Page 26 of Heart of the Shadow King

“You cannot send me from you,” I whisper. “I won’t go.”

His hands slide from my arms down to my waist, then travel up to my breasts, massaging through the flimsy fabric of my silver gown. His thumbs tease at my nipples until they harden. My breath is ragged through my parted lips, and heat pools between my thighs. “Faraine,” he growls against my skin, “I should bind you withhugagugcords and have you carried from this world on the back of a morleth.”

“Try it,” I answer.

Then I turn, catch him by the back of his head, and pull his mouth against mine. I kiss him and conquer him, fighting through every defense he throws my way, tearing down all bastions of fear and fury. He may be mighty among warriors of his kind, but in this space, I am his equal. I have fought my own battles and earned my own strength. Strength I use against him now, relentless in my need to overcome this final obstacle—his own love for me.

So, I kiss him. Hard. Then I wrench free of his mouth, his hands. He seeks to catch me, but I shoot him a stare, freezing him in place. Slowly, I back away, my feet a little unsteady on the uneven shore. Looking him straight in the eye, I slip the delicate straps of my dress down from my shoulders. Let the bodice fall to my waist. With a slight wriggle of my hips, the silky fabric pools at my feet. Never breaking eye contact with my husband, I move into the water. The gentle ripples and foam churned by the waterfall lap against my ankles, my knees, my thighs. I keep backing up until I am waist deep.

Vor watches me. All fear and dread have fled his face, leaving behind only ravenous hunger. He wars with himself a little longer, but I already know. I’ve won. I am stronger here, and I have won.

Suddenly he rips off the ceremonial robe he wears and tosses it to the rocks. Water splashes and churns as he wades out to me, diving and propelling himself swiftly so that his long arms wrap around my middle before I have a chance to react. I let out a little scream and a peel of laughter just before I’m pulled under. Glittering lights dance around me, the crystals in the lake alive and flashing in an explosion of color.

We break the surface of the water, and I’m crushed in Vor’s arms. He catches my lips in his, kissing me like he intends to drown me in his passion. I wrap my arms around his neck, answering his desire with equal force. His manhood protrudes sharply against me, a clear indication of his state of mind and body. I show him no mercy. Wrapping my legs around him, I move my hips, creating more friction where the heat inside me is building. I need him, want him, want this fire. And I’m not about to give him up.

Vor breaks from our kiss and presses his forehead against mine. “You will end me, Faraine!” he growls.

“Yes,” I gasp. “And then I will make you new.”

He carries me through the water, kissing me, touching me, licking me. I cling to him, aware as we progress to the deeper regions of the lake where my feet will no longer touch the bottom. I am no swimmer; but I trust Vor. He will not let me go.

Spray from the waterfall dapples my skin and beads like crystals in his silvery hair. Laughing, I reach out to catch some of that stream in my hand just before Vor spins me around, creating a whirlpool of foam and light and water. He hoists me up higher in his arms, and I throw my arms over my head, my wet hair whipping around me, sending an arc of flying droplets. His mouth finds my breast, and I gasp as his tongue plays with my nipple. I grip his shoulder with one hand, the back of his head with the other. Arching my back, I lean into him as pleasure bursts through my body and being. Not my pleasure only. Every conduit between us is wide open now. I receive his delight, his lust, his hunger in great waves of sensation that light up my being, explosions of golden glory.

Why does he hold back? Through it all, through every connection, there is still that one small piece of himself he must refrain from giving, a dark mote in this dance of light. I shake my head. I cannot lose this moment. Who knows how many we have left? I won’t dwell on what he cannot give, not when he is already giving so much and so generously.

With a sudden surge of his powerful arms, he lifts me from the water and sets me on a ledge beside the falls. The stones are sharp against my naked thighs, but I scarcely notice. Not when he grips my hips and pulls me to the edge. A thrill flutters in my belly as I teeter, ready to fall. But he holds me in place, and I wrap my legs around his neck as he buries his face between my thighs, seeking out my secret places with his tongue.

Moaning, I lean my head back and grip the crystal wall on either side of me. Spray from the falls pools in the hollow of my throat, streams between my breasts. I give myself over to each sensation—his tongue, his huge hands grasping my flesh, the water, the falls. All around me, crystals hum in response to the resonance of my body and soul. I feel their power mounting even as the heat mounts within me. And when my ecstasy bursts free, the whole lake beams in a million dancing, multi-colored hues, filling the garden with light.

