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‘Wouldn’t that be something…’

Though she’d spoken of defeating the odds only moments before, there was no missing the note of grief in her voice, and the subtle wistfulness that told Wilder she didn’t think she would live to see the hot springs again.

‘I’ll take you back there,’ he said more firmly this time, drawing her into his arms. ‘One way or another.’

‘I’d like that.’ She sagged against his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist and locking together at the base of his spine. ‘We should get some sleep.’

‘We should.’

They peeled their clothes off and stumbled to the bed. Exhausted as he was, Wilder’s mind whirred with battle tactics and visions of Thezmarr, and with thoughts of the woman who lay next to him.

They lay on their sides and faced one another, the sheets rumpled around their waists. Thea’s hands were tucked under her cheek, the soft glow of the fire gilding her beautiful face and the curves and hollows of her body.

‘This could be the last time we…’ She trailed off, her voice trembling, tears lining her eyes.

Remembering her words to him in their tent at Aveum, Wilder stroked her jaw with his knuckle and kissed her tenderly. He wouldn’t deny that horrors awaited them at Thezmarr, nor the fate that had been chasing Thea her whole life. Instead, he broke from their kiss and cupped her face, memorising her features.

‘Then we’d best make it count,’ he said.

Wilder slid his hands down beneath the sheets and gently rolled Thea onto her back, spreading her legs apart. He shifted so that he was on top of her, bare chest to chest, before he slid down, leaving a trail of soft kisses from the crook of her neck past her collarbone, mapping the curves of her breasts and waist.

His cock grew heavy between his legs as it hardened with his arousal, each pass of his lips over her causing it to pulse with need. The sheet came down with him as he moved, and soon, he was on his knees between her thighs. He gently bit the tender flesh there, coaxing a small cry from Thea, before putting his mouth to her core.

She moaned loudly then, the sound vibrating along his bones and stirring the ripples of desire within. Gods, he could listen to that sound forever.

Thea’s hands shot into his hair, gripping hard while he lavished her with his tongue as though he had all the time in the world. He spread her open, gaining better access to suck on her clit and slowly sliding a finger inside her.

Thea writhed beneath him, her hips rising to his face, demanding more. He loved how wet and ready for him she was, the tip of his cock damp with his own need for her.

‘Wilder,’ she panted. ‘Please.’

He moved up her body, relishing the heady sensation of his hard length sliding through the wetness he’d created between her legs.

Thea reached for his cock, and he moaned as her hand wrapped around it, guiding him to her. He moaned louder still as his tip breached her entrance and he covered her body with his, needing that closeness, needing to kiss her, to breathe her in for as long as he could.

Wilder burned for her, his mouth finding hers desperately. He traced the luscious curve of her lips and she opened for him, allowing his tongue to brush against hers. As he kissed her deeply, thoroughly, he pushed further inside her.

They panted in unison, their desire heightening with every slow thrust, their hips arching to meet one another.

It was different this time. Slower, gentler; as though they were savouring every second of each other. Wilder did exactly that. He relished every point of contact, every silken touch of her skin, the way she clenched around him, her ankles crossed at his lower back.

Their usual rough, frenzied fucking was replaced with something more aligned with the moment: a slow and decadent worshipping of one another. He moved inside her with luxurious strokes, building their pleasure together, the drawn-out sensations utterly intoxicating.

Blazing-hot need coursed through Wilder as Thea reached between them and circled her clit. He could feel the brush of her knuckles against his abdomen as she played with herself and he moaned as his balls tightened, threatening to spill his climax deep inside her. Gods, he couldn’t hold on much longer.

His love for her hit him anew, a force not even the Furies could contend with.

He sank even deeper, hitting that spot inside that had her crying out, his name a plea on her lips.

As they both reached the precipice, their eyes locked onto one another’s, wide with longing and desperation. He slowed his movements, dragging out those final building moments.

‘You asked me what I wanted?’ he rasped, thrusting into her slowly, deeply. ‘I want more than war stories and bloodshed. I want to build a life with you, Thea.’

At his words, a sob broke from her, her legs tightening around him.

And together, they came undone.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO