutting the shower door.
My blood rushes through my veins and I back toward the wall. Mist curls up my bare legs as hot water slides over my skin, washing away the remnants of the journey through the veil. His hands clutch my waist, and then his mouth is on my neck, sucking the tender skin between my neck and shoulder.
I close my eyes and wrap my arms around his neck, dipping my head just as he looks up. He brushes my wet hair away from my face and kisses me, his tongue sweeping over my lower lip before plunging into my mouth and over my tongue.
Every touch reminds me that we’re alive. I still can’t believe it. The last time we were in this castle together, we had no idea we’d be facing death in a matter of days.
Now, we have our whole lives ahead of us.
He hooks an arm under my thigh and presses me against the wall. His cock is hard as steel and pressing against my stomach as he deepens the kiss, stealing the very breath from my lungs as I moan around him and grind against him.
“Please,” I whimper, canting my hips against his. I have to stand on my tip-toes to meet him, and even then, he’s lifting me a few inches off the ground as the head of his cock nudges my entrance.
“Beg,” he growls, and it’s my undoing.
“Please,” I whimper, losing control of my body and mind. All there is is him. His touch, his cock pressing inside of me with little gentleness. He fills me completely, stretching me with each glorious inch. “Please, Ryatt.”
He fucks me hard against the wall in the shower. I’ll have bruises on my hip bones tomorrow from where he is holding me so tightlyl, claiming me as his again and again.
“Your body is fucking paradise,” he rasps in my ear, groaning as he slides out fully before thrusting in again. “I can’t get enough of you, Princess. You’re all I think about. All I want is to be buried inside of you.”
I close my eyes as white-hot tension begins to tighten through my thighs and lower belly. His praise has me coming undone as that tension gives way to blinding, soul-shaking pleasure that rips through me and tangles with the powers currently lying dormant in my veins.
“I want you to come,” he whispers against my neck, biting down ever so slightly.
The climax is stronger than any I’ve ever felt before. It hits me like a rogue wave, tugging me under fathoms of water, drowning me in its current. I scream his name as my body ripples with energy, my muscles spasming around his cock that's still buried deep inside of me. He grunts, his teeth biting down on my shoulder hard enough to leave another mark, and fills me with his warm seed.
I open my eyes with the intention of watching my mate lose himself to the moment, but a faint opalescent glow fills my vision instead.
“Ryatt,” I breathe at the same moment he notices the light as well.
The light coming from my skin, and from his.
Slowly he lowers me to my feet and steps away, looking down at his hands, then back at my body.
“What is this?” I ask, turning my hands over to look at my palms. The light fades as quickly as it came. Painless and beautiful, the light dissolves like stars being washed away by the oncoming sunrise.
Ryatt steps toward me again. His expression has softened, his eyes now lovingly locked on mine as his mouth quirks into a disbelieving smile. “I believe… that was your powers.”
I make a face. “I don’t know–I didn’t feel anything. It was just light.”
“You’re… incredible,” he says, his eyes so full of awe. He presses a gentle kiss to my lips, whispering, “but you’re also fucking dangerous, Ella. We need to know what else you can do. I don’t want to be blown to bits because I made my wife come.”
I let out a rough laugh that’s stolen by another round of his kisses.
“How do we find out? A blood test, maybe?”
“Your people are so strange,” he says, shaking his head. “And they love their needles. No, not a blood test. Not like you’re thinking.” He moves away, edging toward the shower door. He pushes it open, giving me a fulll view of his muscular back and sculpted ass and thighs. I bite my lip, wondering if we have time for a second round, but he wraps a towel around his waist and leans against the counter, looking at me. “I know a guy.”
“What kind of guy?” I roughly scrub my scalp with sudsy lavender scented soap.
“He’s basically a mole who lives in the library here in Veiled Valley. I had him test your tears before, and he found something interesting, but we need more information.”
“Is he going to poke and prod me?” I tease, and Ryatt goes rigid, his eyes darkening. Just like I thought they would.
“He will not lay a hand on you or I will cut it off.”
“Goddess, you need to lighten up.”
He rolls his eyes and turns toward the mirror, swiping his hand over the fogged glass. “We’ll go there tomorrow night, before you leave for the coven.”
“You’re serious about me traveling to the coven on my own?”
“I have work to do. Otherwise, I’d go with you. The coven is your domain now. You are a witch. As the last of the Firestones, as far as we’re aware, you are their queen. It’s your right.”
“How do you know that for sure?” I ask, stepping out of the shower and reaching for one of the fluffy towels that house keeps toasty warm.
“If my mother had lived, she would have been Ravenna’s heir. It’s the power that determines succession, not bloodlines. Not when it comes to the witches. You are the most powerful witch this kingdom has seen in centuries. We just need to know what exactly you can do with these powers.”
“I toppled the coven, Ryatt.” My voice slips over the words as memories come rushing back to me.
“And the wards I placed over my lands are gone, and the packs who call the Roguelands home have been without power or safety since the moment you brought me through the veil to Maatua.”
“So… we have to go our separate ways? For how long?”
“Not long,” he assures me, but I can see the questioning look behind his eyes. “I hope.”
“Do I at least get an escort?”
“You can take Westfall.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You don’t want to catch up for lost time with your father?”
I realize it’s the wrong thing to say a second too late. Ryatt runs his fingers through his damp hair and eyes me through the reflection in the mirror. “Nothing is going to change between me and Westfall, Ella. He might have sired me, but I grew up alone, without a family. He is far from my father.”
“Ryatt, be serious–”
“I am.”
“How do you think he felt? How do you think it felt having to watch you grow up and not being able to tell you who you really were? Who he really was? He loves you.”
“He is my best commander.” He lets out a long sigh. “I need him to be that, and nothing more, until things are settled.”
“And how unsettled are things?” I ask sharply.
He grinds his teeth, his jaw tight. “Worse than I thought, Princess.”