Page 184 of Scourged

Mariah shot up, then came crashing down, her shattering release wracking through her as she writhed against the bindings. Unintelligible words spilled from her throat, her entire body shaking when he didn’t stop until the final waves of her orgasm had washed away.

He pressed a single kiss to the soft skin of her thigh before slowly rising, moving up her body with predatory purpose. Her head was still thrown back against the marble, chest heaving with her gasping breath.

“Goddess,” she groaned as his mouth fell to her shoulder, then her neck, making his way to the hollow of her ear.

He chuckled again, breath tickling against her wet hair. “No,nio. I’m not sure who you pray to, but as far as I’m concerned, the only goddess here is you.”

She dropped her head and opened her eyes, lids heavy with lust. “If I’m your goddess,” she crooned, “does that make you my god?”

He pulled back from her, just a hair’s breadth, just enough to meet her gaze. A slow, wild smirk pulled across his lips.

“Only when you scream my name.”

She clamped down on the whimper that tried to claw from her chest. “Maybe you should stop talking, then.”

His eyes flashed with challenge just before he slammed his lips to hers. She opened beneath him, letting him sweep in and claim her.

As if there were any part of her left for him to claim.

The bindings around her wrists loosened, and she tugged her hands free to grip his shoulders, nails digging into his skin. Blood rushed back into her fingertips, the sensation settingher entire body ablaze. His shadows curled around her legs, wrapping around her thighs, before his hands gripped her and lifted her farther up the wall.

Her legs settled around his hips, pinning his cock between them, his hard length gliding across her arousal. His shadows continued to twist around her legs before tightening around her left, hoisting her leg higher, opening her further to him. His hand rested against the inside of her leg, thumb dangerously close to her center, just as he broke their kiss to burrow his face into her neck as she gasped for air.

“The shadows are hardly fair,” Mariah whimpered, a hand sinking into his hair and pulling as her nails dug into his shoulder.

Andrian didn’t answer her. Only nipped at her ear, down her neck, and with a growl, lined himself up. He sank into her, slow and deep until he was buried to the hilt. Another groan escaped her throat as she was stretched and filled, and he landed another biting kiss on her neck, right over the sound.

“Fucking made for me,nio. Every single time.” He pulled out, just halfway, before thrusting back in, her body shoving up the wall. “You take me so fucking well.”

“Gods,” she whispered, her mind lost to a haze of lust and love and desire.

“That’s right.” Another thrust. “I am your god.” Thrust. “But you are my goddess.”

Those were the last words they traded before they were swept away in each other. The water rained around them, each droplet like lightning on her skin. Mariah lost herself to him, to the feeling of them together, to the way their bond shimmered and sang and burned, light and shadows dancing together in a place that transcended time.

Shadows snaked between them, sliding to where they were joined. Mariah whined when they touched her clit, brushing intime with the rhythm of his thrusts. Andrian’s hand slid up her back and into her hair, cradling her head as he whispered into her ear.

“I love you, Mariah. Until the moons fall from the sky.” Her body tightened, her world narrowing to the sound of his voice, the rough grip of his hand, the way he moved inside her. “Come for me,nio. Let go.”

Her release shattered through her as she cried out, clawing for him as if she could meld him to her forever. He came with her as she shuddered apart, her name on his lips like a prayer, a call for salvation.

They collapsed against each other beneath the falling water, panting and shaking in each other’s arms. His shadows loosened around her legs, vanishing back beneath his skin. She was glowing faintly, the light in her veins dancing around them.

It took several long moments for their breathing to slow, for their hearts to stop racing. Andrian pulled away from her just enough to meet her gaze. His usual mask was gone, and he looked at her with that raw openness she’d seen only a handful of times. It was an openness he reserved only for her, a blend of love and wonder and awe and just the smallest hint of sadness.

Pressing a heartbreakingly gentle kiss to her forehead, he slipped himself out of her. She gasped at the sudden loss but found herself scooped into his arms, legs still wrapped around his torso as he held her to him with an arm around her back. He turned off the shower before pushing through the glass doors. Snagging two plush white towels hanging on a rack, he set her down gently on her feet, keeping a steadying hand around her.

Mariah let him wrap her in the towel, groaning at the softness of the cotton against her still-sensitive skin. Her body felt heavy, and her mind felt calm, the magic bridging their souls still wrapped tight around her and holding the beast of her rage at bay.

Andrian led her to the bed and together they sank into the down comforter, the sound of the night breeze outside brushing in through the open window. They both succumbed to sleep, their momentary comfort fighting off the dread they harbored deep beneath their current happiness.

Dread that tonight, this feeling of contentedness and bliss, might be the last one they ever have.

Chapter 65

Mariah woke to the darkness of early morning before the sun’s rays had peaked over the mountains. She was warm beneath her down comforter, limbs tangled with Andrian’s, the gentle rise and fall of his chest telling her he still slept.

She wanted to go back to sleep. Knew she would need it. She had plenty of time to rest; they weren’t planning to leave until midmorning when the sun had fully risen. Their bags were already packed and only the gods knew when she would get her next chance to really rest.

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