Page 38 of Steeling Light (Shadowed Debts #3)

My chosen people will not bear arms in these war games. They shall not spread death and misery in the name of training . The only reason they shall unsheathe their blades is to protect the ones who cannot protect themselves.

-Adelynne Emlyn, Edicts of Hope

Ainslee

Once upon a time, I thought magic was the power that Immortals wielded. I thought that our gifts from the dragons were the only form of it. I was wrong.

Rhion’s lips on mine are true magic. His fingers moving over my cheek is a song from before dragons, from before people ever picked up sticks and beat each other to death.

There is nothing more powerful than his naked body against mine under the light of the moon, of our souls touching within a kiss.

Love is magic, and we had that long before the dragons.

He lays me down on a bed of wildflowers and presses his chest against my bare skin. His skin still ripples occasionally as the pride inside him desperately tries to help. I still shine because there isn’t a single piece of me that isn’t overflowing with life.

“You are the most beautiful creature in Nyth,” he whispers as he looks down at my naked body. “No, you put the moon and stars to shame. If you were the sun, I’d go blind from staring at you.”

He looks at me with such seriousness in his eyes that I can’t help but giggle. “Rhion, you know that you’ve already got my pants off, don’t you? You don’t have to keep wooing me.”

“I will woo you until you beg me to stop,” he says, but then he runs his finger from the crook of my neck down to my collarbone, and it shifts into a claw.

He drags it ever so lightly over my skin that instead of leaving blood in its wake, it leaves goosebumps.

The giggles end as a soft moan slips from my lips.

The claw moves down my chest to my stomach, and Rhion’s eyes follow it as he explores my body with his eyes. “So beautiful,” he whispers again as if he’s truly in awe.

I can’t help but think that he has no right to say that when he looks like he does. Every inch of his body shines in my light, the shadows gone, and it’s like I’m seeing clearly for the first time.

Golden hair that flows like water down to his shoulders even in my silver light, it hangs over my body. He was built like a mountain, sharp cliffs where one muscle ends and the next begins. Every moment he touches me, I wonder when the rockslide will begin that I can’t escape.

Yet, each touch is soft and loving. He is the sun against my moonlight, except he doesn’t try to outshine me. He never has.

His lips press against my collar, and my back arches against it. Every touch is more sensitive than ever before. He leaves a trail of kisses between my breasts, his gaze never straying from my eyes. I run my hands through his golden hair as his kisses reach my navel.

Those gray eyes watch every move I make. They take in every shiver, and as he presses his lips between my legs, I pull him tighter to me. Liquid lightning replaces my blood as his tongue explores.

I can’t stop the moans or stop my hips from bucking.

My hands hold him tighter against me, and the only thing I can think is that I wish I could touch more of him.

As if he can read my mind—which he might be able to right now—he runs his arms under my back.

In a single fluid motion, he rolls, carrying me with him.

My body reacts instinctively, holding myself up as I stare at him between my legs while I sit on his face.

His tongue never stops moving, even while he rolled me over. It shocks me and excites me at the same time. I lean back so I can watch him, my hands pressing against his chest. Part of me doesn’t want him to stop even for a moment—especially the part that keeps grinding against his tongue.

But I want more. I want to touch, to feel, to press the rest of my body against his. I want to make him feel just as good as he’s making me feel. I stand up, my legs still straddling Rhion’s face, and I turn around to face the rest of his body before I kneel again.

His hands run over my back and ass while his tongue makes my body quake.

And I stare at the massive cock in front of me.

It’s standing straight up, and I hesitate for a few moments.

Then, I kiss my way to it. I’m not tall enough, but the possibilities inside me that have been desperate to help finally have a purpose, and I grow to perfectly fit his height.

My hand wraps around the base, and for the first time, Rhion is the one that quivers. I smile as my hand slowly moves up and down the shaft. I don’t know why, but feeling him react to my touch matters so much more than anything else.

