Page 195 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
I loved the way she watched me, her lips slightly parted.
She pulled herself down on me faster, and when I touched her, her whole body trembled. I pinched her clit, meeting her thrust for thrust. She arched her neck back, another moan ricocheting off the walls.
“Elias,” she whispered.
I moved my fingers, tugging and coaxing the way I knew she liked.
Just as I scented her peaking, I changed our positions so that I was on top, slamming into her while I grazed my canines over her neck. When I bit into her soft flesh, her walls tightened as she moaned my name and came undone.
I pounded into her harder, faster, wilder. Not taking the time to be gentle, especially when she leaned up and dug her teeth into my chest. My arms shook when I felt her taste the small bead of blood she’d drawn, and with her name on my tongue, I came inside her. Each thrust spilled more and more of my cum as she drew my orgasm out.
This time, when my arms threatened to drop me, I lay on my side, bringing her in closer to me. She cuddled next to me, her fingers stroking my back while I took my time kissing her lips. I leaned down, cupping her stomach as I trailed kisses across the surface.
Guardians, I loved her. I loved her stunning body that housed our twin boys. I loved our family, our home, and the life we were building together.
We were late,but I was pretty sure it wasn’t our tardiness that had Brenton grumbling. Teddy became more animated the closer we got to Respandora, her steps quickening with each bouncy movement. She tugged on my hand, urging me to walk faster.
She giggled when I scooped her in my arms, running so we’d get there faster. I put her back down when we reached Alastor where he stood beside a large boulder. He quirked up a single, sleek brow.
“She was eager to get here,” I explained.
Teddy crouched down, moving the snow until she reached the ground.
“Can you feel it?” she asked, her voice filled with childlike excitement.
Alastor knelt beside her. “Yes.”
“This is home.” She said it with such certainty, such conviction.
It made me hate what my parents had done even more. If this was her home and my parents had killed not only her people, but also her land, did I desecrate it by standing on it?
“What is this place?” Jasmine asked.
There wasn’t much to look at. Several skinny, dried trees and layers and layers of snow. Something that appeared to be gray soot covered a large, desolate area. But there was something about the land that made it feel powerful. Like magic still lived here.
“This land is called Respandora,” Alastor said. “It was oncehome to thousands of mages.”
“Like you and Teddy?” Juanita asked.
“Just like us,” he agreed.
Teddy inhaled sharply. “Look,” she said, taking Alastor’s hand and leading him to a large clearing opposite of where we stood.
Alastor and Brenton used their magic to clear the snow to make our hike easier. When Victoria huffed, a billow of white breath coming from her panting mouth, I picked her up. She hugged my neck, giving my cheek a quick peck.
“I love you, Eli.” Victoria’s words speared my heart.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d wanted to hear those words from her or any of the girls. But there they were offered in such a simple but healing way. She loved me. My little girl loved me.
I nuzzled my face closer to her. “I love you too, Tori.”
Despite the way my world stopped at her declaration, time kept ticking by.
While snow covered every inch of the land, the clearing was green with a single, tiny tree springing from the ground. A cluster of green grasslike needles grew around the tip.
Teddy stopped a few paces before they reached the green clearing, and Alastor halted with her.
“It’s a Sali oak,” Alastor said, his tone bewildered. “I didn’t think . . .” He cleared his throat. “They’re all supposed to be dead.”
