Page 103 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
This kiss was soft, like a gentle wave’s caress. I wanted to be closer to him, but when I tried to wrap my arms around Marek, he guided them down by my sides instead. He knelt down before me then, and looking up, removed first one boot, and then the other. Every movement was slow and deliberate. With each article of clothing he removed, the anticipation grew. When I tried to hurry him, Marek would not have it. Instead, he stood back and began to undress.
“You are so beautiful, sereia.”
It should be strange, standing in front of him wearing nothing but a silkspore wrap on my wrist. But it did not. Watching him undress, staring at me as if I were as awe-inspiring as the open sea, his words washing over me like a caress…
“Are you Thalassa?” he asked, tossing aside the last of his clothing. “Surely the sea goddess is not so perfectly formed,” he said, reaching for me.
“Is that not heresy?” I asked, thinking the same of him. He was perfect.
And mine.
“I only speak the truth.” His lips touched mine, Marek’s tongue insisting I open for him. Welcoming the caress, I made a sound of contentment as his hands explored, dipping down to my waist and then back up to cup both breasts. Running his thumbs over each nipple, Marek worshipped every bit of me.
There was no other word to describe it, as if he was thanking me for a sacrifice that felt like anything but. By the time I became aware that we were moving, we were at my bed. Once again, he lifted me up, as if Marek didn’t trust I could crawl into it myself without hurting my wrist, and placed me onto it.
“I will not break,” I told him. “I’ve had worse injuries than this.” I lifted my hand.
“If it were up to me,” he said, kneeling between my legs, pulling them apart. “I would have you remain in this chamber, away from harm, locked inside with me from now until the end of our days.”
“NoTidechaser? No water? I think not.”
His only response was to smile just before his head went between my legs. After that, I forgot to think. Or tease him. Or do anything other than enjoy the sensation until I wondered…
“Marek, could I do that to you?”
In response, his head lifted.
“By the tides, Issa. I am trying to take this slowly, but you’re making it difficult.”
I pulled on his arms. “I want you inside me, Marek.”
With a curse, he moved forward, enough that I was able to reach between us to feel him. “I’d wondered what it was like,” I said as his hands closed around mine, guiding me. With a groan, he pulled my hands away, positioned himself and then, little by little, filled me until Marek was buried deep. There was no pain this time. Only the tenderness that was his care of me and the tug inside my chest.
“I love you, Marek.”
His head dipped back, at my words, he pulled out slightly and then filled me once again.
“I love everything about you, Issa.”
Out and then in, Marek moved more quickly now. He reached his hand between us, circling his thumb just right. His mouth partly open, watching me, filling me…
“Marek.” I said his name over and over again. “Please,” I begged him, this time, knowing what I begged for. I wanted that same tidal wave, its all-consuming power taking over my entire body. This time, I could anticipate it. And I wanted him to feel that too.
Thrusting my hips up toward him, I matched his increasing speed and pressure, my fingers digging into the skin of his arms. Each tensing of his muscle, each time he said my name, I inched closer and closer until… we both came crashing down.
I called his name, and he called mine. I held onto him, not daring to let go.
I would never let him go, ever again.
43
MAREK
It seemed like all of Hawthorne Manor was at the small chapel. Its priest stood at the door, prepared to escort us inside. There were about to be more than a few disappointed villagers since most would be left on the doorstep for the ceremony.
“Can we exchange vows here?” I asked him.
The dour man was exactly as Issa had described. He peered up at me as if I were less than deserving of the woman we waited for. In fact, he’d told me as much when we met three days past.
