Page 79 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
“You are certain?”
“As certain as I was”—she shivered, nodding to the sea—“out there.”
The full weight of what Issa had done, what she’d been willing to sacrifice, washed over me. I pulled her close once again, kissing her with all that I was. Reaching between us, I caressed her breasts, her stomach, her outer thigh, and then moved inward. Memorizing every curve, I finally reached my goal. Slipping a finger, and then two, inside, I couldn’t resist a smile.
“Already so wet for me,” I murmured against her lips.
“Mmm, I like how that feels.”
“Do you?” I winked since it seemed to bring a smile to her face every time. And I loved it when Issa smiled.
“Aye, I do.”
“Issa,” I said, when I thought she was ready. “This will hurt, but not for long.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m ready.”
What a gift she was giving me. Spreading my legs apart and positioning myself between her, I prayed for her not to experience too much pain. I wasn’t in the habit of bedding virgins, but knew all too well the first time was not always a pleasurable experience. Vowing to ensure the opposite were true, I entered her slowly.
Her eyes widened as she held onto my shoulders. The sea lapped against our bodies as I relied on years of restraint not to move too quickly. She was so tight, and the sight of her… Was this truly happening?
“Issa,” I ground out, prepared to withdraw. “This would be the time to change your mind if you wish it. In a moment, you’ll no longer be a virgin.”
No longer able to give that gift to any other man.
Control, Marek.
“I am certain.”
Without giving her time to think, to worry about the pain, I thrusted deep, tearing open Issa’s maidenhead and burying myself deep within her. Kissing her, a distraction I hoped would ease the sting, I did not dare to move. But when Issa pressed against me, I said, “Straddle me and hold on,” lifting under both buttocks as Issa did as I’d said.
Mimicking with my tongue our movements below the water, I held onto the thinnest threads of control, the feeling of being buried deep inside her as I moved her against me… her moan of pleasure was nearly my undoing.
Faster and faster, I thrusted into her, the pace well beyond normal now. Nothing about this was like any other coupling. Determined for Issa to find release, I pressed and circled against her, unable to reach between us with my hands. She was not shy about reciprocating, and soon our pace was almost as frantic asTidechaserbeing bounced around in the Depths.
Faster and faster, we moved in the same perfect rhythm as the tides. Water splashing, our bodies grinding together, we were one. Finally. Irrevocably. Issa was mine.
“Marek,” she gasped, her head falling back as she held on. I continued to circle and thrust, willing her to let go.
“Go ahead, sereia.Scream as loud as you want. Release all of yourself.”
She did.
Calling my name, Issa’s entire body shuddered as I buried myself deep, releasing all of me into her. Deep, unabiding, complete.
I couldn’t hold onto her tight enough, her backside shaking beneath my hands as I attempted to catch my breath. It was as if we were being pulled under, unwittingly surrendering to a force greater than ourselves.
Holding each other’s gaze, Issa and I remained that way for so long, I wondered how my arms weren’t tired, especially after the exertion at the Depths.
“I could hold you like this forever,” I said, kissing her again and again.
“I would like that, I think.”
It was enough, for now. Certainly not a plan, but confirmation that, she too did not see this as a passing fancy. As a way to release all that had built up between us as we fought for our lives today.
Tomorrow was uncertain, especially given our present circumstance and the Maelstrom Depths separating us and the Gyorian coast.
But for this moment, at least, we had each other.
