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EVERYTHING

GAVREL

A contented stillness carried us into the next balmy day.

Warm sunrays shifted over our naked bodies as we stayed in bed all morning, curled in each other’s arms. Though I’d feasted on every inch of her to the melody of her breathy moans—my name rasping from her lips—I still hungered for more as we clung to one another.

I craved her taste.

Her smell.

Her skin against my tongue and mouth and hands.

I’d never be sated. But I would spend the entirety of my days trying to quell my hunger.

Her eyelids fluttered as she shifted within my embrace, and then she nuzzled into my chest. Her belly rumbled, pulling a chuckle from me.

“I need to feed you,” I muttered against her hair.

“I’d rather stay here.” She smirked, running her fingers absently over my biceps and then sinking into my messy hair at my nape .

Groaning, I reluctantly unraveled from her embrace and covered her with a blanket.

“If you’re going to leave me, might as well make me my preventive tea.” She yawned, stretching her lithe body under the covers. Nodding, I did as she asked, bringing it to her in bed, and studied her as she sipped it.

She watched me over the rim of the cup, a mischievous smile reaching the corners of her eyes. “What are you thinking?”

A slow curl tugged at the corner of my mouth. “I’m thinking that I can’t believe my good fortune.” I stalked closer to her as she finished her tea. “And that you’re in dire need of a bath.”

Her laughter pealed through the room as I scooped her up and carried her to the tub. The water was lukewarm as I lowered her and climbed in behind her.

Leisurely, I washed and untangled her hair, and she sighed contentedly, her back pressing into my chest as I massaged her scalp.

“What do you think we’ll find on the other side of the portal?” I murmured, enjoying the sensation of her against me.

She exhaled, goosebumps rippling over her chest in the wake of her breath. “I’m not sure, but I don’t expect it to be pleasant. As long as Kaden is there. As long as it leads to my mother …” She let her words drift off.

“We’ll find them. And then, together, we’ll find a way into Surrelia. Destroy the amber.”

Her chest rose and fell evenly but deeply. She was likely doing her measured breathing, soothing herself. I shifted her hair over one shoulder and moved my fingers to her neck, massaging the tension out of it.

I breathed in time with her, our chests moving as one. My blood ran warm, flushing my skin. Most days, I couldn’t fathom my luck. That this beautiful creature was giving me another chance.

She was so resilient.

So brilliantly stubborn.

And hopeful. So hopeful that it spread into those around her. Into me .

Even when her worries overwhelmed her, Seryn kept going. Kept using what she’d learned to temper them. And that’s what mattered. It meant she was believing in herself and her gifts, even if her confidence wavered.

She wouldn’t give up, and that was the thing that I admired most about her. Throughout our lives, she pushed away the shadowed embrace of defeat. The flames within her had always burned too bright to be extinguished.

Even when I’d pushed her away.

Even when my darkness tried to clamp onto her.

Thoughts from two summers ago spilled into my mind, sloshing at the edges. She’d given me her trust then, and I’d devoured it like the empty, starving man I was.

Am .

In those days, we would hold each other and share our fears, dreams, and hopes for Midst Fall. We talked about the injustices and cruelties of the world we lived in, but we also reveled in its beauty and the cherished moments spent with those we loved.

And then, when I’d broken us apart, even though it was for her protection, the rending of our hearts hurt just the same.

Yet she held her head high. Walked away from me as she should have, leaving me to my shame and bitter lies.

I had been a fool then. Not for choosing to protect her; I would make that choice time and again. No, I was a fool for convincing myself I could resist the pull she had on me. For far too long, I pretended she wasn’t my Ancient of Stars, lighting my path while I clung to the shadows.

But we were inevitable.

And in her orbit was exactly where I always wanted— needed —to be.

My forehead pushed down; eyes squeezed shut. “Thank you.”

“For?” she breathed, bowing her head so my fingers could get better access.

“For giving me— us —another chance.”

