Page 100 of Somber Prince

I didn’t feel my body. It appeared to remain floating somewhere, back in the world of pleasure and pain.

Her affection filtered through my tendrils, soothing my pain like a magical potion. Anchoring me in place. She cradled my head in her lap. Brushing my hair aside, she kissed my temple, then stroked along my ear. Her touch was gentle. Loving. Tenderness spread through my chest with a warm glow.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I buried my face in her stomach, breathing in her familiar scent.

A shiver ran through my muscles with chills, and she pulled a sheet over me.

“We did it, Rha. We got through it. It’s over now.”

Nothing was over yet.

My poor little treasure didn’t realize that it all had just begun.

Chapter Twenty-Five

DAWN

The mattress moved with Rha shifting from it. It yanked me out of my nap.

“Your Highness.” Sigid’s quiet voice reached me.

Something was deposited by the bed with a soft clank then the mattress dipped again as Rha climbed back in bed with me.

I stretched, opening my eyes. Rha was by my side, wearing a thin beige robe over his otherwise gloriously naked body. My own body ached as if it’d been tossed in a concrete mixer with a bunch of rocks. Helping a shadow fae through a bout of mating fever proved to be quite a workout.

“What time is it?” I murmured, rubbing my eyes.

A soft kiss landed on the corner of my mouth. Rha’s warm breath fanned over my lips.

“What does it matter?”

Time hadn’t mattered for a while now. Nothing did. For the past two days or so, our vigorous fucking alternated with leisurely love making, interrupted by bath breaks and meals at random. Exhausted, we'd dozed off a couple of times, with most of Rha’s mating cluster still inside me.

“How are you feeling, my sweet?” he murmured, kissing along my jawline.

His tendrils skimmed up my arms, their ends hovered over my leilathas, waiting for my permission. I nodded, and they connected at once.

“You’re sore,” he stated.

“No kidding, Captain Obvious,” I croaked. “What did you expect?”

He heaved a sigh with a somber expression. “My expectations were far gloomier.”

“Of course they were.” I smiled and stroked the deep worry wrinkle between his eyebrows. “Gloomy should be your middle name, my somber prince.”

He ran his hands down my arms, then over my ribs. I winced when he reached my hips.

“I hurt you.” His expression turned even darker.

“Mhm.” I shifted a little in search of a more comfortable position on my back. “It seems the gazillion orgasms you’ve given me came at a price.”

He bent down to the floor. I heard the sound of water as he rinsed and wrung out a cloth.

“A gazillion?”

“Well, I lost count after seven, which happened after our first visit to the baths but before that first tray of snacks we ordered.”

He gently dragged the warm, wet cloth over the bruises on my hips.

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