I lick the tip and taste him. Kissing down the length, I inhale that scent of wildflowers, of yarrow and verbena.

I breathe him in, and it threatens to consume me.

All the while, he continues to lick, continues to drive my body higher and higher.

His hands can’t seem to touch me enough as they roam over my body.

They squeeze and scratch and pull me tighter against his mouth.

I wrap my lips around the tip, and he shakes under me. Not just a little quiver. No, he’s doing his best not to fully thrust even though his instincts tell him he should. I can feel him moan from between my legs.

Then it occurs to me. This is Rhion’s first time with anyone. He doesn’t know what he should and shouldn’t do. He doesn’t know… anything.

I give the tip just one more kiss—which makes him shudder under me—and I stand up. I look down between my legs and see him staring at me, his face shining in the moonlight, and I smile down at him. His cock twitches in the cool air, and I take a deep breath before moving to straddle it.

Rhion’s eyes are glazed over with lust, something I’ve never seen before. His entire body is tensed in preparation as if there were something he needed to do, and I want to tell him to just relax. I kneel over him, and his eyes never leave me.

I take a deep breath, and as he presses against my opening, I let it out as a gasp. He’s too big for me. There’s no way… And then the possibilities rush to my aid. I change, stretching and becoming the perfect match to his size.

Rhion’s hands dig into the grass under him, and I feel him swell inside me. I put my hands on his stomach to steady myself, and he grips my waist, his fingers shifting into claws and back constantly. He never hurts me, never loses control of that grip that could break bones.

I let out a soft groan as his body takes control, and he thrusts instinctively. Sex is always intense, but this is more than that. This is like walking through life having never taken off your shoes and felt the grass under your feet. It’s living your life indoors and finally stepping outside.

“You are perfect,” I say. The words leave my lips before I’ve even recognized I thought them.

That’s when a strange thought dawns on me.

Ever since Rhion came to Selithar, he’s been blunt with the way he felt about me.

He’s worshipped at my altar for his entire life, and all I’ve ever done is spend time with him.

It’s time to show him how much he means to me. The betrothal was for both of us. This entire month feels like it was for me. But tonight… this is for him. He’s waited nine hundred years to feel me wrapped around him, and I will not disappoint him.

I lift myself until only the tip is still inside me, and I slam myself down on his thighs. Rhion groans, and I immediately repeat the movements. This time, it’s me who’s losing control. My nails dig into his stomach as I cling to him for support.

With every movement, I can feel him surrendering to the sensations. His hands grip me tighter. His eyes are even more glazed over. More than anything, his body thrusts of its own accord, doing its best to match my rhythm.

I revel in it. In him. In the absolute bliss that he’s feeling.

Then he grips me hard, his cock swelling even larger inside me, and I feel his release. Not just the physical sensations. I feel the emotions, the tidal wave of bliss that washes over him.

And changes him.

I keep up the steady rhythm I’ve built, my body giving him every bit of pleasure it can before he relaxes under me. I settle down on top of him, my hips pressed against his.

“That was…” he says, but he doesn’t finish, his mind seeming to get lost halfway through.

But we’re not done. Not by a long shot. I smile down at the man I love, who I’m betrothed to.

I lean forward and wrap my hands on either side of him.

The corner of my mouth quirks up as I stare into his eyes.

“Don’t you dare try to go to sleep now, my darling Prince.

Tonight, we’re going to play a game. I’m going to run, and you’re going to chase me. ”

Rhion frowns, confusion written all over him. “Why would you run?”

“Because if you catch me, you get to do whatever you want with me. There are only two rules. You have to wait a full minute before you chase me, and neither of us can use wings at all.”

“But what do you mean by whatever I want ?”

I stand up and smile down at him. “I’m going to run, completely naked, through the woods. I think you know exactly what I’m hoping you’ll do. You’d better start counting. I don’t think either of us really wants me to outrun you, but I’m going to do my best.”

Then I take off. My legs move faster than I can remember.

But I know Rhion’s faster. He’s better at shifting.

