Page 201 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

My voice snaps him from his pacing and he immediately walks over, cutting me off as he kneels at my feet. “Clarissa, listen to me. It is I who should be apologising.” I stare at him in confusion, his face torn. “If I have in some way given you the idea that I didn’t want to be your mate…” He trails off, shaking his head and blowing out a frustrated breath, rubbing a hand through his beard before meeting my eyes. “There is no greater honour than becoming your mate.” His words are slow and clear, and I know he’s making sure there is no possible way I could misinterpret what he’s saying. My stomach flips, and I can’t hold back the small, hopeful smile his words create. “In my culture—ourculture,” he corrects, reaching out and taking my hands in his. “The bond is calledematus,” he begins, and I remember him explaining this to me before. It’s a unique blessing that’s given to two people from the mountain tribes by their gods and goddesses. “People who haveematusare paired because they are fated to do great things, and they complete each other. Without the other person, they cannot reach their full potential.”

He pauses, and I know he doesn’t want to say the next part, his finger tracing patterns on my palm as he procrastinates. “Not all bonded complete the bond, they can manage together like we do. But some fall in love and choose to complete the bond. You call it mating. It is irreversible and more sacred than marriage in our culture.” There’s a pause, and I feel my stomach flip again, his gaze deep, like he’s seeing into my soul. “Before I knew who you were, it was different, but as I got to know you, and when we got here, it became clear who you are—whatyou are to our people, the whole continent. You’re the goddess’ beloved!” Shaking his head, he looks away as he laughs bitterly at himself.“Maybe I handled it wrong, but there was no way I was going to rush you into accepting a bond with me. Not when you already had two complicated mates who, during the only two times they have met, have tried to kill each other.”

Watching him as he speaks, I realise he’s right. At least I can understand his viewpoint. The tribes are still quite religious and follow many strict rules, and although Tor is very relaxed about many of these views, I get the feeling theematusbond is something he feels very strongly about. Now that I am a fully-fledged member of the tribes, we have to abide by their rules, so I have to take that into consideration when I complete my bond with Tor. Except his fated bond with me is no different than the ones I have with Vaeril or Grayson, the tribes just give it a different name. To me, in my soul, they are all permanently bound to me, and that is not something I take lightly.

However, the fact he’s given me space to work things out with Grayson and Vaeril before his own desires says a lot about him as a person. He put my happiness first, even though it made things more difficult for him. Squeezing his hands to get his attention, I smile teasingly as he turns to look at me. “For such a tough guy, you can be a big softie.”

Laughing, he rolls his eyes, the sound filling me with warmth and happiness, and I can’t help but laugh back. “Don’t tell anyone.” That simmering desire that’s been sitting in the background makes itself known once more, and he must sense it as, although his smile stays in place, his expression turns serious. “Clarissa, I love you. I always have.”

I want to just fall into his arms and let this force of desire overtake me, but the deliberate way he says the last part makes me pause. ‘I always have.’ That was no accidental slip of the tongue. Whatever he means by that, he said it on purpose, I just have to decide if I want to take the bait or not.Of course youhave to know,my thoughts nag, and they’re right, now that I’ve noticed, I’m not going to be able to let it go.

“What do you mean you always have?”

Tor nods, like he was expecting me to ask but was also hoping I wouldn’t. “I can’t say much—”

A sudden moment of clarity hits me, and I don’t know why I didn’t work it out before. It was so obvious. “You knew me before, didn’t you? Before I was taken,” I ask, interrupting him, realising he must still be under some magical oath and unable to tell me what I truly want to know. Back in Arhaven when we first met, he once accused me of looking like his dead best friend. He’s always called me by a different name. He was always seeking me out. At first, I thought it was because I looked like his friend, then I supposed it was because of the connection I felt between us. I’ve been trying to get to know him, and all this time he knew me. “Is that why you call me Liv? Was that my real name?” The questions fall from my mouth in a rush.

“Clarissa,” Tor murmurs as he pushes to his feet, releasing my hands and reaching out to cup my face, guiding me so I’m looking up at him. My mind is in turmoil. Part of me, the human part, wants to push and ask more questions. Realistically, I know there’s nothing new that I’ll learn tonight so there’s no point in pushing it, but that’s not an attribute humans are good at—letting go of something. However, my fae side that seems to have been awoken from the ceremony today is trying to take control and sizzling in my veins, demanding that we take what is ours, starting with Tor.

