Page 101 of The Cruel Dawn
Elyn closes the door. “I’ll leave some of the lights on.” She grins, waves a hand, and three bulbs of flame materialize in the air.
“Actually…” I grimace and shake my head.
She sighs and dims two of the lights.
My moth amulet rebukes my desire to hide in the dark and conjures its own golden glow.
Jadon and I stand there, listening to the footfalls of the Adjudicator and her guards… Once I can only hear our own breathing, I say, “Hey.”
He leans against the wall and crosses his arms, his eyes glinting. “Hey.”
I step over to him.
His arms snake around my waist. “You’re beautiful to me, okay? In every way.”
I press against him and smile as he hardens beneath me.
“You don’t believe me?” he asks.
“I don’t want to think about that right now.”
“Several moments” isn’t a lot of time, especially with all that I want us to do to each other. So we need to take the quickest routes to those destinations.
Both tattoos are right where I left them, and I lick each. “I’mback.” I look up to Jadon and purr, “When we make it through this, I’m gonna bringyouto your knees.”
“That a promise?” he asks.
“A promise and your dream come true,” I say. “Because, as you can see, I’m a merciful god.”
He stares at my lips before bending to kiss me. “Make my sword stronger than ever,” he whispers, “and let me fight beside you for all time. Gift me with unmatched strength, and I’ll write songs about you.”
“Is that your prayer?” I ask, nibbling his lips.
“Mmhmm.”
“Done.”
He plants kisses along my shoulder blade.
I lose my right hand in his hair as my left hand pushes down his breeches. His breath, hot and urgent, warms my skin as his nose nudges beneath my tunic. Our lazy urgency makes me breathless, and I close my eyes as I guide his hand to that place on me where it needs to be.
He lifts me up, and now I’m against the wall, and he’s strong enough to hold me, and I’m free enough to push down my own pants, and we’re agile enough to bend and twist until he’s inside of me. And after a moment, I don’t even mind that my back scrapes the wall—the rhythm of our fucking adds to my pain, and I whisper words into his ear that make him move faster, faster…
He fills me with breathtaking colors, and gasps fall from my lips in between my moans and encouragement.
Yes, he pulls my hair.
I bite his lower lip because he likes it, and yeah, I like that, too.
We sink to the bed because this wall has become the size of a moth’s wings as we love each other down. And I keep my eyes open as he brushes a teardrop rolling down my cheek, and I lock my arms tight around his neck because I never want to forget the way I feel right now beneath all this hurt, beneath all my decay.
And I ride and he pulls and we bite and our breathing quickens, he whispers, “Fuck,” and I whisper, “Ost.” I move quicker, spurred by his mortal curse and my Mera one, and I’m trembling and ready as he presses deeper and…
The world turns bright, and I cry out and lose my breath, and he groans and shivers and we clench each other, so neither falls onto this hard, cold ground. We rub our noses together, and I keep my eyes open to study his face.
We hear the guards’ steps and kiss each other good night. This may well be the last time.
It’s like we’ve discovered a new realm. Maybe after we save Vallendor, we’ll settle that new realm, Jadon and me. Yes, if I become whole again, if his own change finally comes, that’s what we’ll do.