The brilliance begins to fade at last, and the vibrations settle down to a low hum. I look down at this man, standing in the water below me. His beautiful face is upturned to mine, the hard planes of his features wet with spray, silvery hair clinging to his muscular shoulders. His lips are swollen and wet with evidence of my pleasure.

I reach out, touch his mouth, trailing my finger slowly. “I will never leave you, Vor.” My voice is nearly lost in the roar of the falls. But he hears me; he hears my very soul. “Try to send me away, and you will fail. Bind me to a morleth, drive me from this world. I will return. I will move heaven and earth, fight the very demons of hell until I am once more by your side. For you aremine.No one—not even you—can tear us apart.”

He shakes his head slowly. Love radiates from his soul, pouring through every connection opened between us. Gone is the pain of loss, the fear of further loss to come. There is no room here for anything save the two of us and what we share. This is our world and ours alone.

He does not speak. Instead, he reaches up and takes hold of me, his hands strong around my ribcage, his thumbs resting under my breasts. He lowers me from the shelf back into the water where he pulls me against him. I feel his swollen need between my legs. Clinging to his shoulders, I gaze into his eyes as he lets go of me with one hand and reaches down to guide his length toward me.

My eyes widen. The hardness of him is right there, pressing against me. “Are you sure?” I whisper. He’s so large and intimidating, but it isn’t fear that makes me hesitate. I want him. I want him more than I can bear! But I also want him to know what he wants, what he needs. “You will give this to me, Vor?”

He kisses me. It’s such a gentle, sensual play of his lips against mine. Pressing and pulling, giving and taking. The end of his tongue flicks against my lip, and I groan softly. Then he leans his forehead against mine. Two fingers rest against the divot of my collarbone before trailing slowly down between my breasts. “By the seven gods,” he whispers, drawing one circle then another. “By the seven names.” He sketches a final line, binding the sacred sigil. The heartfasting sigil.

His eyes lift. There’s no veil between us now. No secrets, no shame. My flesh burns where he drew the sigil; burns with a light of life I had not experienced when he first drew that mark in the hidden garden of Beldroth. He had not known then to whom he made those vows. Vows which were always meant for me.

He gazes into my eyes now and knows me. The true me, his bride. Chosen. Claimed.

“I pledge my heart to thee,” he says.

Then, he enters me.

He eases in slowly, giving me time to adjust to his size and the pressure. My breath hitches. It hurts—but of course, I’d known it would, though perhaps not quite how much. The sheer vastness of his trolde manhood barely fits inside me. I cling to his shoulders, fingers digging into his flesh. “Faraine?” Vor looks down at me and begins to draw back. “We can stop—”

“No!” I shake my head, wrap my legs around his waist, and hold him tight. “Don’t you dare stop.”

He kisses me again. Tenderly, sweetly. With care and great gentleness, he deepens the connection until he is fully inside of me, and we are joined. I blink back tears, grit my teeth, but then . . . the pain recedes. Other sensations flow, a new flood of warmth inside me. We are one—truly one. As close to each other as any two beings can be. Not just his body, but his soul as well, twining with mine. My gods-gift opens, receiving his feelings. They engulf me, and I let myself drown in his love, his passion, his longing, and this incredible oneness. All these sensations and more for which I have no name drag me deeper one moment only to buoy me to breathtaking heights the next.

I know now with certainty that nothing can take him from me. Not even death. This moment, this binding, is an eternity in itself. This small point of mere time which has drawn the two of us together will remain forever fixed. Time is, after all, only one small facet of reality. It cannot compete with the glory of infinity.

He moves inside me, slowly at first, then with increased vigor. My body adapts to his presence, and I work my hips in rhythm with his. His pleasure vibrates in my bones, thrilling me until I feel no pain, only the joy of our joining. When the moment of release comes, he cries out, and I catch my breath, gripping him hard, pressing him to my breast. His pleasure floods me, leaves me gasping and smiling. And when at last the torrent recedes, I hold him close, and he presses his mouth against my cheek, my temple, my ear. “My queen,” he murmurs. “My wife.”

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