I waved my head. “I should be the one thanking you. I’m so sorry for…” I paused.
What would I even apologise for? The list was so long it would probably take me all night to explain everything I had done, every lie I’d told, the reasoning behind it.
“You chose me, in the end,” he responded. “That’s what matters.”
“Ansgar, everything I told you was a lie.” I needed to clarify, let him know that it had always been him, ever since we met. “I just told you that because I didn’t think it was possible, this relationship between us. I thought freeing you was the best option.”
He raised his brows in surprise, so I told him everything that happened. How I wanted to see him that morning, but I received a visit from his brother, how he’d explained that there is no such thing as a mating bond between us. That I thought I was getting in the way of his happiness. That I thought I would not, could not be enough. He tensed and wanted to rise from the bed in anger, probably to chase his brother for an explanation but one look at my naked shape and he decided the rage fit could wait for another day. He relaxed afterwards, and had a laughter fit when I’d told him about the dress I’d arrived in and how Vikram was the one to save me.
“I need to find that dress,” he said in between chuckles. I told him about how one of the forest guards knew about the fae because his human grand aunt was mated with one, how he’d given me the root to make tea and how I’d ended up here, not wasting a moment away from him.
“It’s been only you,” I said again. “Since that kiss we had on the plateau. If I am truly honest with myself, even ahead of that, probably since that sunset we shared together, when you held my hand. My heart knew before my mind even began to understand it,” I stated as he lunged for me with another kiss, his body crushing mine.
“Let’s do it again.” He pushed his growing hardness into me, penetrating deep with two strokes. As he sheathed himself into me, he paused, as though he could sense that my body needed to adjust to fully receive him. He started moving with excruciating slowness, allowing me to feel every inch of him, those thick veins on his cock scraping at my core in such a way that I knew I could not last long and I’d start begging him for more. When I started moaning, he obliged, moving in and out of me faster, deeper, pressing my hips hard into the mattress as my insides started building up pleasure from the feel of him.
Within minutes, I was squirming under him while tingles shimmied across my body, from the waves of pleasure accumulating within my core. He would not stop, would not slow down. Possessed by the pleasure, by our union, Ansgar pistoned in and out of me with abrupt strokes, hands gripping my hips tight enough to bruise and when he bent down to bite my shoulder, the pleasure rippled through me and I shattered around him, clenching him tightly with my legs as spikes of desire erupted from that spot he was hitting so well.
A satisfied lover’s smirk cropped on his lips and he allowed himself to find pleasure with a few more strokes, deep enough that I felt my stomach tighten. He finished with a groan, his gaze penetrating my own, a perfect portrayal of our bodies.
“The second time is better,” he announced between pants, voice roughened by sex.
I smiled lazily in approval. To my surprise, not even a minute later my lover was ready for round three and without even announcing his desire to continue our sex marathon, he just spread my legs wide enough to allow his body to fit in between them, his hardness already pointed to my entrance.
“Already?” I scowled, eyes wide with surprise.
“This feels excellent, I want more of it,” he murmured as he nudged at my entrance, a silent request to let him in. And I did, I allowed him to explore our bodies, our union, the build-up exquisite sensation that our friction created and we groaned and shuddered together.
I knew it was going to be a long night when, just an hour after we decided to go to sleep, Ansgar’s hardness poking at my rear woke me up to find him smiling and hungry for me, so I obliged. This time, I laid him on the bed and speared myself into him, moving up and down, grinding on him until we were both a sweaty mess of limbs and tongues and he roared, actually roared when he found his release, his fingers digging into my hips so hard that deep scratches were left behind and we were forced to stop so he could clean the almost-bleeding marks.
He felt so bad afterwards that he made it up to me again and again, worshiping my body with his hands, his tongue and all of him, until wave after wave of pleasure left me a pile of trembling mess. Only when dawn rose, its light shining over the sweat of our bodies, did we stop, Ansgar bringing me close to him and placing soothing caresses across the skin he had tantalised all night long.
