Page 33 of Beyond the Storm
“Nonsense,” he responded. “I can cherish this little one and still not bat an eye if the world goes up in flames. As long as those I love are safe, I don’t care about anyone else.”
I believed him. Phoenix was morally gray, walking the line between good and evil. And I loved every wicked yet beautifully tender piece of him. I never wanted him to change.
“Want to hold him?” I asked my mate.
“How generous of you,” he responded. “And here I thought I’d need to wrestle you for him.”
“We can do that later, baby cakes.” I winked, earning me another swat to the leg with his tail. I passed Sorin to him, and my heart squeezed as Phoenix held him and nuzzled their noses together.
Sorin reached for his horns and giggled.
“You should have one,”Daman telepathically told me.“A kid.”
I smiled at the thought.“Maybe one day.”
A while later, we made our way into the kitchen to eat the beef stew Armen had made. Drinks by the fire followed. As the day bled into night, the crackling fire keeping us company as we sat in front of it and talked, a realization came to me. I was ready to find a place to settle down with Phoenix. A place for us to call home.
I grabbed his hand. He tilted his head at me. Questions swam in his eyes.
I smiled to let him know I was okay. More than okay. I was no longer that little boy who used to sit at the harbor staring at the ships, wishing one would take me away.
I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Phoenix
Bellamy’s wings draped over us as he moved between my legs, the bed lightly creaking with his every slow thrust. Moonlight streamed in through the tall window beside the bed and kissed his black and royal blue feathers. Snowcapped trees stretched beyond the glass. He softly grunted in my ear as his body trembled.
“Mine,” he murmured.
“I’ve never belonged to anyone else.” I cupped the back of his head and slid my fingers through his golden locks. Fucked others? Yes. But my heart—my soul—had only ever been his.
He rocked into me, claiming my body and wrecking me in the best way. Sweat beaded on his chest, and I licked along his collarbone. The salty taste of his skin made me growl.
“I’m close,” I said on a moan. My nerve endings tingled, shooting messages all throughout my system. That message being I was about to lose my goddamn mind with the ecstasy I could only find in his arms.
“I know.” Bellamy’s teeth skidded along my jaw before he nuzzled my collar. “I can feel it.”
Of course he could. It was part of his power as the avatar of Lust, knowing his partner’s every desire and sensing their imminent release. He knew when I wanted it rough and fast and when I craved him just like this, slow and intimate.
“Let’s shatter together,” I said as my abdomen tightened and my thighs shook.
And then I was breaking into pieces beneath him, my hoarse groans muffled against his neck. He feathered kisses into my hair and caressed my horn before he came apart too. His orgasm amplified mine as his release filled me. Another of his powers. Orgasm-inducing cum. I came so hard that I cried out, my toes curling.
His mouth slammed to mine as we rode those waves together. He stayed on top of me even after they retreated.
“Something occurred to me earlier.” Bellamy’s necklace dangled down as he rose up a bit to peer down at me. The key in the center of it never failed to send my heart into a frenzy. A key that fit the lock on my collar.
“Well, don’t leave me hanging in suspense. Tell me.”
When he smiled, it wasn’t at his usual level. There was a hint of wariness to it. Like he was worrying about something. “I’ve loved traveling the world with you.”
“But?”
Creases formed at the corners of his dark blue eyes. I might joke and say I had a cold, dead heart, but the strings around it tugged as his tension seeped into me too. What did he want to say? The seconds it took him to finally respond felt like a lifetime.
“I think I’m ready to settle down somewhere.”
A shaky exhale escaped me. “Is that all?”
