Page 26

The apartment within the palace that Luken and I shared consisted of five rooms. His bedroom, where we both slept; my bedroom that had been converted into our personal library; a sitting room for each of us to meet with friends and dignitaries, and the bathing room. The sunk-in bath was big enough to be considered a swimming pool, with shelves of fluffy towels always waiting for us. There was also a two-person shower and two toilets in their own little stalls with magically-enabled sound and scent dampeners. The sink, with all our other needs, sat along the far wall.

Luken was in the bath and I quickly stripped down and joined him.

“We haven’t had sex in a tub yet,” I mentioned as I slipped into the water.

“Doesn’t our time at the hot springs count?” Luken asked, admiration and desire rippling through the bond.

I floated through the warm water to him. We had stopped by the hot springs—the place of our first sexual encounter—for two days on the way home. It had been even more pleasant this time than the first time. We’d both gotten a few new bruises, sparring, and fucking in turn.

“That’s a pool, not a tub,” I told him. I settled onto his lap, angling myself so I was sitting right on his cock. It was already hardening.

Luken kissed my shoulder. “Then we should rectify that, shouldn’t we. I want to give you everything, Elara. I want to make up for all the pain you’ve been through.”

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “It’s not your fault.”

“Maybe not. But when I think about who I was when we first met… Of course, I wanted you to choose me willingly, but I still had no doubt that you would.” Shame bubbled through the bond. “I knew you were my mate, but I didn’t see you as a person. Not until I thought you were dead. Then I wondered about all the things I didn’t know about you. Your likes, your hobbies, your favorite book… then you were back, you were alive, and I saw your determination and strength.”

“I really made you work for my affection, didn’t I?” I laughed.

Luken kissed the top of my breast. “And it was exactly what I needed, my ego being tamed. I wish I could have spared you the pain you went through. But I think if you had come with me from the start, it would have taken me longer to really see you. I think… I think I would have put you through more pain.”

“Different pain, maybe,” I said slowly, understanding what he meant.

He’d been raised to believe he was the most important person in any room he stood in. He was raised to believe he deserved everything he wanted just because he wanted it. If it weren’t for his mother’s influence, he would have turned out exactly like his father.

“You wouldn’t have treated me the way your father treated your mother,” I said decisively. “Even if I’d gone with you from the start. But you would have disappointed me.”

“Really?”

“Of course, you would have. You’re a person. You’re not perfect. I had far too many fairy-tale dreams in my head. I would have expected you to know everything about me instantly, and to always constantly put me first…” I shook my head, but wasn’t angry at my younger self. Not anymore. “So it would have been disappointing. I would have hurt you, too. That’s what happens when you come into a situation with unrealistic expectations.”

Luken hummed. “I suppose. I’m glad that we both learned and grew. Even if it took more trauma to do it.”

I tugged the tie off the end of his braid and started to loosen his hair, combing my fingers through it as I did so. “I don’t think that’s it. Even if Draven never killed my family and we did disappoint and hurt each other, we would have arrived at the same point. It wasn’t the pain, Luken. It wasn’t the fear of losing each other.”

His dark brows furrowed. “No?”

“No. I think we’ve reached this place we’re at despite the trauma, not because of it,” I said slowly, parsing out my thoughts to put them in order. “It was about learning how to be vulnerable. Opening up to each other, risking more pain. We had to learn to meet each other where we were at.”

Luken ran a hand down my spine beneath the water. “You might be right about that.”

I smirked. “I am right.”

He chuckled and kissed my shoulder. “You do know that I always intended to save Darcie, right? And after Thessa was recaptured, I wouldn’t have let them sacrifice her. It was always the plan to bring them back. I just wanted you to come back to the palace to be safe.”

“I know that now,” I said, then sighed. “But you were right when you said I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me. I would have only been angrier, positive you were trying to manipulate me.”

“I still should have been more open with you about my plans.”

“Yes, you should have. But as long as we continue to be open and honest now, we’ll only get closer,” I assured him, pressing my hand to his cheek.

He smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I shifted off him and patted the edge of the tub. “Sit up here for me, will you?”

He did so, grinning as he read my intentions through the bond. I settled myself on my knees along the low bench, putting me right at the correct height to take him into my mouth. Luken shivered as I swirled my tongue around his tip. The bond opened further, letting me feel exactly what he felt. Heat built in more core as I felt his arousal increase. I placed my hands lightly on his hips, keeping him still as I sucked his cock.

“Ahh, Elara.” Luken let his eyes shut as he leaned his head back. “I love the way you work me with your mouth.”

