Page 139 of Tempest

Tempest - Epilogue

Only Ardyn could takea torture scenario and cast a lovesick spell into the atmosphere, blotting out all hate and forcing introspection instead.

Her delighted shrieks tickle my ear as I carry her through the bookshelf and kick it shut with my feet, then take the stairs to the second floor two at a time, my princess tight in my arms.

“I want you naked,” I growl into her ear, snapping my teeth near her lobe.

She trembles at the cascade of breath down her nape and across one shoulder.

At the entrance to my bedroom, I set her on her feet. Ardyn spins, light on her toes, pulling her shirt up and tossing it aside. I make quick work of my clothes and by the time I’m naked and standing before her, she is, too.

“Breathtaking,” she whispers, her eyes trained on my cock, before she enters into my arms.

My immediate reaction should be to throw her on the bed and spread her legs, biting the inside of her thighs until she trembles and sweats.

Instead, I’m struck by the need to hold her. Just hold her.

Our warmth intermingles, her hair a blanket of silk between my fingers. I burrow into her nape, inhaling a scent that is only Ardyn’s, sweet and pure.

She runs her hands down my back, scraping delicately and drawing concentric circles. Soon, our breaths match, our chests rising and falling together.

“I could stay like this,” I admit, swaying with her in my arms.

Ardyn raises her eyes to mine, our noses bumping. “Then we should.”

This close, I notice how her lower lip is bigger than the one above, a sensual curve with an ombrè hue of pink to rose. Unable to resist, I dart out my tongue, tasting the center.

She melts into my chest, her tongue brushing against mine.

That’s all I need.

I lay her on the bed—gentle now, trying to be oh so gentle—trailing my fingers between her breasts, over her belly button, and into her folds.

Ardyn arches into my fingers, her eyelashes fluttering as she attempts to maintain her stare on mine.

“Give in,” I say, shifting to better accomodate my raging boner.

She lifts her hips, allowing me deeper access. I curve my fingers inside her, prodding and coaxing, but it isn’t enough. It never is.

I shift until I’m between her legs and my mouth takes over. Her taste explodes on my tongue. Ardyn yelps her hands knotting the sheets as she humps my face. I groan into her softness, the desire to stain my face with her forever spurring my tongue forward, driving it as deep as it can go.

It’s no replacement for my dick, so when I have her on the brink, I lift my head, running my tongue across my lower lip.

“Why’d you stop?” she pants, squirming uncomfortably.

I say simply, “Because I want to see you every time you come undone for me.”

Her legs fall to the sides as I slip in between, rising above her and slipping in where I’ve always belonged. I’ve shaped her for myself, and I can honestly admit, I’m happy to call Ardyn my forever home.

The men downstairs still must die, obviously. They touched her—they messed with my home, and I will never let them experience a safe space again.

To Ardyn, they will just disappear from her life and she won’t give them a second thought. As I run a finger down the angles of her cheek, nestling into the corner of her mouth, I vow to make her forget every single bad thing that happened to her—except for me, of course.

I’m the only bad that will ever be good for her.

Ardyn accepts my finger and sucks it into her mouth, down to the knuckle. She thrusts against it with her tongue, mimicking what she wants me to do with my dick.

I smile.

“You’re mine,” I say to her before pulling out, then slamming in. “You’re fucking mine.”

“I’m yours,” she agrees with a heavy-lidded stare, her body wide open for me. “I love you. I love you, Tempest.”

“I…” Groaning, my head falls forward, my balls tightening as she clenches and seals me inside. “I don’t deserve you, but I fucking love you, too.”

It isn’t until later, after Ardyn fell asleep, that I sneak out and dispose of the bastards downstairs. I return, slipping between my sheets that Ardyn’s kept warm and spoon her into my chest, and I murmur into the night, into her ear, “I’m only ever yours, princess. I hope you’ll keep me.”

Her mouth curves in sleep and she rolls over, nestling closer to where she belongs.

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