Page 53 of Horns of Wicked Ebony (Deathcaller Duet #2)

She pulled a mocking face. “I don’t know.

Some days I feel like I do believe, like with our mating bond and Kiira’s visions.

Other days, I’m not so sure, you know?” She waved the baked treat in the air as if she were trying to conjure the right words.

“Like, we all know they exist. The signs, the visions, the rest. But does giving them our blood really change the outcomes of our path? Or did they put one in place from the moment we enter this world and that’s that?

Do we have the power to change our lives, or is that all an illusion?

And are the Weaver, the Giver, the Reaper, and the Goddess the only ones out there?

What if there are more that haven’t revealed themselves yet? ”

I listened to her questions with rapt fascination.

Assyria had never been this open with me before about her beliefs, and she’d clearly put a lot of thought into them.

It was a vulnerable side she’d yet to show me, and I found myself wanting to hear more of the inner workings of her mind, the deepest parts that rarely saw the surface.

“Who is to say we aren’t Gods among Demons either?” I asked her, just to see what she’d say.

“Because we have power like no one else?” she clarified.

I nodded.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?” Another bite of pastry disappeared between her lips as she mulled over her thoughts. “There is one part of our faith I hope is true.”

“What’s that, little imposter?”

“That if a body isn’t burned, their soul can’t move onto another world.”

A sinister smile spread across my face. “Why do you think I made the throne of bones? Why I’m going to make you one with feathers to match?”

Red crept across her cheeks, and heat swept into her eyes. “I was thinking about Vagach, but that works too.”

My jaw immediately tightened at the thought of her deceased husband.

That fucking slimy bastard who’d hurt her before she came to me.

Every time she brought him up, this rage gripped me, and it wasn’t entirely the bond driving it anymore.

She was mine and no one would dare question that—or harm her—and live.

I’d only feel better once I’d had a chance to pummel his corpse myself.

“Would you like to add his bones to your throne?”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip in a move that was entirely too sexy. “Only if we can couple on it.”

My cock was harder than the rock we sat on immediately, and the bond purred with wicked delight. “Fuck, Assyria, you have no idea what that just did to me.”

“I think I can imagine,” she replied, her voice wanton. She returned her plate to the basket, then crawled toward me. All I could think about was her lips around me while she was on all fours.

I didn’t hesitate to shove all the food we still hadn’t eaten to the side to make room for the way I was about to ravish her instead. “Strip for me,” I ordered her, my tone leaving no room for argument.

Her fingers went to the fasteners on her jacket and popped them off one by one. She shrugged it off, revealing the thin tunic beneath. That she removed too, leaving only the bind around her breasts behind. My gaze was hungry as I raked it over every inch of her bare skin.

She stood, and I swept it over the curve of her hips, down her toned legs to her feet. She removed her boots next, leaving her toes bare and wiggling in the sun.

“Your hair too,” I rasped as that golden glow highlighted her again.

A small tug sent it unraveling. She hooked her thumbs in the waist of her pants and shimmied them down her legs, leaving her barely covered. The sun kissed her skin, and jealousy reared inside me like an ugly green beast.

Then she shook her head, letting the rest of the strands fly free. The wind tangled its fingers in the dark locks and mussed them.

I reached for her, cherishing how smooth her tan skin was under my calloused hands.

Tugging her closer, I brought her waist to my lips and trailed them across her stomach.

My tongue flicked out to taste the salt the breeze left behind.

She braced her hands on my shoulders to steady herself as I gripped the backs of her thighs, giving them a hard squeeze.

“Fuck that feels good,” she moaned. I massaged again, the tension ebbing from her. With my teeth, I hooked the soft fabric covering her core and dragged it down. When it reached my hands, I rolled them the rest of the way and helped her step out of them.

When I looked up, our gazes clashed like two stars. Yet instead of the animosity we’d once held, only one endless, vibrant emotion passed between us: love.

I pressed a kiss just above her clit, savoring the heat of her body, the smell of her arousal, the way she responded to my touch.

I’d always known Assyria was the type of female I could crave if I let myself; yet now that I had, no amount of her would ever leave me satisfied. Fuck, I’d do anything for her, and I’d never seen myself as that type of male.

