Page 28 of Deadly Reckoning (Broken Ashes #7)

Neith

W ow.

My breath leaves me in a whoosh.

He really fucking means that, and it’s the hottest fucking thing that I think I have ever heard. It also brings on a flood of emotions that threaten to overwhelm me, and I glance back over the stillness of the water.

Fortunately, Van knows me well enough that he knows that I need some time, so he just sits silently next to me and waits for me to process his words. He’s always been great at giving me the time I need in these kinds of situations.

After a moment, I ask, “How do you know?”

“That you own us?” he asks. “Easy . . .”

I interrupt him because that makes me feel too much, and right now I’m already feeling a lot.

“No, that I’m your mate,” I reply.

He smirks, and I smack him on the arm. He absolutely did that on purpose. He may be understanding of the fact that I need time to process sometimes, but he likes pushing it every now and again, and it always makes me smile when he does, which is probably why he does it.

“It’s sort of hard to explain, unlike with River, where you have a mark, this is more of a magical sign.

It just clicked that you were my forever.

I knew it before then, but there was this surge of magic, and then I saw you in the water, and it confirmed what I always knew,” he tries to explain.

“I can get you the books from Mom and Dad's place, if you want to read about it for yourself. I would say you could talk to them, but I know you’re not too good with that sort of thing.”

I grin, “No, I’m not. That’s pretty cool. I’m assuming you mean that you saw a vision of me in the water, not that I was actually in the water.”

Van grimaces, “Yeah, that’s what I meant. Sorry, Nene, I’m really not doing a very good job of explaining this.”

“You’re doing good, don’t worry,” I reply. Glancing at him, I add, “Mine.”

Van’s eyes heat, and he starts to reach for me.

I smirk, and his eyes widen as I push him, and he lands in the pool with a huge and ungraceful splash.

I wait for him to come back to the surface.

“That was for lying to me,” I say as he opens his mouth, his expression full of indignation. He snaps it closed, and I continue, “Please don’t lie to me, even if you think that I’m going to freak out and get mad, the truth is always better than the lie. Got it?”

He nods rapidly, “I promise, Nene. I won’t lie again.”

I smile, “Good. You should also know that I’m not going anywhere.

I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again and again until it finally sinks into that thick head of yours.

I’m staying, you’re stuck with me. Not only are you all my team, but you’ve also become my family and so much more than that.

I can’t imagine being anywhere else but with you all. ”

He nods, “I believe you, Neith. It’s sunk in.”

“Fucking finally,” I chuckle, throwing my arms in the air dramatically.

I have a split second of warning as his eyes fill with a mischievous light, and I suddenly find myself careening toward the water.

Landing with a splash and an unladylike flail of limbs, I’m immediately wrapped in Van’s arms, my legs wrapping around his waist since I absolutely cannot touch the floor, and I’ll use any excuse to wrap my legs around him.

His smile is gorgeous as water drips down the side of his face, and any protest or anger immediately dies as I grab his face and kiss him.

His surprise only lasts for a few moments as he quickly takes control, a growl rumbling in his chest as his arms pull me impossibly closer and he deepens the kiss.

The water swirls around us as Evander’s magic keeps us afloat.

His lips move away from mine and trail down my neck.

I manage to gasp out, “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“So are you,” he mutters, and I feel his lips tilt up against my neck.

“Take them off then,” I retort with a challenge.

His chuckle is dirty as fuck, as he pinches my nipple through my shirt, and I gasp.

I decide I’m done waiting for him to get naked, so I call on my most controllable fire and ask it to burn off his clothes, making sure not to harm him in any way.

Van pulls back in surprise, raising his eyebrows as I grin triumphantly, and rock my hips against his hard length, making his eyes darken.

“Impatient, Nene?” he asks, his voice rough.

“I’ve been patient, Van. For over a decade, I’ve been patient,” I point out.

Within moments, I’m as naked as he is, as he uses his siren claws to slice through my clothing, and my nerve endings buzz with pleasure at the feel of skin on skin.

His lips slam against mine, and I’m vaguely aware of his magic doing something around us.

It’s not until he pulls back that I realize that he’s made a ledge in the water, he sits me on it, and smirks as he dives below the water.

I’m momentarily confused before his hands run up my legs, his lips following.

