Page 118 of Calling of the Crown

“Rune!” I breathed out, flinging my head back as I detonated on his mouth, riding out the high of a blinding orgasm.

My hands ached from where I’d held the headboard so tightly, but I barely registered it as I shifted off Rune’s face, wiggling myself further down his body. He must’ve taken his pants off while eating me out, because his hard member was free, and I was glad for that. As soon as I reached it, I gripped the cock and sank onto it.

I moaned at the burning fullness, pressing myself deeper onto him. Rune’s eyes squeezed shut, and his head tilted back as I lifted and sank down again. I didn’t let up, too hungry for him and all the sensations he made me feel. I rode him hard and fast, getting drunk on the sight of him coming undone beneath me.

Every time I saw the flare of desire or felt the way he wanted me in his touch, I found myself even more drawn to him. I loved the deep groan he let out when I moved my hips a certain way, the filthy words he whispered when he wanted me, and the way his face pinched in absolute pleasure every time he spilled himself into me. He was perfect, and he was all mine.

I felt the familiar electricity dart across my skin and straight to where I bounced up and down on Rune’s cock. He gripped my hips tightly, arching his back as he came, filling me with his release. I shivered as I climaxed again, and I collapsed, resting my face under his chin.

The two of us lay there, working to catch our breath and coming down from the post-sex haze.

I placed a kiss on his chest and whispered, “I love you.”

His chest rose and fell as his breathing began to even out, and his arms snaked around me to pull me closer, despite there being no room left between us. He looked down at me, and I propped my chin on his pec to meet his adoring stare. He brushed a lone finger softly over my cheek. “And I love you, Bria. More than I could ever possibly say.”

The smile that took over was instant. The words were small, but their meaning was vast. Three words that encompassed hundreds of others—happiness, trust, friendship, adoration, respect, hope. They were words I’d never tire of hearing leave his lips, and I’d never get tired of returning them.

He pulled my face up to his to place another kiss on my lips. “Thank you for agreeing to be my fake girlfriend, Bria.”

A nostalgic, emotional laugh brushed past my lips, and it had me glancing at the wall near our bed where we’d finally hung the painting I’d done on our first fake date—my fox and me sitting side-by-side at my creek. It was a memory from long ago, one that felt like a dream in the wake of all we’d been through since that blissful night.

That really was what started it all. What brought the two of us here. A girl, desperate to reach her dream, and a boy, eager to live a carefree life with nothing to tie him down. A human and a fox. A pair separated by much but destined for even more.

Smiling down at Rune—my fox, my best friend, my husband—I mused, “We’ve come a long way, huh?”

“And we still have a long way to go. More work to do. More memories to make. More to share with each other.”

I wove our fingers together, our silver bands shining from the fire and the moonlight dancing around the room. “Yes, we do.”

He kissed our joined hands and whispered, “Forever with you, Bria.”

I beamed. “Forever with you, Rune.”

Epilogue

One Year Later

I SMOOTHED MY HANDS DOWN the knee-length fitted black dress. Nerves danced inside of me even as I took deep, calming breaths.

“Come on, Bria,” I whispered to myself. “You’ve literally fought Fae and ruled an entire Kingdom. You can do this.”

I did another walk-through of the temporary gallery set up in an art museum in Milan, Italy. The paintings that hung proudly about the spacious room were my best, and even though I knew this, I was still an anxious wreck as we neared time for the doors to open.

After all, this was my first art exhibition.

“Bria. Non ti preoccupare.”

I turned from double checking the set-up of a painting to meet the easy-going smile of the man who’d been my instructor for the past five months—the man I’d always admired and thought I’d never get to meet.

“You stress over nothing,” Luca Romano said. “Your paintings are meraviglioso.”

I took a deep breath and tucked stray strands of blue hair back into place where I’d twisted it into an up-do. “Thank you, sir. I just—I want tonight to be perfect. It’s the first time my mom and so many others will see my paintings like this.”

He smiled and patted my shoulder. “Get used to it. I have a feeling this is just the beginning for your career.”

I hoped he was right.

It had been a year since the war between Water and Land Fae ended, and after months of diligent, hard work on everyone’s part, life had seemed to settle somewhat. That was when Rune, my mom, and everyone else had encouraged me to finally finish what I’d started. I’d re-enrolled in school, and by some miracle, I was able to take that study abroad opportunity a year later than originally planned. Rune, Dallas, and the others still had all their special Fae connections to people in high places, so our group had been living here in Milan for the entirety of the spring semester. I’d spent every moment relishing the bliss and simplicity of all I’d missed.

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