Page 30

And steadily, we landed, gazes locked. Unbidden, tears came to me, and Zayne sat up to kiss me on the brow, my cheek, and finally, my lips.

Thighs trembling, I leaned forward. His cock slid out from me as liquids gushed out to pool on his belly, tinted red with my virgin blood. The salty scent of us loomed in the air, and I sucked it in, committing it to memory.

I wanted Zayne. All of him. Always.

I love him.

The thought startled me. This beautiful thing between us had destroyed me in so many ways. I trusted him with my body. My power. There was no turning back.

I shifted to his side, my thighs suddenly burning from the effort as warm fluids dripped down their length. Zayne sighed, throwing his head back as he looked to the sky, all of his limbs growing heavy at once. Together, we caught our breath.

Eventually, he stood and retrieved his shirt. I watched with keen interest, studying every shift in his muscles as he dipped the cloth into the lagoon.

He wrung the shirt. “Let me clean you.”

Still lost for words, I nodded.

He settled between my outstretched legs, and leaning over me, he wiped the sweat from my brow and the back of my neck. He ran the cloth down my chest before eyeing my thighs. “The blood. Did it hurt?”

I followed his gaze to the red-tinged juices spread there. “There was so much pleasure I barely noticed the pain.”

He cleaned my thighs next. “Good.” He retreated to the pool and rinsed the cloth anew. Gently, he wiped my lower lips, clearing the last of our liquids.

“Tell me to stop if this is too much, too soon” he said, leaning down to give my opening a long, sweeping kiss.

Shocked, I shuddered, a whimper escaping me. “Don’t. Stop.”

My words urged him onward. Suckle and swirl, he brought me higher. I flung my head back, and shoved my core to his lips. Rapture consumed me as I begged for more, uncertain how I could possibly handle it.

“Zayne, I—I…”

He worked me harder, and I grabbed his horns, bracing for impact. Like an expert, he pushed me over the edge, and my climax struck with a scream from my throat.

Heart racing, I released him, hands trembling.

“You’re beautiful when you come,” he whispered into me, smirking and pleased with himself.

Absolutely spent, I fell back on the ground.

Zayne chuckled, and I watched lazily as he returned to the lagoon and stepped into the water. He rinsed the shirt and submerged himself. When he rose, water streamed down his stomach, and I allowed myself to stare, admiring every inch.

He extended a hand in invitation. “The water’s warm.”

After a few more breaths, I followed him into the pool, the reflection of starlight rippling around my feet. The warm water soothed my tired muscles, and sighing, I submerged.

Zayne reached for my waist, holding me close, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, buoyant and supported. I rested in his embrace, sated and spent. For another stolen moment, I surrendered to the miracle of this hidden oasis.

For a moment, I had commanded my starlight.

Zayne’s shadows could absorb it. The whole experience was so arousing that I questioned how it would help us at Mer, but for the first time in days, I felt like I had the semblance of control.

A weight had been taken from me, and I breathed a little deeper.

We floated, flowing in time that wasn’t.

Skin wrinkling, we wandered back to the beach. Waist-high in the water, I saw his cock, already hard. My mouth dried at the sight. My core felt so achingly empty.

I want him again. Already.

I would need him, again and again, trapped inside me for the rest of my life.

He felt my desire and looked my way. “Again?” he asked.

“Please,” I managed.

He gathered me in his arms and set me upon the blanket. He reached for the pack, grabbing a towel to dry me off. Hungrily, I watched his cock.

Impatient, I reached for his skin.

“I don’t want gentle, not anymore.”

He stared at me like a ravenous animal. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Grinning wickedly, he pinched my skin and spread my thighs. Impatient, we surrendered to the wild fae within.

Time grew short. Time became expansive.

We fucked until the sky became a predawn maroon, the stars few and far between.

“How do you feel?” Zayne asked as we finished another round, the stream of them blurring into a hedonistic haze.

“Amazing.” In truth, I was increasingly sore, but it was hard to care. “You?”

“Absolutely ravished.”

He didn’t look ravished. He radiated fresh confidence. It was sexy as hell.

I glanced at the rising light with irritation. “It’s nearly dawn. We have…”

Responsibilities. Friends. Families.

He nodded. “I know.”

We dressed in silence, only our gazes touching, as if making skin contact would unleash whatever self-control remained. If only we could take the Umbral Star and sail into the horizon without a care in the world, everyone else be damned.

But that wasn’t who we were.

As Zayne offered me his hand, a signal he was preparing to shadow-step, the tether ignited across our minds. What I had once denied now held both of us tight.

We’d come so far. We had so much further to go.

Ninti was still absent, and Zayne’s trick didn’t exactly solve my desire for control. There were still shards to take and an army of shades to resolve.

All the same, I accepted Zayne’s outstretched hand. Whatever we faced, we wouldn’t confront it alone.