Page 85 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“Then what do you have to lose?” I challenge.

Her eyes flare as she shoots forward and wraps her arms around my neck. Her lips slam against mine, like clashing storms. She moves her mouth against mine, and I return her passion with one that sets us both on fire for the world to see. Our tongues tangle in a battle as I don’t hold back, I tell her without words that I would fight the universe to have her wrapped around me like this until the end of time. I would declare war on the chaos which surrounds us to drown in her. I have never wanted anything for my own. But Natia is with no doubt mine, the stars can’t deny the connection which binds us as tight as two people can be. Oxygen becomes a secondary need as my skin heats against hers. She wraps her legs around me in demand and tears her mouth from mine. She holds my face still as she looks into my eyes, digging right into my soul. “It’s really you?”

I line myself up against her core. “It’s me, Natia.” I thrust in deep, her body arching and she stifles a scream as I stretch her body to accommodate mine. She is made for me. If she was a trap sent to lure me to my demise, I would go willingly. It should concern me, yet as she whimpers in protest as I draw out of her body and shove back inside her, deeper, I know I would be helpless to deny anything she asks of me. Her head tips back on the edge of the bath as I power into her again. She grabs my arms, tiny bites of pain from her nails pushing my pleasure higher. She quakes under me, but she forgets I just caught her denying her own pleasure, she will need to beg for this release. As her body finally accepts all of me, I hold her steady and ravish attention on her breasts. She pushes against my arms to get me to move, begging wordlessly for the friction she craves. I hold steady, tormenting her body.

She pants beneath me. “It is you. No one else would dare make me crazy like this.”

“Just lie back and take it,” I say against her neck. Her hands slam into the water as I pull out and sink back into her warmth. The water in the bath swirls around us. “You enjoy burning on the edge,” I mutter against her lips. “Let’s see how much you can take.” My hands caress the heavy weight of her breasts, pinching and nipping as her erratic pulse jumps under my mouth on her throat.

“Move,” she whispers. I pull out and stare at her body on display for me.

She blinks her eyes open. “What are you doing?” she asks.

“Grip the edge of the bath with both hands.”

She frowns but does as I ask. I lift her legs and wrap them around my neck. The blush spreads across her cheeks. I smirk. “Beg for mercy when you can’t take anymore,” I say before descending on her core. I go easy on her before torturing her with bites. Her breath gets caught in her throat as I hold on too long. I release her and sooth away the sting with open mouth kisses against her swollen core.

“Holy shit,” she breathes. I glance up to find her staring at me with a violent desire swirling in her eyes that could consume us both. She’s my equal in a way I’ve never encountered. I circle the sensitive bundle of nerves, raking my teeth over it in both a warning and promise.

“Ready to beg for mercy yet?” I ask, my voice hoarse.

She shakes her head. “Do it.”

A wicked grin pulls at my lips as I grip her delicate flesh between my teeth. She sucks in a sharp breath; her legs crush my head as her body tenses on the knife edge of release. She has never looked more beautiful. In a swift move, I release her and slam into her heat. I claim her mouth and climax in one breath. A shudder runs through my body as she thrashes underneath me. Natia tests the carefully cultivated control I apply to all areas of my life. With her, I want to lose control. It can’t happen here, I would rock the foundations of the world. I cup her head in my hands and begin a relentless rhythm which knocks her over the edge again, my name a whispered prayer on her lips, which undoes me. I rest my head in the crook of her neck, trying to catch my breath. She absently caresses my back in soothing strokes. Each one breaking down my defenses.

Minutes pass as we remain entangled. She sucks in a sharp breath and goes stiff beneath me. I don’t want to break this bubble we have created, but given we are on the verge of the apocalypse and she isn’t prone to girlish outbursts, I should look. I raise my head to look around the room for the danger, spying nothing I glance at Natia. Her eyes are wide in shock. “What is it?” I ask.

She runs her hand over my back, more purposefully this time, stopping about halfway. “Do you have wings?” she whispers.

I chuckle. I should have expected she would see through the illusion at some point. It’s a clever spell that doesn’t just hide them from view, it places them in another dimension. However, other gods will always be able to see them. Natia isn’t a god, but she isn’t human either. She’s the balance between, and with the Etir her eyes have been opened to the other dimension we live in.

Her hand follows the arch of my left wing, making a shudder vibrate through my entire body. “They’re sensitive?” she asks, her eyes wide with awe and focused over my shoulder. “And they are the color of your aura, like the hottest flame.”

“They are sensitive when you are touching them.”

She frowns. I grab her leg and run a finger along the back of her calf. She shivers. “Would your legs be sensitive if, say Zac, was touching you?”

She bites her lip and shakes her head. “Why couldn’t I see them before?”

I brush a kiss across her lips. “It’s a combination of realizing who you are and becoming the person you were always meant to be. The Etir exposed you to a power which is taking root in you and making you more a part of my world than this one. It’s why you can teleport using the dimensions.”

“Does the rest of the cadre have them?”

I nod. “Yes, you might not detect them yet as you’ve not been as close to them, but I expect soon you will see all of them.”

“Why are you here?” she asks, giving me whiplash.

“Every moment I have without the beast in control will be spent apologizing to you.” Whilst it’s true, it hurts to say. “I regret little in my life, but I regret not trusting you that night. I regret not speaking to you and acting without thought. Deceit taints my life, it colors my view of the world.” I grip her chin and guide her eyes to mine. “You were a surprise. Someone I didn’t see coming. I am used to having the power with both hands tied behind my back. But you’ve pulled me in and have a dangerous hold over me, one I fear will explode and ruin us both. And the worst part is… I wouldn’t care.”

She places a hand over my heart, her turquoise eyes meet mine with a determination to match my own. “There’s a place right here which you fill, a void I didn’t realize was a gaping chasm. With you, I can stand in the darkness and stop being afraid of myself. I can face the demons I hide and the sins I’m terrified will consume me. I didn’t sink when I met you, I took a leap of faith and landed so deep I can’t breathe. Swelling storms could rage a war. They could push me to my knees, carry me away and steal my breath. But you are my solid ground, with you I stand tall, an unmovable object in the face of a flood. You are worth my every breath, I will fight for you until the sun refuses to rise and the moon struggles to set. Even then, I’ll defy physics.”

Covering her hand with mine, my heart thumps strong. “I am not worthy of you, and I can’t offer you the love you deserve. But if we had time, I would spend it trying to become the man you think I am.”

A tear rolls out the corner of her eye, slipping down her cheek. I place a kiss on the salty emotion. “We will save you,” she says with a quiet conviction that rocks my soul. Our eyes meet in a silent promise.

I place my forehead against hers. “This may not end like you want it to.”

“I’m aware. But whilst there is still a breath left in my body, I will not stop fighting for you. I will not give up.”

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