Page 46 of Fate of Echoes and Embers (Heirs of Elydor #3)

ISSA

“There you are.”

“Oh dear,” I said at the sound of Marek’s voice.

Edric and Adren exchanged a glance.

I explained to them. “Marek asked that I remain abed, despite that I am not injured.”

“Your head—” Marek said.

“Hardly hurts. I fell, not for the first or last time.”

“Your wrist?—”

“Is no reason to stay abed.”

“Issa—”

“Adren has agreed to inherit Hawthorne Manor, accepting his rightful claim through his grandmother.”

With that, we were no longer speaking of my bodily injuries.

“You would… when did you…”

I had never seen Marek struggle to find words before.

“I thought it would be difficult to fulfill my duties as Lady of Hawthorne Manor from Tidechaser .”

He looked at Edric. And then Adren. And then back to me.

“Come,” Edric said. “You’ll be wanting a tour of the manor, my lord.”

Adren was about to argue the use of his title, so I offered him some advice. “You will become accustomed to it. Accept the title. It is a small boon for the troubles you will face.”

“Do not scare our new lord from his duties already, my lady,” Edric argued. “If you will.” He gestured for Adren to walk ahead of him. It would take some time for him to become accustomed to the new role. We watched them disappear into the courtyard.

Marek pulled me toward him, covering my mouth with his. It was a hungry, all-encompassing kiss that left me barely able to stand when he finally pulled away. His lips, still wet. His eyes, desire-filled. But there was something else there too.

Disbelief.

“I thought of it not long after he told us his story,” I said.

“Immediately dismissing the idea, not prepared to leave Hawthorne. But when Draven had me… Marek, I love you. As painful as it will be to walk away from this place, I’ve no doubt watching you leave would be tenfold more painful than that. ”

“I’ll admit, I thought of Adren as well, but I wanted you to decide for yourself.”

“And I have. I choose you. I choose adventure and freedom and the sea.”

Marek crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed. “Do you only choose me for Tidechaser ? Will I return to the ship one day to see you sailing off with it?”

“Perhaps,” I teased. “If you do not construct a bigger bed in the captain’s cabin, I will be forced to take it over. Oh, and the emergency provisions… there is much we need to discuss.”

In response, Marek scooped me up into his arms and began to carry me through the courtyard.

“People are looking,” I whispered, wiggling to get down. “What are you doing?”

“You know precisely what I’m doing, as do they.”

“Marek!”

“Unless, of course, you truly are more injured than you claim.”

Mortified, I buried my head into his shoulder, giggles following us, my people likely as mortified as me.

“My head is fine,” I mumbled. “My wrist is sore.”

“You won’t need your wrist.”

Carrying me into the keep, Marek did not pause as he took the stone steps to my chamber by two. I wanted to continue to berate him for the display… but I wanted him more.

The way he snatched me from the courtyard, I expected a frenzied tangle of kisses and limbs, but it was just the opposite. He put me down, but didn’t let go. Instead, Marek held my face between his hands in a way he never had before.

“I’m sorry that I left you, Issa. I’m sorry I didn’t have the courage to love you when we first met or later in The Moonlit Current. I will remain thankful each and every day that you’ve given me a second chance. You’ve sacrificed what you love most, for me, and I will never forget that.”

I looked into his eyes. “I didn’t, Marek. I love you most. I promised to take care of the people of Hawthorne, and they’re now in the hands of someone strong and honorable. I’ve fulfilled the promise to my father. And now I live for me. For us.”

This kiss was soft, like a gentle wave’s caress.

I wanted to be closer to him, but when I tried to wrap my arms around Marek, he guided them down by my sides instead.

He knelt down before me then, and looking up, removed first one boot, and then the other.

Every movement was slow and deliberate. With each article of clothing he removed, the anticipation grew.

When I tried to hurry him, Marek would not have it.

Instead, he stood back and began to undress.

“You are so beautiful, sereia.”

It should be strange, standing in front of him wearing nothing but a silkspore wrap on my wrist. But it did not. Watching him undress, staring at me as if I were as awe-inspiring as the open sea, his words washing over me like a caress…

“Are you Thalassa?” he asked, tossing aside the last of his clothing. “Surely the sea goddess is not so perfectly formed,” he said, reaching for me.

“Is that not heresy?” I asked, thinking the same of him. He was perfect.

And mine.

“I only speak the truth.” His lips touched mine, Marek’s tongue insisting I open for him. Welcoming the caress, I made a sound of contentment as his hands explored, dipping down to my waist and then back up to cup both breasts. Running his thumbs over each nipple, Marek worshipped every bit of me.

There was no other word to describe it, as if he was thanking me for a sacrifice that felt like anything but.

By the time I became aware that we were moving, we were at my bed.

Once again, he lifted me up, as if Marek didn’t trust I could crawl into it myself without hurting my wrist, and placed me onto it.

“I will not break,” I told him. “I’ve had worse injuries than this.” I lifted my hand.

“If it were up to me,” he said, kneeling between my legs, pulling them apart. “I would have you remain in this chamber, away from harm, locked inside with me from now until the end of our days.”

“No Tidechaser ? No water? I think not.”

His only response was to smile just before his head went between my legs. After that, I forgot to think. Or tease him. Or do anything other than enjoy the sensation until I wondered…

“Marek, could I do that to you?”

In response, his head lifted.

“By the tides, Issa. I am trying to take this slowly, but you’re making it difficult.”

I pulled on his arms. “I want you inside me, Marek.”

With a curse, he moved forward, enough that I was able to reach between us to feel him.

“I’d wondered what it was like,” I said as his hands closed around mine, guiding me.

With a groan, he pulled my hands away, positioned himself and then, little by little, filled me until Marek was buried deep.

There was no pain this time. Only the tenderness that was his care of me and the tug inside my chest.

“I love you, Marek.”

His head dipped back, at my words, he pulled out slightly and then filled me once again.

“I love everything about you, Issa.”

Out and then in, Marek moved more quickly now. He reached his hand between us, circling his thumb just right. His mouth partly open, watching me, filling me…

“Marek.” I said his name over and over again. “Please,” I begged him, this time, knowing what I begged for. I wanted that same tidal wave, its all-consuming power taking over my entire body. This time, I could anticipate it. And I wanted him to feel that too.

Thrusting my hips up toward him, I matched his increasing speed and pressure, my fingers digging into the skin of his arms. Each tensing of his muscle, each time he said my name, I inched closer and closer until… we both came crashing down.

I called his name, and he called mine. I held onto him, not daring to let go.

I would never let him go, ever again.