Page 58 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
“What do you know about the Claiming?”
She’d never heard of it. “Nothing. What is it?”
“A brutish mating ritual between my kind. I didn’t know it could happen between an Illuminated and a sorcière. In fact, I thought it was impossible, or I would have been more careful, but last night I tasted venom the first time we fucked and it scared me.”
“Venom?”
He shook his head. “Not like snake venom… It wouldn’t poison you or harm you, but it would bind us together in a way that would make it difficult for us to be parted.”
“How so?”
Finn’s brow furrowed. “It’s a psychic bond. And if we were no longer in love, it would be painful for us to separate. We would need magic to revert to our original selves… Difficult magic.”
Harlow’s heart pounded. “Are you saying you’re in love with me?”
Finn sighed. “That’s complicated to answer.”
“Try?” she asked, so quietly she wasn’t sure if he’d heard her at first.
“I’m still in love with who you were when we were young. I get it, I don’t know you now, not well anyway. But we’re still connected—my heart, my body, they don’t know the difference my mind does. Maybe that’s what triggered my venom.” Harlow nodded, understanding. “I think I could be again though,” he added. “If you wanted this too. I think I could be.”
Harlow swallowed hard. She couldn’t lie to herself, the thought was exhilarating as it was frightening.
“You don’t have to say anything about how you feel about me right now, in fact, please don’t.”
She could understand that impulse, and she was glad he was giving her time to think. “So the Claiming, it’s reversible?”
He nodded. “But it is a physically painful process to reverse. I told you, it’s brutish.”
“But that’s the bad part. If we were together, what would it be like if we didn’t fall out of love?”
His eyes darted to hers, full of fear and hope. “It would make our joining pure bliss. It’s why the Claimed rarely part, even if they fall out of love. They just screw some more, get their fix and keep going. My parents are that way. That’s why they’re so awful.”
Harlow understood now—he didn’t want to trap her, nor be trapped himself. She also understood why he’d reacted badly. This topic made him feel scared, vulnerable. Her fingers wound into his dark hair and she shifted in his lap, straddling him. He pushed her wet hair back from her face. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
Underneath her, his hips rose to make closer contact with her as his hands ran up her thighs. She pulled gently at the hair at the nape of his neck, tilting his head back so she could brush the angles of his face with her lips. “You’re allowed to have feelings. I understand everything you said.” She sank deeper onto him, moving against him slowly as his hands roamed under her robe. His thumbs skimmed her inner thighs, teasing her mercilessly.
Harlow let out a tiny whimper then bent to nip his earlobe, whispering, “I’ll stop asking you to bite me. For now.”
As she pulled back, his eyes blazed. She was thrilled by the faint glow in his skin, the growing pressure of him against her, only the thin fabric of his sweatpants between them. She opened the robe and let it fall away, yanking his pants down as she positioned herself above him.
The dull sting of too much sex mixed with the hot rush of feeling him push into her. He was leisurely and purposeful as he dragged her down on him, stretching her aching body slightly with each increased inch. They moved slowly, looking into each other’s eyes, as he moved deep inside her.
A faint scent of smoke from the fire filled Harlow’s nose, mixing with Finn’s scent of oud and rich amber, so intoxicating that she nearly lost her head. The rhythm and intensity of their movements increased as her hips bucked and rolled over him. Cool, dry air contrasted with the wet heat between them as he thrust harder into her. Harlow moaned, leaning back to allow the gentle curve of him to hit her in the spot that made her see the universe, keeping her eyes on his as her shadows gathered around her.
“What is that?” he breathed. “Is that you?”
She nodded as his skin lit, his lips parted as she clenched around him. “Come with me,” she begged.
He pulled her hips, pushing hard into her as she cried out, her voice mingling with his. Above them inky shadows mingled with the light that poured out of him, twisting and writhing together as they did. Harlow knew he was just as amazed as she was, pleasure washing over them both in waves of light and shadow.
And for an instant she saw herself through his eyes, beautiful curves of darkness and shadow, mysterious and alluring as a new moon, dangerous and beloved. When her conscious mind snapped back into her own body, tears streamed down both their faces.
“How did you do that?” he murmured as he clung to her, kissing her over and over. “How did you channel magic that way, Harls?”
ChapterTwenty-Five
Harlow wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t find words at the moment. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before during sex, and she’d had some truly spectacular orgasms in her lifetime.
