Page 14 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

My hands reached for his arms, desperately squeezing the muscles there, trying to hold on as my body burned with pleasure.

“Look at you, taking every fucking inch of me.”

My toes curled as I closed my eyes and threw my head back. I felt myself clench around him, another orgasm building.

“That’s it. Come for me again. I want to feel it,” Samkiel demanded. “Give me what I want.”

My back bowed as I did just that, drawing a string of curses from him in return. Those filthy fucking words from him sent me over the edge every time, and he knew it. Samkiel knew how easily he could control my pleasure, and a part of me loved that, too.

He buried himself to the hilt as my body combusted around his. My pussy clamped down tight on his cock, and his body jerked as he came inside me. He groaned, low and deep, his hand leaving my clit and gripping my hips, my sides, anything he could reach.

“Gods,” he groaned, lowering his head to the curve of my neck, his cock twitching inside me. “You are divine.”

A breathy laugh escaped me. “Depends on who you ask.”

Samkiel chuckled, lowering my leg and placing me on my feet. His hands ran up and down my thigh as if soothing a sore muscle. We stayed there for a moment, catching our breath and coming down from our high.

Sometimes, I didn’t know where I ended and he began, but I didn’t feel like wondering about it any longer. All I knew was the world faded away when we were together, and I would burn anyone and anything to ashes to keep it. If the afterlife was perfect, I wanted mine to be this with him forever and ever, but this was not paradise. It was reality, and reality, like a cold-hearted bitch, snuck her way between us. I felt the shift when it was no longer about us. The insidious whispers reared their ugly heads, reminding us of exactly what had happened, where we were, and what was ahead.

He leaned back, his hands sweeping across the sides of my head and fisting in my hair. He kissed me once, twice, three times. “Good morning.”

I smiled against his lips. “The best morning.”

He pulled me to him, his arms wrapping around me completely as if having me pressed against his body solved all his problems. Maybe it did help. Gods, I hoped it gave him at least a moment of peace. My hand pressed against his chest, feeling the solid, reassuring thump of his heart. His head rested atop mine, and I could feel the edge of his scar along my abdomen as he held me close. I swallowed, trying to steal a few more moments for us.

I traced the glowing lines on his skin. They pulsed gently, matching the beat of our hearts. I knew they showed up when he used extreme power, but knowing I drew them from him when he was lost and blinded by the pleasure I gave him had a cocky smile playing across my lips. I hoped he only glowed for me.

I didn’t know they had a name, but we had talked a lot over the last six weeks, and Samkiel had told me what the adyin were. They trailed all through his body, swirling thin lines, godly marks that manifested when his power was roused.

The light slowly dimmed, his skin returning to the smooth brown hue. Samkiel didn’t say anything or move as the weight of the world came crashing back down. He clung to me as if I were his only anchor. I knew what shadows lurked near him, what monsters nipped and clawed at him. He still struggled with them at night, new nightmares haunting him now. I hated it and vowed to burn the world in retaliation for what it took from him.

“You know,” I pulled back, looking up at him, “I was just thinking, who knew the terrifying World Ender required cuddles after mindblowing sex?”

His brows lifted, and I saw the shadows retreat to the furthest corners of his mind. “Mind-blowing, huh?”

I shrugged. “Okay, you got me. Mediocre. I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“Hmm.” He nodded, but I caught the slight grin. My laughter died on a squeal as he yanked me off my feet and tossed me over his shoulder before striding away from the mess of our breakfast.

SAMKIEL LEANED AGAINST THE TUB WITH HIS EYES CLOSED AS I USED the bubbles to mold the longest part of his hair into a ridge along the top of his head.

“You could probably go to sleep here, huh?”

He smirked, his arms hanging off the sides of the tub, his body almost too enormous to fit. “Mm-hmm.”

My hand ran over one eyebrow, chasing away the small line of soap sliding toward his eye.

“Where did you even find bubbles? Their soap here usually turns into that murky cream color.”

“I asked Miska.”

My head reared back, my lip turning up. “Who is Miska?”

His grin widened, and his hand patted my butt. “Calm down. She’s one of the youngest healers here, and I’d say the nicest.”

My lips tugged to the side. Samkiel knew most of them by name since they were with him the majority of the day, trying to heal his side. I only remembered them by their hair. Some had short or long, some wore jewels in the strands, and that one with a ponytail whose eyes lingered far too long on Samkiel. I disliked her the most.

I sat up a fraction in the tub, the soap clinging to me. “Did she give you these because she’s nice or because she has a raging crush on you?”

---