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Chapter Twenty-Two

WILDER

O ver the next few days, everything was wonderfully calm and completely normal.

Oddly normal, if I was honest. Thanks to Shadow, Jack no longer had to spend time with Aspen instead of Rain.

Hawke and Pascal were acting like old friends.

The other sentinels weren't weird around him, which made me think Pascal hadn't said anything.

Rain was doing her best to use as little magic as possible to get the biggest effect, and Aspen was actually starting to get comfortable with a sword.

Sure, it was a thin, short, and lightweight weapon, but she was still using it. Usually, Aspen was more worried about her plants and other ethereal things. Combat? No, she was both too sweet for that and too timid. At least, she always had been.

Now, I could see the queen she'd become one day. Hopefully later, when she'd matured into her position. I knew it had to be hard for her to assume such an important role so young, but I couldn't imagine being loyal to anyone else. She was royal in the best way: to the core.

But each day, the whispers about princes and princesses faded a little more, until it felt like the student body had forgotten all about the drama over spring break. By Friday, everyone was more worried about watching the clock and counting down the minutes till their weekend than anything else.

And no one else had been attacked.

I wasn't sure if that meant our enemy had given up, or if Ms. Rhodes had simply expelled them all. Considering my magic courses had a few empty spots no one wanted to talk about, I had a feeling it might be the latter, and that put me in a very good mood.

Finding Hawke in my bed when I got out of the shower that night? It made it even better.

"Feeling a little needy?" I taunted as I looked over to make sure my door was locked.

"Already locked both mine and yours," he assured me. "I also feel like we've been so busy doing shit lately, I've barely had any time alone with you."

"So, needy," I said, dropping my towel.

His eyes slipped down exactly the way I wanted, then I flicked a hand, magically turning off the lights.

Immediately, my collection of plants woke up.

The Moon Shine was first, unfurling its pale green orbs to offer a soft light.

Next came the pink one on the shelves. Blue was on my desk, with a pastel yellow beside it.

Combined, the colors lit my boyfriend up in a soft ambiance, removing the sharp edges most saw when they looked at him. His strange eyes had clenched, adjusting to either the light or my movement, but I liked that too. He looked so wild like this, and for him, that was perfect.

Hawke lifted the blankets, inviting me closer. I caught a glimpse of his olive skin, proving he wore as little as I did. The sheets were cool when I slid across them, but the look in his eyes? So very hot.

"Feed tonight," I whispered as I turned to him.

"Wilder..." he tried.

But I caught the side of his face, forcing him to look at me. "This is the one way I can take care of you, Hawke."

"And I want to take care of you back," he breathed.

"Oh, you do," I swore as I bent to taste those lips.

I loved this man. I also knew he was a very wild thing. I would never try to cage him. Instead, I wanted him to stay with me because he wanted to. I wanted to experience his adventures - vicariously, if I had to - and beside him when I could.

Maybe this thing between us was abhorrent to most. Well, it would've been back home, but when Aspen had introduced us, she'd made it clear that sort of bigotry would not be tolerated.

Torian had threatened me, making it clear he'd kill me to protect Hawke.

I'd assumed they were lovers, so finding out the Mad Queen's son had claimed a wildling as his best friend? It had been all the excuse I needed.

Because Hawke was everything I wasn't. He was brave, spontaneous, and terrifying. He was whimsical and romantic. This man was so beautiful, even if the fae would call his looks crude or harsh. To me, he looked like perfection, and he kissed like moonlight.

Soft lips; hard hands. I felt his fingers close on my lower back, pulling our hips together. His other hand shifted, twisting under our bodies so he could push his fingers into my short hair. That was enough to make a moan break from my lips.

"Oh, don't go doing that," he warned. "I came in here to cuddle."

"I didn't." And I reached down.

My hand found his hardness and stroked. Before me, Hawke's eyes closed so slowly. That look was good on him too. To see him relax against me? Knowing what he was? There was a power in this which most would never be able to comprehend.

This was my jevadu. Maybe he'd be someone else's too, but he was the one thing that always pleased my heart. I needed him. Without him, I felt empty and alone, but somehow he made me feel like the most important thing in the world when he was around.

"Wilder?" he asked, leaning back to see my face.

"You're supposed to say either harder or faster," I reminded him.

That earned me the flicker of a smile. "Babe. I could use some magic, but I know you've been working a lot too. You're showing Rain some good things, and I will not drain you like that."

"I'm good," I whispered, moving my hand again.

And again, his eyes closed. "I think you talked me into it," he groaned, his voice turning a little deeper.

"That's my beautiful man," I praised, moving my mouth down to his neck. "My Summer Duke."

He murmured at that, clearly liking it. "I'm not really a duke."

"You are now," I reminded him gently as my hand kept moving. "And you are mine."

"Oh, I am definitely yours," he swore.

I could feel that promise, but it wasn't one I'd ever use against him. I'd seen that done too often. Words of love weren't meant to become inescapable bonds. They weren't a cage, but even in the Winter Court, power meant more than love.

Humans had the right of it. They burned so hot in their passion.

