Page 19 of Lunar Diamonds (Celestial Magic #1)
DRAKE
A n explosion of magic caused a rising wind that sucked the air from my lungs.
I lifted into the air, Riley mirroring me. We floated side by side, moving to face each other. Spirals of green energy held me in place. Every muscle froze, throbbing with pain, shadows dancing on the edges of my vision.
“What—” My mouth clamped shut.
Riley reached out a balled hand, his fingers unfurling into a claw. Pain screamed in my chest, a violent whistling in my ears.
The magical spirals closed in tighter, pinning my arms to my body. Riley’s eyes blazed like cerulean fires, staring directly into my soul. His hair rippled in the wind, everything about him godly.
Celestial.
Sacred.
My goodness, you are so beautiful…
Slowly, his fingers closed, the pain in my chest intensifying to the point of being white-hot. And I couldn’t scream, helpless in this magical grip.
I felt something crack like breaking bone, a jolt of incredible agony surging through me. Dark spots danced in my vision, the cries of Rhianna in my head.
Her voice, calling my name.
Her voice, cursing my name.
She clawed at me, desperate to hold on. But ribbons of shadows left my body. They curled through the air, drawn to Riley’s closing hand.
He was doing it. He was really breaking Rhianna’s bond.
“Don’t leave me!” Rhianna screamed, her voice fading.
Goodbye to this ridiculous engagement.
Goodbye to that six-month blip in my life. I might be stuck with Riley for the next ten years, but fine by me. He wasn’t like her. He wasn’t like any of them. And I would make our time together as frictionless as possible. I would never stand in his way—be it in his work or his love life.
A stunning man like him must get a lot of attention.
The shadows reached Riley, forming a sphere in his hand. His fingers closed around it, silvery-blue magic spreading across its surface. It flooded the sphere with new color, changing its shape, wearing it down into a crescent moon.
The handcuffs heated and snapped, clattering to the floor.
At last!
I felt the wound on my forehead heal, the plaster fluttering past my face.
Yes, yes, yes. Look at him. Just look at him. I want to fuck my thanks into him.
“Be with me, Drake Parish,” he said, his voice filled with a strange melodic resonance. “The shadow is gone.”
He brought the sphere up to his mouth and blew a kiss. It broke apart like a dandelion seedhead, hundreds of moonlight particles wafting toward me. They landed as tiny kisses, each one a warm pulse, a gentle spark.
The pain abated, a soothing caress stroking it away. My body recognized the change with a whisper of his name. Gone was the itching and the looming shadow of Rhianna, replaced with the glow of The Moon.
My skin tingled, my dick twinging as his sugar scent hit me. I basked in his light, reveled in his presence.
The spirals around me collapsed with the wind. I gasped for air, lowering to the ground. Once my feet touched the floor, my knees buckled. An incredible afterglow turned me to jelly, and I fell forward onto my hands, lowering until my cheek touched the floorboards.
“Incredible,” I rasped, twitching.
I’m free.
I’m really free…
…and harder than I’ve ever been in my life.