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“Wha—ohh!”

Aria flung her arms back, grasping for the pillow. Caspian’s tongue slid over her clit, through her slit, and back again. Magic. Whatever it was he was doing, he cast her into a different world, a different mind, one that threatened to tear her from her body and send her flying into the stars.

And she did fly with the stars when Caspian sucked her clit and unleashed a storm of pleasure that outdid the one punishing the world outside.

Bowing off the mattress, she cried out, “Caspian!”

That wicked mouth of his continued to suck, that tongue to lash until her entire body shuddered with the powerful rush of climax.

“Better,” he murmured, leaving her core to nip the insides of her thighs. Dazed and gasping for breath, Aria lolled her head in the direction of his voice to see his full silhouette at the foot of the bed. She listened to the sound of metal scrape as he unfastened his pants and shed the item before climbing over her. “Do you have any idea of how lovely you sound?”

“Crying out your name while you ruin me?” She found the strands of hair that seemed to habitually fall over his forehead and brushed them aside. He leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead with a soft chuckle.

“Mm-hmm.” He brushed the tip of his nose against hers at the same time he slid his cock through her crease. “A true siren, my darling.” He splayed a hand over her hip and slid it to her bottom. “Lure me into the sea. I come willingly.”

Aria held her breath as he fit the wide head of his cock against her entrance. “I will never lead you astray, my prince. As long as you say you’ll stay with me.”

“Aria, you own my heart. I will always be yours.”

Her chest cinched and her mind whirled as he slowly claimed her with one, slow motion. He hiked her leg around his waist, her body accommodating him, welcoming him, claiminghimin return.

Complete. One single entity entwined together.

Aria slipped her hand to the back of his neck and brought him down, finding his mouth and kissing him with every emotion from the bottom of her heart. He responded in kind, matching each desperate sweep of her tongue with his own, engaging in a dance far more intricate and permanent than any before.

This. Caspian. So right.

Perfect.

Each thrust of his cock pushed her back to that blissful precipice. Each moan and groan that curled between their hungry mouths. She raked a hand over his back, the sinew and muscle under her fingers taut and smooth. His body moved with grace, skill, a perfect pace that drove her higher and higher.

She broke their kisses, tipping her head back on a moan. Caspian wasted no time laying a path of kisses along her neck.

“Tell me I’m yours, Caspian,” she breathed. “That I belong to you and no one else.”

One of his hands found hers and folded their fingers together next to her head. “If there is anything I’m certain about, it’s that you belong to me.” He punctuated his claim with a thrust of his hips. “If you wish to be claimed, princess, I claim you. Here. Now.” Another thrust of his hips, hitting every sensitive spot she could imagine. “As the gods above hear my words.”

Lightning struck, shattering the darkness for a split second.

A bolt of merciless pleasure tore up from her core, splitting her in two, three, a million pieces.

She dug her nails into his back, the rippling bliss blinding her to anything but sensation. A sensation of melting into another, into Caspian. Molding together, a stronger creation of the sea, brimming with passion and promise and hope.

“Aria.”

The rasp of his voice quickly evolved into a roar.

Heat pulsed inside her, filled her with fire. Over and over.

Until Caspian’s thrusts ceased.

He dropped to his forearms, the mattress indenting on either side of her head. His labored breaths spread against her mouth before he claimed her lips in a tender, slow kiss. They remained locked together, kissing in the sweetest afterglow.

The village may burn outside, the storm cast the world beneath its curse, but here, in their little corner of peace, nothing could touch them.

“I never want this to end,” Aria whispered after Caspian lowered his body to the mattress beside her. “I was the damn fool ten years ago. I should have listened to you, and listened to what my heart tried so often to tell me.”

“Princess, this will never end. You asked me to claim you. I did and the gods heard. As for the fool, I should never have left the sea. I should have fought harder for you.” He held her close, stroking her shoulder. “But my time here was not wasted either. And my patience not in vain—”

A volatile banging on the door jerked them apart. Caspian jumped to his feet and silently crossed the room to the bedroom door. Aria crept up behind him and peered between Caspian and the jamb. The flicker of lantern light reflected off the glass panes in the main room. The banging on the front door didn’t stop.

“Caspian! Open up by order of King Jethro!”

Caspian closed the bedroom door and gathered Aria in his arms. “Ready to return to the sea?”

“I can’t. The bracelet.”

He caught her chin, kissed her with precision, and chuckled. “Oh, princess. You underestimate me.”