Sometimes it burned out, but then they simply moved on.

It was fair. Maybe it was powerless to some, but I didn't agree.

To me, the people here loved in a way that put the power in their lover's hands, making it even more beautiful.

I wanted to be like that. I wanted to do better than those who'd come before us. In truth, I just wanted him.

"Where do you want the marks?" Hawke asked as he rolled me onto my back, shifting over me.

I stretched to kiss him, aware he tasted like the sugar of soda and nothing else. "Hips. I'll be using my arms too much."

"Oh, I can grab your hips," he taunted.

Then one of his hands caught my waist. The other held him over me as he slowly leaned down to kiss me. I savored that, trying to convince my mind to shut up. His hand found my face, caressing it even as his weight shifted lower.

I could feel him kissing a line down my belly, over the wounds he'd given me before, and down a little more. My eyes slipped closed. The pastel lights offered just enough illumination for me to see everything, but I didn't want to. No, I wanted to feel.

And his mouth closed on me.

My thoughts vanished. My heart began to race.

I gasped, trying hard to stay still, but his palms held my hips on both sides now.

I could feel his thumbs tracing the crease there, moving lower.

His talons weren't obvious to most unless they knew what they were.

I did now, and my mind locked on the gentle teasing as those sharp nails made swirls against my skin.

But his mouth had me panting. Just when I stopped thinking about his thumbs, he pressed.

The puncture of them was sharp but sweet.

Once, he'd envenomated me to numb the skin, but I preferred this.

I wanted to feel the penetration. I needed to follow the drain to know I was giving back to him as much as he was giving to me.

"Hawke..." I begged. "More!"

I could feel his lips curl in a smile, but he pulled. He fed, proving he was wonderfully hungry in a way I could never imagine. I wanted to be the thing that satiated him. I needed to make sure my lover never needed for anything, and I finally had the power to do that.

So I gave it all.

When my body couldn't take any more, I cried out.

Pleasure was my reward. Euphoria wasn't even a strong enough word to describe it.

I felt as his tongue moved higher, lapping across first one hip, then the other.

And when his mouth reached mine, I kissed back greedily, not caring what I tasted on him.

"That's a good boy," I breathed as he settled over me, holding his weight just above mine.

"Oh, I think I like you when you're being dukely," he teased before nipping at the edge of my neck.

So I caught him around the back, sliding my hands across his muscles and around to his amazing chest. "Full now?"

"Magically, yes," he agreed.

Then I pushed him onto his back. "And the other ways?"

He pulled me over his lap, proving he was not completely satisfied. "Can I get a bit more light in here?"

So I whispered to the plants in Faeril. They brightened a bit, but not enough to remove the ambiance I wanted. And yet, I could now see the sparkle in Hawke's eyes. I loved that look on him.

"Hey?" he breathed, sitting up so he could steal a kiss from me.

Chest to chest, with me on his lap, I caught his hair and kissed back harder. For a moment he let me, but when I paused for a breath, Hawke bit his lower lip, preventing me from tasting it again as he scanned my face.

"Babe?" he asked this time.

"Mm?"

I watched as his gaze slid from one of my eyes to the other, then down to my mouth. "I love you. Not what I get from you. Not your magic. I love you , Wilder."

And I bent my head, pressing our brows together. "I have never doubted that. This, Hawke? What we have? It doesn't need to be in everyone's face to be real."

"Yeah, but - "

"No," I whispered, using the softness of my voice to halt his protest. "You're Summer. I'm Winter. You're wildling. I'm sidhe - and none of it matters. You're mine, Hawke, and I'm yours. I give you that. I offer it up with no restrictions. Be hers too, or his, or anyone else's you choose."

"And you," he said. "But you always feel like home. That's why I almost didn't take Torian's offer. I don't want to be separated from you."

"Oh, we couldn't be separated that easily," I assured him.

"No, listen," he begged. "I'm saying I want our court to be one court. I want to fight for your queen. Maybe one day, you'll stand with my king."

I stole another kiss from him. "I hope so."

"And maybe stand with me?" he asked. "Because I'm scared of what's going to happen when someone realizes what I am."

"Like Pascal?" I asked. "Hawke, he knows and doesn't care."

"But he's from Earth."

"And we're on Earth," I reminded him. "We came here so things could change, and now we're the ones with the power to make those changes."

"What if we don't make good ones?" he asked.

I tilted his face up a bit so I could see him. "Then we try again. And if that fails, then again and again until we learn and get it right. We have long lives ahead of us, and I will be by your side, Hawke."

His hands moved to my back, softly sliding lower. "I dunno, I kinda like you here more."

I shifted my hips a bit, teasing him. "Yeah? I think I know somewhere you like me even better."

His eyes closed and I pushed him back. Lying beneath me, the light of my fae plants made every crease in his muscles stand out perfectly.

My jevadu was a warrior. He was brave, brilliant, and unstoppable.

I trailed my fingers over his chest, feeling the dips that made those shadows, and realized I'd even kill for him.

"For once," I said as I shifted my hips, "you need to be a little greedy, my love." And then I proceeded to show him why.