When he gets to my knees, he pushes my legs open, and his lips carry on up the inside of my thigh as his hands move around the outside of my thighs and up my leg to grab onto my ass.

Shifting me so that I’m at a better angle for him, and his mouth meets my core.

Moaning, I throw my head back as his tongue swirls around my clit. My eyes open with surprise as I feel a tug on my nipple, and I realize that he’s using his magic because his hands are still gripping my ass tightly.

Fucking hell, the fact that sirens can breathe underwater is now one of my most favorite things ever.

The sensations take me over completely, my eyes flutter closed, and a moan builds as Van sucks my clit, his magic plucking expertly at my nipple and his fingers thrusting inside me, as my walls clench around him.

His tongue swirls as his fingers curl, hitting the perfect spot, and I scream out his name as my orgasm sends me to new heights.

When I finally come back down, I thread my fingers through his hair, pulling him up, and our lips meet in a frantic kiss, as my hands trail down his chest, and my fingers loving the feel of his scales, since he’s in his half-shifted form.

The kiss deepens, and his breath hitches as I wrap my hand around his dick and start moving, loving the feeling of him and the reaction that my actions are pulling from him.

Pulling back from the kiss slightly, he murmurs, “Switch positions with me.”

I’m not really sure why he told me, because he simply picks me up and turns us so that he’s sitting on the ledge that he’s created out of water as he places me in his lap.

I rock my hips against his hard dick as my hands move into his hair, and his hands grip my ass tightly. He shifts me, his dick nudging my entrance, and my pussy clenches.

“Fuck,” he hisses as I lower myself.

I smirk against his lips and start to move, setting a torturous pace for the both of us.

My head tips back as pleasure starts to build again, and Van’s lips trace a path down my jaw and neck. I move faster, and he lifts his hips to meet mine. His lips crash against mine as we fall over the edge together, our magic dancing together.

He holds me close for a moment, and once I remember my own name again, something occurs to me, and I pull back.

“It’s fucking impressive that you managed to keep the magical ledge the whole time,” I grin.

He chuckles and leans in close to kiss me, “I didn’t, but fortunately, water is sort of my thing.”

I burst out laughing. “Thank fuck for that, I have no desire to drown.”

“I would never let that happen,” he says.

I smile softly, “I know. Come on, I’m hungry.”

He chuckles. Wincing, he adds, “You’re going to have to wear my shirt back. I think I ruined your clothes.”

I smirk, my eyebrow raising, “It’s a good job none of those clothes were my favorite.

” When he starts to look worried, I kiss him and add, “I’m joking, it was definitely worth it, feel free to slice my clothes off whenever you want.

” I pause as my brain goes off on one, “Wait, maybe not while we’re in the middle of a job, or going somewhere where I’m going to need to be clothed, unless I start carrying around spare clothes with me?

I could do that. I don’t need to be clothed around you guys. ”

“As much as I would love it if you were naked all the time, I’m not sure that we would get much done if you were,” Van smirks as he just joins in with my rambling instead of trying to stop it.

I nod, “Good point, if I’m naked I expect you guys to be naked, and if you’re all naked then I’m going to want to play.”

He chuckles as he helps me out of the pool and passes me his shirt.

“Of course.”

As I take his hand and we head back toward the house, it really hits me that he’s mine, and I pull his arm over my shoulder, tucking myself into his side as he drops a kiss on the top of my head.

I’m not going to let the what-ifs of the past affect this now.

It’s become abundantly clear that if I had just stayed put, then my life would have been so much different.

Having said that, I don’t necessarily regret the way that things turned out.

Yes, there would have been a whole lot less pain, infinitely less most likely, but there have been some really good parts to my life, the connections and friends I’ve made being the main ones, like Sully, Coen, and yes, Dimitri.

I’m still not sure how to deal with the fact that he could have been being controlled this whole time. There is a part of me that desperately wants to believe it, and that’s dangerous because there’s an even bigger part of me that is terrified to do so.

That’s a whole other issue though, and nothing to do with my original point which was that although there are quite a few things that I would have liked to have never experienced, several of my deaths for example, there’s also a lot that I am grateful for, and at the end of the day it all brought me here, it all made me a strong woman who is capable of taking care of herself.