As Tor’s thumb strokes my cheek and he wraps his other arm around me, my thoughts are pulled from my dilemma and fixate on how close we are. “Let’s take things one at a time,” he suggests, and I nod my head in agreement, distracted by the feel of his hand on my lower back. “We will get your memories back, I promise.” My chest is pressed against his, and the low rumbleof his voice travels through me, sending a wave of desire straight to my core. He must sense the change in me as he chuckles and a satisfied grin spreads across his face. “For now…I’ve been holding myself back for weeks. Every time I see you, I’m as hard as a rock. Let me show you how we do it in the mountains.”

Without further ado, he crouches, wraps his arms around my buttocks, and lifts me into the air. I automatically wrap my legs around his waist, too far gone in my desire to cry out in surprise, but as I tighten my grip around him, I growl in pleasure when I feel the evidence of his need for me. I grind my hips against him, a feral grin spreading across my face at his hiss of surprise. With me clinging to him, he strides across the tent and throws me onto the bed.

Staring down at me, he slowly reaches up and undoes the clasp on his cloak before placing it on the chair beside him. Next, he starts leisurely unfastening the remaining buttons on his shirt and sluggishly removing it. Each item of clothing he removes has me wanting him more. I need to feel every inch of his tattooed skin under my fingers. His shirt is off, leaving only his leggings, and I can see his erection pressing tightly against them, begging for freedom. A wicked smile spreads across his face as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“You’re wearing entirely too much clothing.”

A thrill goes through me as I realise he wants to watch me strip from my clothes like he just did, and although I’ve never done anything like that before, if he finds it half as sexy as I found watching him undress, then it’s worth it. Sitting up, I start to undo the clasp of the cloak, but I fumble with it, unused to the fastenings. My cheeks redden, but before I can get embarrassed, Tor kneels at my feet.

“Let me help you.” His hands brush over the top of mine, easily removing my new tribal clasp, placing it on the chair, and pushing the cloak off my shoulders. Leaning forward, hebrushes his lips against my ear. “Mate,” he whispers, his fingers sliding down to my chest, grabbing the fabric of my dress in his hands, and with one almighty pull, he rips down the front of the garment. Gasping, I look at the ruined attire that now sits in a puddle of fabric around me. “Much better.”

My eyes flick up to meet his, and the look of pure male pride and lust makes me flush with excitement. The way he’s regarding me makes me feel like a goddess, like I deserve the name people whisper as I pass them. Beloved.

Sliding my arms from the now useless sleeves of my dress, I shift onto my knees and push my leggings down, aware of Tor’s eyes following my every move. I sit back on the bed, stretching out my legs, and he helps me untie my boots and remove them so I’m completely naked. He kneels on the floor between my legs, leans forward, and roughly claims my lips. He’s finished waiting. He’s held himself back for so long, and now he’s ready to claim me just as much as I’m ready to claim him.

His large hands cup my breasts, kneading them and rolling my nipples between his fingers, eliciting small, needy noises from my throat. My hands roam his body, and I slide them down his chest and push at the waistband of his leggings, but he pushes my hand away, smiling against my mouth as he kisses me. My nipples are now stiff peaks, and every sharp tweak sends a bolt of desire straight to my clit. Chest heaving in breathy pants, I try to reach for his cock again, desperate to get him as worked up as I am, needing to claim him, except he brushes my hand away once more. Breaking the kiss, I narrow my eyes at him, but he just grins, reaching up to pull me back to him, his mouth going to my neck as he kisses and bites the sensitive skin there.

Fine, if he’s going to play it that way,I think to myself, sliding my hand down the front of my body, determined to give myself some relief if Tor won’t give me any. I reach the apex ofmy thighs when he starts to tut and shifts away from me, pulling my hands away in the process. “Impatient,” he chides, pushing my thighs wider as he settles himself between them once again. He grabs both of my hands and positions them behind my back, where Tor easily pins them in place with his left hand. With his right, he guides my head forward and claims my lips once more.

