She didn’t pull away. Instead, she leaned into my touch, her hand resting against my chest, feeling the steady beat of my heart, as if grounding herself in the reality of this moment.
We stayed like that, our breaths mingling, our bodies close, until the world around us faded into a gentle blur, leaving only the warmth, the connection that bound us together in a way that felt unbreakable.
And then, slowly, inevitably, our lips met.
The kiss was soft, tentative, a promise as much as it was an embrace, a silent vow that spoke of everything we had been through, everything we had fought for.
It was the taste of freedom, of hope, of a love that had defied the darkness and come out on the other side, whole, unbroken.
When we finally drew apart, her gaze met mine, a soft, radiant smile curving her lips.
“It’s nice to see you in the sunlight like this,” she said, carding her fingers through my hair. I wanted to close my eyes, tilt my head into her hand, and purr like an overgrown cat.
So I did.
Elena laughed, pulling me closer with her grip on my hair, tangling her fingers in the dark strands. The tiny shock of pain grounded me in the moment, made me realize that this wasreal—that the curse was broken, we were both free, and I had the woman I loved in my arms.
My heart was hammering in my chest as my hands gripped her hips and I pulled her toward me until she straddled me, her skirts hiking up her thighs, and then I felt delicious pressure against my arousal. I moved, and I’d never heard anything so lovely as her answering moan.
“Dario…” she gasped in my ear, and I felt like I was flying.
She just met my gaze for a beat, and then she licked her lips, the space between us so narrow that I felt a whisper of movement against my own lips—and it felt like I could barely breathe, even if I could remember how.
For so long, the curse had stolen even this from me. Every time moonlight touched me, every time I dissolved into mist, I wondered if I would ever know what it was to hold someone fully. To be wholly present.
Now, with Elena above me, silver hair spilling over my chest, I finally understood what it meant tolive.
I took her mouth with mine again, sweeping my tongue into her mouth to taste and stroke—
She tasted sogood. Like the honey we both had been eating. Warm and sweet and wet—
It made me salivate for more.
She moaned, her hand in my hair tightening, and it was my turn to groan. I let go of her long enough to push her robes down, our fingers tangling together as she helped me.
She made short work of my tunic, and I pulled her back to me to put my mouth to her neck, licking along the underside of her jaw, along the column of her throat as she dropped her head back and whimpered.
Light and shadow twined around us as we moved together. Her magic glowed faintly, shimmering along her skin, while mine curled dark and protective, stroking her like a lover’s hands. Not threatening, not binding—simply entwining, as natural as breath.
I was kissing behind her ear while my hands moved to her breasts, amazed by how small and delicate she felt under my rough palms. I had missed this, the last time she was in my arms. Then, the moonlight had played spoilsport, but now, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste.
I would feel all of her, and she would feelallof me.
One of her hands drifted between us, her fingers tightening around me, and I broke away to gasp, fighting for control.
She laughed, and I couldn’t help myself, shadows burst out of my shoulders and my arms to catch hold of her wrists and yank them away, binding her arms behind her back.
Her answering pout was adorable.
My own hands slid down, down, ticking her sides. She arched and shifted as if she wanted to be closer.
“Dario, please,” she said, her eyes more black than silver, her pupils blown wide. And my control snapped.
Then I was pushing her skirts up in a frenzy, my shadows bursting from my legs to pull apart her undergarments, ripping them to shreds so I could run my bare fingers up her legs, tracing the bones of her hips with feather-light touches before dipping lower, to feel the slick wetness between her thighs. We both moaned as my fingers slid in, and I cursed as she clenched around me.
I retreated, giving the little nub at her entrance a stroke as I went, and then I was lifting her thighs in my hands so she could wrap them around my waist, wiggling until she was in position.
My shadows ripped apart my own clothes, uncaring of anything but the need to bury myself inside Elena.
