Page 106 of A Storm of Fire and Ash
I blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Counting,” he gritted. “Because if I get to one, and you’re still standing in front of me like that, I’m going to lose every last bit of control I’ve been clinging to.”
“I’m not going anywhere, open your eyes,” I said.
“Nine.”
I stepped closer and licked his collarbone up to his neck. “I want you.”
“Eight. Elara—”
I undid his trousers.
“Seven.”
My fingers brushed along his abdomen and then teased his waistband.
“Six,” he sucked in a breath of air.
“Five…”
“Drop. Your. Shield.” I said as I reached my hand down his pants. And holy shit.
I grasped his hard, very large cock and moved my hand up and down. He inhaled sharply, his eyes flying open. I let his trousers fall to the ground completely and had to take a step back. I drank him in like water. “Gods, you are perfect. Please, Zayn. Fuck me. Drop your glamour. Be with me.”
“Four.” He said through his teeth.
My lips brushed his. “You have all of me, Zayn. Now give me all of you. I’m not afraid.”
“Three…”
“I want you to touch me. Claim me in your Fae form.”
“Two.” He shut his eyes tightly. His jaw ticked as I ran my tongue along it. I grabbed his hand and made him grab my throat.
Magic flared between us, so hot I could taste it.
“One.”
His eyes shot open. A growl tore through his chest. Any self-restraint he had was now thrown out the window.
And then the glamour shattered.
A sudden wind blew through the room as his true form burst into reality—his back tattoos glowed across his bronze skin, his ears pointed, his eyes burning with something wild and ancient. His canines sharpened. Inky black shadow flared from his back and down his arms, and the air around him bent with power. Our magic collided, spiraling in ribbons of fire, air, earth, and water around us like a living storm. Thunder cracked outside the castle, lightning flashed through the snow beyond the windows.
And then something happened.
I felt it—like a thread pulled taut in the core of my soul. Then, slowly, it wove into another. His. It was as if our spirits stitched themselves together in a silent vow. A binding. A promise.
My body arched, magic rushed through me like a tidal wave. I gasped, gripping his shoulders as warmth burstopen in my chest and rippled outward, claiming every part of me. I was becoming something more. Something complete. My canines lengthened—just a touch—but not like a Vampyr’s. No, this was different. This was Fae.
Then came the explosion.
Magic burst from my spine, tearing outward with heat and light, and I screamed—not in pain, but power. A storm of flame and silver-blue fire made of pure magic—went from my shoulders and down to my arms and then scattered along the floor towards Zayn’s inky shadows—weightless and wild.
Zayn stared at me like I was a goddess made flesh. I took one trembling step forward, and our magic moved with us, brushing—melding. Smoke and fire danced together behind us as if they too had found their match.
I reached out, cupping his face. The awe in his expression shattered whatever restraint he had left. He leaned into my touch like he’d been starved of it for centuries.