Frustrated, I bite down on his lower lip almost hard enough to break the surface until he’s chuckling into my mouth. He lets go of my wrists, freeing my hands, but my freedom is short-lived as his large hands come up to grip my shoulders, pushing me far enough away so I can see the raised eyebrow that causes a shudder to race through me. That look would be enough to send men running, but the corner of his mouth twitches up as he takes in my expression. “Oh, you’re going to regret that, little mate. I am no soft elf.”

The idea of the elves being soft makes me want to laugh, but I push that aside. A thrill goes through me, my fae side wanting to fight him, to make him work for it. He must sense that because his smile widens. “I was going to take it easy on you, but now I’m going to take my sweet time. I’ve waited long enough, I’m going to enjoy tasting you.” When he leans forward, I think he’s coming in to kiss me, but he actually pushes me down onto the bed, using his weight to press me into the soft furs. He leans back and stares down at my spread thighs resting off the edge of the bed, a wicked gleam entering his eyes. I go to sit up, but he just shakes his head at me, placing one of his large hands on my stomach, effectively pinning me down as he leans in to place a kiss against my clit.

Bucking against his hand at the sudden contact against the sensitive nub, I cry out in surprise. I can’t go anywhere, the restraint from his hand making it impossible for me to move other than to writhe against the bed. It’s exhilarating. I never thought feeling trapped would be something that would turn meon. In fact, during sparring with Eldrin, something far less than this has caused flashbacks. But here with Tor, I feel completely safe. I know he would never hurt me, and at the first sign that I wasn’t comfortable, he would stop.

Blowing a cool breath against my most intimate parts, he draws out a long, ragged groan from me before his fingers finally touch me. “Perfect,” he breathes, tracing a finger around my clit and down my slit, dipping inside me briefly. He lifts his hand, his finger glistening with my slick. Ensuring I’m watching, he locks eyes with me as he slides his finger into his mouth, moaning in pleasure as he sucks it clean. It’s dirty and makes me flush, but for some reason, I find it arousing, my core clenching, desperate to be filled. Lowering his mouth to me once more, he licks the length of my opening, dipping inside a couple of times. Writhing on the bed, I grip the furs, my knuckles going white with the force as his hand keeps me from moving around. Suddenly, his tongue is replaced by a finger as he eases it inside me, followed by a second. Pumping them into my channel, he goes back to licking, sucking, and kissing my swollen clit. My breath hitches in my throat as I’m overwhelmed by all the sensations, everything heightened since the ceremony earlier.

“Tor,” I call out, not quite sure what I’m saying or asking for, but his hand immediately lifts from my chest and his fingers slow their movements inside me, sliding out and resting on my clit instead. Lifting his head so I can see him, he leans over and presses a slow, passionate kiss against my lips. I take a moment to enjoy having him here with me as I clear my head. It’s just Tor, my mountain man, and me.

“I’m here, Clarissa,” he whispers softly, his fingers rubbing small circles against my sensitive nub, bringing me closer and closer to orgasm. “Do you need me to stop?”

“No,” I breathe, running my hands down his back, enjoying his reaction as he shudders under my touch. “Never stop.”

Pressing another kiss to my lips, he smiles and nods, his beard tickling my face. “That, I can do.” Returning to his position between my legs, he continues his ministrations, his fingers returning to my slit as he eases them in, but I notice he makes sure to stay in my line of sight so I can see him. Hooking his fingers, he hits the sweet spot, his free hand coming up to play with my clit. “Come for me, Clarissa, I want to feel you pulsing around me.” His dirty words push me over the edge, and I throw my head back as pleasure rocks my body.

Once the waves of bliss have abated, I open eyes I didn’t realise I had closed and find a satisfied looking Tor watching me. My gaze trails over his tattooed chest and down to his still clothed erection. I should be sated after that, especially from the force of that orgasm, but seeing him like this… I want him. I want to claim him, and until he is mine, no amount of orgasms will be good enough. Desire alights within me again, and I crawl to the edge where he’s still kneeling.

“Remove these,” I order, gripping his leggings, not in the mood for playing any longer. Something flashes in his eyes, and I see his cock bounce through the fabric. He likes me taking charge, I realise with interest, putting that information in the back of my mind for another time. Without another word, Tor stands and pushes his leggings down, kicking the offending fabric away. He’s not wearing any underwear. A thrill goes through me, and from the grin on his face, I get the impression this isn’t the first time he’s gone bare.

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