Page 107 of A Bride for the Winter King
“Winter destroys one, but spares two,” he muses. “We have to release the souls to the sky.”
I inch toward the stairs leading down to the water, adrenaline still dispensing an equal dose of warning and euphoria in my blood. The water hole under the magnifying glass is almost frozen over, the window for the ritual quickly closing.
“Are we supposed to hold hands going in and swim a little?” I crack, the aloofness in my voice a little forced.
“Not quite.”
“I figured.” My gaze darts to the lonely eyeball still hovering in the air. “And the camera?”
“It’s not as awkward as having Paul here. The camera will remain at a polite distance, and like I said, it will turn away to the sky when our duty is satisfied.” Elio licks his lips, his cheeks still flushed from the fight, the knots in his arms flickering in and out of view. “Unless you changed your mind.”
I unbutton his undershirt, a finely crafted piece with a classic V-cut, and slip my hands underneath the soft white cotton. My apprehension morphs to desire as I revel in the sight of his chest, bare and glistening. “Hush. I’m looking forward to planting my flag deep in your snow, Elio Lightbringer.”
A small laugh quakes his body. “Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
We exchange a quick snicker, but he bites his bottom lip, looking more nervous than I’ve ever seen him. His platinum-blonde hair curls over his brows, and his breaths come in shallow gasps. Despite his attempts to maintain a stoic facade, worry and fear seep through, as if the Winter King himself is melting under the weight of his emotions—and the blaze of the solstice moon.
“Hey. Look at me.” I flatten my palm over his heart. “You better get used to this face, because if Iris got to be your first wife, I intend to be your last. We’ll laugh about it next year. Same time. Same place. You and me.”
Tears glaze over his eyes. “I’d die for that to happen.”
I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him, and the addictive brush of his tongue coaxes a heated moan out of my lungs.
Turning his back to the camera, Elio unfastens his pants and pulls them down, along with his underwear. My jaw hangs open as he stands stark naked in front of me—and most of Wintermere.
“I’ll give the people what they want,” he says with a wink, “But you owe me.”
He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around him. The friction of my uniform against his bare skin makes me want to strip and sayto hells with the camera, but I let him take the lead.
Elio breaks through the thin film of ice that formed over the well of tears and finds footing on the first water-covered step leading into the lake.
Water splashes out of the hole and caresses my calves, warmer than I expected. The souls scatter, clearing a space for us as Elio lowers us into the narrow passageway. It’s not quite as spacious as a jacuzzi, but it’s intimate.
An aquamarine glow dances across the frozen walls of the nature-made lagoon, the water’s silky texture making me hum. Almost instantly, I yearn for Elio to touch every inch of me.
It makes sense that a ritual calling for sex would start with an aphrodisiac thrall, but the insidious current of energy ripplingfrom the water is more potent than even the lure of a godlike king in a hall of mirrors.
The televised wedding ceremony was just a romantic premise to accommodate nature’s will. Fae gods prefer to be worshipped with flesh, blood, and bones. My body vibrates to a new frequency as the water swirls around my waist, legs, and breasts—cold yet invigorating.
This is where Elio truly makes me his queen.
I can sense the immense glacier beneath the lake, the source of Wintermere’s power. The crisp air, the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the deep night sky are all ravenous for us to consummate this marriage.
Shivers rock my body as Elio freezes the fabric of my pants, then brushes it off my skin like fresh snow. He does the same to my jacket, followed by my shirt, until I’m completely naked.
“By Thanatos… I’ve got to have you now,” Elio rasps, his cock hard against my bare thigh.
A starved, wet, and naked Elio is quickly becoming my favorite version of the Winter King, and I feel giddy. Not only do we get a do-over for our aborted tryst in the Ice City’s hot springs, but this is no longer our last chance to find solace together. It’s the first of many firsts. Our first night as husband and wife, with another to follow tomorrow—and the day after that. Joy sears my cheeks.
Elio lifts me up and adjusts the angle so he’s prodding my entrance, the tip of him wide and delicious. The magic that has been rooting for us to get together from the moment our lips touched dizzies and suffocates me. I swallow his next command with a hot kiss as I lower myself onto him, taking him inch by inch.
He stretches me out slowly, my inner walls acclimating to his size, and we both groan in a mix of relief and greed. Power crawls along my skin and finally seeps inside me. The caress ofwinter buries deeper and deeper, rearranging the very fabric of my cells. Snowflakes crystallize over my skin, frosting my lips, brows, and collarbone. Elio darts his tongue out to lick the new icy freckles peppering my neck.
“Is it always like this?” I gasp.
“Never. It’sneverlike this,” he replies in a hushed drawl.
Elio combs his fingers through my hair, the dark strands now frozen solid. As the ice ensnares me, the cold remains at bay. I feel different. Energized.