The depth of my love for her should have frightened me; after all, it was supposed to be a weakness, a liability. But now? It was the blade I’d carry into battle. It was what made me want to finish this fucking war once and for all so I could spend every day like this, with her.

“I love you, Assyria,” I murmured, brushing my lips over her upper legs before pushing them apart.

“And I love you, Rokath,” she replied, kneading my shoulders.

I let out a groan of my own. Shadows spooled from my hands, wrapping her skin in a smoky sheet.

Another shiver wracked her frame as I snaked them beneath the bind around her breasts and removed it.

When it dropped to the ground, my mate was completely bare for me.

I never wanted her any other way.

Except for when other people were around.

Because she belonged only to me: before, now, and forever.

I eased backward, using my magic to bring Assyria with me until she was positioned over my face. A small whimper escaped her as I bathed her arms and torso in ebony, holding her exactly where I wanted her .

We might have been eating before, but now I was going to feast .

I lowered her until my beard brushed the insides of her thighs, and all I could taste, all I could smell, was her. Flattening my tongue, I ran it along the length of her, drawing another delicious sound from her throat.

“Rokath,” she groaned, her head tipping back. The sun gilded her frame. One reverent moment passed as I drank in the sight.

But I could wait no longer to taste her. My tongue speared inside her, and I groaned as her arousal flooded my mouth. Focusing on my power and the divinity of her simultaneously was a monumental task, but as her sounds grew louder and more desperate, my actions became a well-honed attack.

She was going to drown me in her release before I was finished with her.

Alternating between fucking her with my tongue and swirling it around her clit, I gave her everything she wanted and more. Her hips bucked, and I growled against her pussy. “Ride my face, Assyria. Make yourself come,” I commanded into her mind.

Sucking her pretty lips into my mouth, I tore more mewls from her throat. Then, my tongue sank into her core again. She rocked on top of me, grinding into my face.

“That’s it, little imposter. Keep going.”

She worked faster, and I gripped harder, sinking deeper into her cunt. My cock strained against my pants, begging for a reprieve from the ache of its confines.

The moment she came on my face, I was going to bury myself so fucking deep inside her.

Her walls fluttered, and I knew she was close. “You want an orgasm? Fucking take it from me. Give me your fire. Show me how you shatter. ”

I dug my fingers into her hips, giving her a nip of pain to heighten her pleasure. She leaned backward, supported by ebony strands, and deepened the angle. My hand went to her stomach and pressed, chasing the perfect position to unravel her.

“Fuck, the way your beard feels between my thighs,” she moaned, hips rocking faster.

I licked, sucked, fucked her with my tongue like her release would save my life. “Come for me like you were made for it. Scream my name like you forgot every other word. Let all the worlds know who you belong to.”

A sharp breath slipped past her lips. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks. And then, she exploded. Like a cracking whip, her spine arched and flattened. Her core clenched over my tongue, and then her release flooded my mouth. I groaned, drinking it down like a male dying of thirst.

I did not relent, even as she screamed, pleaded for me to stop. I wanted every last fucking drop. Only when I had my fill did I release my magic and shift her off my face. I wasted no time pulling her into my lap. She straddled me, completely bare while I was still fully clothed.

I captured her mouth in a passionate kiss, letting her taste herself on my tongue.

“I need this off,” she spoke into my mind, gripping my tunic.

“Then take it off,” I told her. She wasted no time undoing the buttons and shoving it over my shoulders. The heat of the sun was immediate on my skin, but it was nothing compared to the embers radiating off my mate.

I broke our kiss only long enough to kick off my boots and remove my pants.

Assyria licked her lips when she saw just how fucking hard I was for her.

The tip of my dick dripped onto the blanket as I settled back down.

Then, she was in my lap again and I was lining myself with her entrance.

She looked down, watching with me as our bodies became one.

One like our souls. One like our lives. One like our bond.

We let out a groan together. “You’re so fucking tight. Made for me,” I managed to grind out.

“You’re so thick,” she whimpered as I pushed further.

I captured her waist to ensure she was where I wanted her. “You get me so fucking hard when you challenge me.” I thrust upward, sinking all the way in before withdrawing.