Page 59 of Kings and Monsters

"Mine," she growled against his skin.

"For as long as you want me and forever after that," he replied honestly.

Eirianwen's magic spiked, and she let go of her self-control, claws shredding his shirt and jacket. He pushed her up against the garden wall, and her mouth found his, tasting of blood and desire and battle lust. Bleddyn held her tight with one hand, the other tearing at the layers of torn skirts, and plunging his fingers to her hot wetness. She moaned against his mouth as he thrust in and out of her.

Bleddyn moved to lick the jumping pulse at her neck, and at the moment of her orgasm, he bit down into her. Her hands gripped his hair as she cried out, her body shaking against his. He had held himself back last time, letting her feed and take what she wanted, but his control wasn't that good, and now he needed all of her. He could taste her pleasure in her rushing blood, letting it fill him with a lust he hadn't even begun to slake.

Without a word, Bleddyn lowered her to her feet, tearing her skirts in half as he got to his knees in front of her. He pulled one bare and booted leg over his wide shoulder and brought his mouth down on her, softly lapping at her, tasting every part of her. His hands gripped her hips tightly pinning her as she squirmed, her legs trembling as her hands fisted his hair.

"S-stop," Eirianwen whispered as her body peaked. "I won't be able to hold myself up."

"A problem easily solved," Bleddyn replied, pulling her gently down onto the soft grass beneath them.

"You're killing me," she said breathlessly.

"There will be no more dying for you, Eirianwen Eira," he said and tore off what remained of her bodice and tattered skirts. "This dress was lovely by the way."

"It was until I suddenly had to fight in it, and then it was just irritating."

Bleddyn had planned on continuing his exploration of her, but seeing her submissively beneath him stole what remained of his senses. She knew it, felt the change in him as she always did. She reached down, stroking him through the fabric of his trousers until he kicked them away. He hissed as she gripped him hard.

"Enough of these games. I've waited for you long enough," she said, kissing him hard, her sharp teeth tearing at his lips. He flipped her over and plunged deep inside of her. He ran his tongue up her spine, her pale skin shining under the moonlight. She moved harder against him as he reached underneath her to clutch at her soft breasts. She just about undid him as she kneeled up, pressing her back against his chest, the friction and change of angle making her groan.

Bleddyn's hand curled around her neck, baring the long line to her shoulder. He bit down into her again as her body and blood sent them both over the edge.

They ended up in a tumble of arms and legs on the grass, Eirianwen lying on top of him and smiling with satisfaction.

"I see your post-battle lust is still a force to be reckoned with," Bleddyn said, letting out an exhausted laugh. He kissed the top of her silver head, smoothing her tangled hair back from her face. "Do you want to explain what that was all about?"

She rolled her eyes. "I would think it obvious."

"You branded me, Eirianwen. Don't try to deny it. I know what I felt," he said stubbornly. She stretched out against him and smiled like a cat when he shivered underneath her.

"Very well, if you must have it in words. You aremine, Wolf of the Seren Du, and I want to make sure every other wench in the kingdom knows that if they try and touch you, like some of them did tonight, they will have me to contend with," Eirianwen said, her voice deep and steady. "You claimed me once and ruined any chance a man could have with me. I won't let you slip through my fingers again so easily. Not being able to find you tonight when those winged bastards came out of nowhere, it scared me like nothing has scared me in hundreds of years. When it was over, I wasn't thinking of the wounded or the queen or whatever dark magic Gwyn used to banish them. I was thinking only of you and feeling you alive inside of me."

Bleddyn lifted her up so he could kiss her gently, her hair falling over them in a canopy of silver.

"You didn't need to claim me to know that my heart is yours," he said, stroking the curves of her cheekbones. "Love and duty bound us together once, and time and curses separated us. We have been given a new beginning, and even though I won't choose this kingship and land, I'll always choose you, my silver huntress."

Eirianwen smiled down at him, kissing him and filling his long cold heart with a warmth he never thought he would feel again.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Is your life always like this?" Arthur asked Rosa as they sat around a fire.

Rosa had her knees tucked to her chest and had only just managed to shield herself against Gwyn's call and stop crying.

"Since I came back to Gwaed Lyn, yeah. This crazy shit is normal," she said, sipping her whiskey. "I'm scared a lot, but I'm getting used it to it, and I don't know if that's worse. While Bal was with me, it was okay. I felt like he was the calm in the crazy. Now, I feel like I'm slipping away and becoming something else entirely."

"I know that feeling. Merlin can be a force to be reckoned with when he believes in something. There is an intensity to being a part of his family and his life," Arthur said. "He is different. Time has twisted parts of him that used to be gentler, but he still has that reckless focus that causes unforeseen collateral wherever he goes. I saw him sporadically as a child, and then he arrived one night and thrust a destiny upon me that I didn't have a say in. His belief in it, in me, made everyone else believe it."

"Did you regret becoming king? You don't talk about it very much," Rosa said. She had been so excited that he woke, but everything had been soured by the relentlessness of the Court, the queen, and the huge hole of Balthasar in her life.

"I resented it for a time, but I did my best. As Merlin put it, 'If you wanted the job, you wouldn't be the best man for it.'" Arthur poured himself another drink, and for a moment, he seemed very old and unlike the friendly man that had been fighting by her side. "I miss my old companions, and I don't know why God saw fit to bring me back into this life, but it's a relief not to have to worry about being a king anymore."

"You know there is a prophecy about when you return that you will be king once again," Rosa said and instantly regretted it as his face fell in horror. "But I am pretty sure it's just a bullshit story Merlin spun to throw everyone off the truth. He did a lot of that."

"Oh, God, I hope so."

---