“You stole that,” he says, his voice a gentle scolding as he shifts and lowers me to the mattress next to him.
I shove my trembling thighs together. “I want more.”
“I know you do.”
In quick, jerky movements, he removes his surcoat and pants. “Now it’s my turn.”
Determination fortifies him as he shifts to straddle me. Desire smolders in his blue eyes as he pushes my legs open and yanks me against him. At the same time, he thrusts inside me, his movements quick. I curl my fingers around his arms and meet his body with mine. Needing this. Needing him.
He abandons his control as he takes me, his thrusts harder and harder. I grip his backside and move with him.
We needed this, this recklessness, this franticness, as if we only have this moment. Nothing else matters. All those things we cannot control. All the people beyond this bedchamber. The warring Tarrobane tribes. My inability to suppress my magic.
None of those things matter right now. Only Hector. Only giving myself to him.
He kisses my throat and stills inside of me as he reaches his release. I hold him even tighter, keeping him against me. I just need a moment longer.
He jerks my chin upward and crushes his mouth to mine, branding himself so deep, I’ll never pull him free.
I’ll never forget this part of him. This fulfillment. This peace.
He pulls away and turns to grab a linen cloth. Contentment sweeps through me as I slip from the bed and move to the washing stand. I add chamomile and lavender to the water and wash away our coupling.
“Sol.”
My bare feet brush against the wooden floor as I turn and skim my eyes over Hector’s naked body.
He crooks a finger at me. “Come here.”
I do as he requested, joining him on the bed. He grabs my hips and situates me in front of him. A sigh escapes me as I lie back against his chest. I could get used to this.
“What are you going to do tomorrow?” he murmurs against my hair.
“I’m going to that bakery you rode past when we first arrived in Karra.”
His chest moves against me as he laughs. “Are you craving bread?”
“Yes. And since you were cruel and didn’t stop, I’m forced to go back. A lot.”
“Will you bring me back something sweet?” He cups my breast. “Something as sweet as you taste?”
“Hector.”
“What?” he asks innocently. “Do you want me to apologize for liking the way you taste?”
I dig my nails into his muscular thighs. “No
“I especially like this.” He touches me between my legs, and I forget about the bakery.
ChapterForty
Happiness brims inside me, a fullness, a contentment. Maybe it was always supposed to be like this between Hector and me. We were just too stubborn to admit it until now.
Maybe I can even convince him to not take me to the cave of reflection. Oh, how I hope I can convince him of that. Tarrobane doesn’t need more of their dark magic.Idon’t need more of it.
It’s an abomination. It destroys everything it touches like a gangrenous wound. I don’t want to be a gangrenous wound.
Mildred is proof of what it destroys. She stole the color and vibrancy of an entire forest to cast her dark magic. Nobody has to tell me that truth. It’s as plain as if written in the stars.
