Page 78 of Forged By Malice (Beasts of the Briar #3)

77

Rosalina

I remember how I felt months ago when Ezryn and I stood on the balcony over Coppershire and he took my wrist in his hand, fading the scars of the past. My wrist was fiery red, the skin fresh, raw, fragile.

That’s how I feel right now, all over. Like the blooming of my mate bond has been a thunderstorm, washing away all the jagged and broken pieces of me. I am brand-new. Reborn.

And ready to be marked by him.

Ezryn drags a hand through my wet hair and cups my face with his other. His eyes shine with a question.

“Kiss me,” I command. “Kiss me and claim me.”

He does.

I’m on my back, the full weight of his body over me before his lips cover mine. Our tongues tangle, the kiss fierce and hungry. All the months of longing looks blocked by metal are unleashed in this moment. I tug him closer, not wanting to waste a second away from his lips.

Deep inside, I knew that the High Prince of Spring belonged to me. I just couldn’t comprehend how someone like me could have one mate, let alone three. Kel and Farron drift into my mind. Can you feel us together? I can only imagine Kel’s joy when we tell him the news.

Another face flashes in my mind. Dayton. Maybe we were wrong earlier—

Ezryn lightly sinks his teeth into my neck, and I’m torn from my thoughts. Heat explodes in my core, a different type of fire. One that makes the wet clothes sticking to Ezryn’s skin an object of derision.

I push him up and make quick work of the tight black shirt, the kind he always wears under his armor. I begin to wonder where the rest of it is, but I’m distracted by the chiseled lines of muscle along his chest, the thick thatch of hair.

But I’ve seen—and felt—his body before. My eyes drift back to his face. “Ez,” I breathe, “you are so fucking hot.”

He raises a brow and laughs. “Would you have been upset to be mates with me if I were hideous?”

I crawl on to his lap and try to ignore the iron-hard press of his length against my belly so I can be serious for a moment. Tracing my fingers along the rough line of stubble on his jaw, I hold his gaze. “I fell in love with you when I could only ever dream of the color of your eyes. I would have stayed in love with you even if you were clad in metal for the rest of my life. And I love you now because of who you are.” I bite the lobe of his ear and whisper, “You being a total hottie is just a plus.”

I thought that would get another one of those glorious laughs from him, but he shifts so we’re staring at each other again. “You love me?”

“Isn’t it completely obvious? Of course I love you, Ez. You stood by me from the very first day we met. You trust me when I doubt myself. You watch out for your family no matter what. And when there seems to be not enough hope to even stand, you raise us up and keep us going.” I’m crying again, quiet tears dripping over my lips. I’m smiling too. I can see in his face, he can’t believe what I’m saying. “You might not trust it now, but that’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll spend every day proving it to you if I have to. And you know how stubborn I can be.”

That at least gets a little smile out of him. “You love me,” he whispers.

“I do.” I trace the curve of his nose, the lines of his lips. “Trust what I say. You know me.” I say the words like an offering.

“I know you,” he repeats. Then his eyes lower, taking in my wet dress, hugging tight to my body. “My mate…”

“Yours.”

A growl rushes out of him, and in one swift movement, I’m on my back with him leaning over me. “My mate,” he says again, and his hand trails down my jaw to lightly land on my throat. “My mate, whom I love.”

In this position—pinned beneath him, at the mercy of his huge hand on my neck—a desperate need surges up my body. My core pulses. “You’ve shown me your love every single day we’ve spent together. I know your tender heart. But I want every part of my mate. So, fuck me, Ezryn. Unleash yourself on me.”

That beautiful face shifts. Something feral glints in his eyes, and his mouth twitches, revealing gritted teeth. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, Baby Girl.”

“Try me,” I breathe.

He leans down, lips to my ear, voice a low growl. “Your word is ‘mercy’. Unless you say it or mouth it, I will give you none.”

I suck in a shaky breath. “I understand. But you have to do something first.”

He raises a brow, and I push myself up on my forearms and look around. We’re on the soft, grassy bank beside the lake he took me to the night of his welcome home jubilee. The willow tree’s branches drift softly in the breeze.

“As your mate, it is my right to bear witness to your face,” I say, unable to stop myself from stroking his cheekbone. “But I don’t want someone to wander in here.”

“I’m not waiting to take you,” Ezryn growls. “I’ve waited my entire lifetime.”

“Then do what you do best. Shelter me.”

Understanding clicks, and he smirks. The earth shifts beside us, a cluster of rocks jutting up from the grass, gating us in on all sides. The rocks form a natural wall, beautiful in their own right, with bits of moss clinging to them.

“This will give us enough protection if anyone dares wander in here while I am busy with my mate,” Ezryn says, grabbing the edges of my dress and pulling it over my head. “Now, Petal, let’s hear that pretty mouth beg.”