I grinned around him. I knew he did. His pleasure echoed through the bond, and if I just opened it up a little more… ahhh! I stifled a gasp as I took him deeper. This was the best little trick we’d learned since opening and playing with the bond. I was in the tub, kneeling between his legs with his cock in my mouth. But I knew so intimately what he was feeling that I was also sitting on the edge of the tub, a warm body between my legs as a hot mouth greedily sucked on my cock.

My body hardened, my nipples pebbling as I moved my head up and down slowly, playing with different ways to move my tongue. Luken grunted, rocking slightly as he fought to keep himself in place. His hands tangled with my hair and tugged with just enough pressure to cause a sting of pain in my scalp. It went straight to my core, making me tighten. Luken, feeling me through the bond, let out a soft growl. His cock twitched in my mouth.

I love the way you respond to me, I sent him, since my mouth was occupied with other things. I continued to work him, enjoying his moans of pleasure until all his muscles went rigid. He was moments from climax when he pushed through the bond, telling me to stop. His hands tugged my hair, pulling me away at the same time.

“No fair,” I complained. “I want to feel you finish.”

Luken laughed breathlessly and slid into the water, his body rubbing against mine all the way down. “And you will. But I want to be inside of you, Elara. My delicious, sensual mate. I want to feel you clench around me as you reach climax.”

His words made me shiver in anticipation.

“Oh, alright,” I said, feigning disappointment though he could feel my excitement through the bond. “If you really want to give me an orgasm, I guess I’ll allow it.”

He laughed again, kissing me. Our tongues tangled, heat sparking through both of us. His hands cupped my ass, and he lifted me over him. With one firm motion, he thrust up into me. His fullness inside of me made me moan. I grabbed his arms, my fingers digging into his skin. He fit me perfectly, nudging all the right places.

I kissed his throat and jaw as he held my hips, moving up and down in long, languid strokes. Our bodies pressed together, my breasts up against his chest as I tangled my fingers in his hair. I loved being this close to him. I loved the feeling of our union, of knowing that we belonged to each other.

“Fucking in the bathtub, check,” I moaned into his ear as he kept up his controlled, even thrusts. The water lapped at our bodies in time with his motions.

“Is the pace good for you?” he nipped my shoulder, his fangs distended. He wanted to drink badly, but was determined to keep in control.

I nodded. “I love that we can make love like this. I love our more frenzied passion, and of course, I love when we spar before sex.” I leaned back so I could look into his eyes, moving with him now. The pace remained languid, unhurried. “But I also love that we can be tender, that something so slow and steady can feel just as good as having violent orgasms one after another.”

“Violence does turn you on,” Luken grunted, his hands tightening on me. He was beginning to throb inside of me. He was so very close that it took my breath away.

“Like it doesn’t turn you on?”

He laughed and kissed me. I let my hands trace down his chest, exploring him as I adjusted the way I moved, finding an angle that rubbed my clit as well. Tension built, my thighs clenching around his. This was one of the most exciting discoveries we’d made since returning to the palace. We were comfortable with each other; we had more than sex to bring us together, and without the constant distrust and tension, we were free to explore tenderness.

“And to think that I was afraid you would get bored of me not knowing about all the different, wild ways to have sex,” I moaned as he kissed my breasts, our bodies arching and undulating. “I could be satisfied if this was the only way we ever made love again.”

Luken nipped at my skin. “So you don’t want to try new things anymore?”

A teasing ripple came through the bond, as well as a promise. I clenched around his cock, making him gasp and moan. With one hand, I cupped his cheek with my hand and redoubled my efforts. My thighs were already shaking, and heat washed through me within moments. The tension released, and I slumped into his chest. Luken came shortly after, holding me tight as he rocked into me again and again.

He came with a groan, pulling me closer as he buried himself as deep as he could into me. The water rocked gently around us, the hit of cool air and warm liquid enhancing the pleasure of the moment.

I leaned back, grinning at my husband. “So you have something new for us to try?”

He stood, wrapping my legs around him so he was still inside of me. I laughed as he maneuvered out of the tub and to the bedroom. There, he laid us on the bed, holding me in place with his weight, and reached into his bedside drawer. From inside, he drew out a thick glass cock. I recognized the ridges and veins instantly.

“And who did you pose for to make that?” I asked, surprised that he’d kept it a secret from me.

“A lovely artist I knew about two hundred years ago,” he answered. He handed me the cock. “I thought you might like to start experimenting with toys.”

I ran my hand over the smooth glass, considering it. “And is this to use on me or you?”

“What do you want?” Luken asked, his voice husky with promise.

I kissed the tip of the glass cock, then him. “Both.”

Luken grinned. He rolled us to our sides and took the cock back. He slid it down my back as he withdrew from me, then toyed with my entrance with the cool glass. I lifted my leg higher, grinning as his eyes glowed brighter. The bond swelled deeper between us.

This was going to be a night to remember.