“Let’s sleep for an hour or two,” he murmured into me, “then we’ll go home and do it all over again.” The perky smile remained on his lip and he instantly fell prey to sleep, the exhaustion of the night leaning heavily on top of his eyelids. I kissed his jaw, the only part of him within reach, without having to change my position and rested my head on his shoulder, my body shivering with the rivers of pleasure he had left behind.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The chirrup of the canaries in the garden woke me up to find Anwen clutched to my shoulder, her skin bearing the marks of last night. She was nestled into me, enjoying the warmth of our bodies while her hair formed waves of hazel onto the white silk pillow. She was mine, she accepted me, joined with me and together we made our energy whole, new again, like a star that was reborn into the night sky and had now the ability to outshine all her sisters.
I carefully moved her head and made sure to cover her with the blanket that was more wrapped around her feet than on top of her. As I pulled it up across her body, I saw the marks of what we’d done, remembered how I dragged my fingers into her hips where dark scratch marks remained, along with a growing bruise on her hand. And a bite mark on her lower neck where my teeth had ripped into her when she moved with such veracity on top of me it made me explode inside of her. I needed to be more careful, I decided, as I shimmied from the bed and pulled last night’s pair of pants from the settee. I tried to make my way into the kitchen and prepare a platter for Anwen, but as soon as I stepped out of my chambers, Vikram intercepted me and dragged me into the breakfast room, where all the family, apart from Father, seemed to be eagerly waiting for me. No matter how hard I tried to protest and explain that a pair of dirty pants and nothing else was not the way to present myself in front of Mother and Takara, he did not seem to care as he physically shoved me in the room. They all stared in surprise. Damaris even had the good sense to choke on his juice.
I lowered my head and puckered my lips, not feeling at all comfortable and as I looked down at my stomach, I realised that I was not the only one to leave proof of my pleasure on my lover. Two big scratches marked my pecs and the left side of my abdomen, clearly Anwen’s way of letting me know she had enjoyed our late night activities. I shifted my gaze to Vikram to find him beaming behind me, making an effort not to bounce up and down with excitement. I was the first to speak.
“I only came for some food, Vikram had the poor taste to bring me here in this state,” I explained my apology to the two females, both of whom pierced me with frowns. Damaris’ face remained plain, though he visibly struggled to do so. Vikram, as expected, had to say something.
“Breakfast in bed after an entire night of sex? Brother, you are a very attentive lover,” he smirked like a cat who had just eaten a full jar of cream.
“Seeing as you are here and not in your bed with the latest conquest, you are clearly not,” I replied and proceeded to pick an empty plate and fill it with a bit of everything displayed on the table.
“If I’d known she was staying overnight, I would have arranged rooms more suitable for her,” Mother pointed out, unable to keep her eyes away from the big scratch on my lower abdomen.
“Thank you Mother, but there is no need, my mate will share my rooms from now on.” She opened her mouth to protest, but I anticipated the question and continued, “We will of course have much to discuss, I will bring her next month and we will have dinner, talk things through.” Then I paused and placed the plate back on the table in order to give her my full attention. “I will do whatever is needed, whatever is asked of me, serve in any way I am required, but she stays,” I demanded, my gaze burning into hers, a clash of shadow and adamant, both determined, both ready to fight for our stance. To my relief, she only nodded and lowered her eyes in defeat.
“Now that we have established how my brother is ready to die for love, can we please talk about the sex?” Vikram served himself another chocolate pastry and occupied the chair next to me, biting into it with excitement.
“There is nothing to talk about,” I replied and grabbed a glass to pour juice into.
“Well, brother, judging by the marks on your chest, your abdomen and your back, the lady liked it. A lot,” he grinned.
I huffed, surprised that Anwen had the chance to mark so many parts of my body and wicked delight poured through me. The things I would do to her, Goddess save me, I planned to devour that woman every day and night until either one of my organs would fail.