“Gavrel …” Her silence stretched for a few moments .

“I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I vow to never break your heart again. May the Ancient of Nightmares take me.”

After a moment, one of her hands reached for me, her fingers brushing the top of mine. She brought my hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss into my palm. “Don’t be foolish. Then, I’d have to hunt him down and rescue you. I’m full up on rescue quests at the moment.”

I chuckled and curled my fingers over her kiss as her hand sank into the water. I rubbed my palm over my thumping heart and then brought it back to her nape.

Tentatively, she glanced at me with a soft smile curving her lips. “But I’ll take your apology and the vow regardless.”

“Thank you,” I mouthed before she turned forward.

The pad of my thumb brushed over the dense scar on her nape. My nostrils flared, brows furrowing.

Maya had protected her daughter by hiding her gift with an implanted rune—the engraved stone that Seryn often stroked her thumb over absently.

Just as my mother had tried to protect me. I had gone along with it. Not for me; for Seryn.

Just as I always had.

And always would.

But that decision had come with a price, as they all did.

Enough. Now is not the time, I rebuked myself sharply, slamming my eyes closed. All of my focus narrowed to my hands as I kneaded Seryn’s shoulders. Having her skin under mine was enough to take my breath away.

She was a living dream.

My every wish come true.

Every desire.

And I would rip apart anyone or anything that threatened to take her from me.

She moaned, and I ran my hands over her wet flesh. Her collarbone. Over her breasts until I reached her pebbled nipples.

My cock stirred, nudging her backside. Seryn’s mouth curled as she wiggled against me.

This woman would be my end. And I’d happily accept it.

Shifting us deeper under the water, I leaned back as my left thumb circled and plucked at the tip of her breast. The sound of her breathy whimper shot down my spine, my length stiffening further.

I kissed the crown of her head, continuing my ministrations on her nipple as my right hand slid into the water and over her belly. Her knees trembled as they fell wider, inviting me to explore.

“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Asteria,” I whispered into her ear, my middle and ring fingers slipping into her wet channel. A soft purring vibrated under her collarbone.

She was so damn soft.

So greedy for my touch.

Languidly, I stroked over her clit, swirling and pressing until she squirmed. Water slapped against the sides of the basin.

“You’re simply … everything.” My lips rested against her temple as I played with her, her body heating and writhing against me.

Breathing ragged, my blood throbbed through me as her desperate whimpers draped over us.

“Gavrel,” she sobbed, her voice hitching, breasts thrusting forward.

I nibbled at the top curve of her ear as my left hand pinched one nipple and then slid to her mound.

Seryn groaned as I sank the two digits into her heat, curving them so they rubbed repeatedly against the roughened pleasure point within her, my thumb rapidly circling her clit.

I bit my lip hard, hoping the pain would keep me from coming before I could slide into her.

My left palm pressed into her lower belly as my right hand pumped.

Inside her, my fingers repeatedly curled and pressed against her inner wall, against the spot that was making her eyes roll back and eyelashes flutter.

Ancients, this woman made me so fucking feral.

“Come for me. Come all over my fingers as they fuck your tight little cunt,” I growled.

Her core squeezed around me. She screamed my name, her nails digging into the top of my left hand as it pressed into her. Her right hand flew up, clamping onto my nape, as she threw her head back in ecstasy.

With my hips grinding, seeking purchase, I groaned as she shattered. Seryn cried out—broken, gasping sounds—with each trembling spasm that skittered over her. Her cunt gripped my fingers as her walls convulsed, and then all at once, her entire body went lax in my arms.

Rolling her head toward me, a dreamy smile curved her mouth as she looked into my eyes. Her skin was flushed and dewy. My unspent cock twitched.

She turned within my arms, hovering over me on her knees.

The blue of her eyes darkened as she sank unhurriedly onto my arousal. “Your turn,” she rasped.

All thoughts of food vanished.

We didn’t leave the tub for a long while.