There’s no way I’m going to get away, but I want him to forget to think for a minute.

I want him to be a little more of a beast, a little more of a hunter than a thinker.

I want him to let go of all the fears that come from inexperience.

I’m not a human. I won’t break if he uses some of that strength on me. If I’m going to be his betrothed, he can’t be afraid of hurting me accidentally.

So I run, and I give it everything I have.

My legs grow, becoming powerful in a way that I’ve never made them.

Where I pass, the leaves blow behind me.

I leap over stones and fallen trees. I grab branches and swing to keep him from tracking me as easily.

I follow a riverbed, soaking half my body in it to keep him from scenting me.

Twenty minutes pass at an absolutely merciless pace.

I feel him getting closer through our bond.

I feel him shift, and then he’s there, behind me.

Teeth grip my leg as I continue to run, and I can feel them dig into my flesh just enough to hold me still.

I fall, my momentum carrying me forward, and my foot cannot catch me.

I roll over onto my back and look up at the largest wolf I’ve ever seen.

Tiny splashes of blood—my blood—lay along the fur of his cheek.

Then the wolf shifts. He stands up on his back legs, his body becoming human.

Naked with just a bit of blood along his cheek, he’s staring at me with a hunger in his eyes that I’ve never seen in Rhion before.

Without a single moment’s hesitation, he lifts me up by the waist and pulls me to him.

I wrap my legs around his hips and stare into those glazed over gray eyes.

He’s not thinking right now. The thrill of the hunt has gotten into him, and I’m the prey.

When he kisses me, it’s not soft or gentle. He wants to consume me with that kiss.

And I’d let him. He presses me up against a birch tree, and the paper-like bark digs into my back. I try to run my hands through his hair, but he grips my wrists and holds them above my head. Those gray eyes burn into me as he takes deep breaths in and out and simply holds me in place.

“Why do you make me feel this way?” he growls.

“Because I’m not afraid of you, Rhion. I love you more than anything or anyone in the world, and I never want you to hide anything from me. I’m not made of glass. You won’t break me.”

And he kisses me so hard it bruises my lips. His cock finds my entrance as he pins me against the tree, and he slams me down onto him. If my body hadn’t stayed shifted, I’d be in agony, but now, it’s perfection. My breasts press against his chest, and this time, there’s no doubt what he wants.

With one hand, he holds my arms in place. With the other, he digs into my waist. He thrusts with no regard for me, with no regard for anything other than giving his body what it craves.

It’s only now that I understand how much I crave it as well. It’s only now that I understand that this isn’t anger or rage. It’s passion. It’s animalistic and unguarded.

This is the part of him that will rush in front of anything to protect me. It’s the part that stood tall for nine hundred years as he longed for me. I love Rhion Rahn, and it’s not only for the kindness he shows me.

I love the savage parts of him just as much because those are the parts that would give anything for me. It would fight any battle in my name.

What had felt like liquid lightning before is something beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It’s an addiction beginning, a need I’d never known I’d had being sated. It’s me feeling whole for the first time.

And instead of trying to get away as I’m sure he expects me to do, I lean forward and press my lips against his, begging with action rather than words for more. Rhion lets out a growl and slams his hips into me, and somehow, he seems to swell even larger inside me.

Rhion’s hands clench tighter, and I’m not sure how much longer I can take it. His thrusts become more insistent, more desperate. And I keep kissing him. I tense my body, and the dam inside me breaks and sends a rushing tidal wave of perfection through me.

The moan that erupts from my body is a roar of triumph. It’s a roar of perfection. It’s a feeling of being so complete I didn’t believe it was possible. It’s a cry declaration of the love I have for Rhion. Of life.

My body shakes in Rhion’s grasp, and he lets loose his own roar along with his release. And then it’s done.

I stare into those gray eyes and see the love there.

His hands still pin me to the tree, and his cock is still deep inside me.

He’d been desperate for me. The hunger inside him is awake for the first time, the animal he’s kept hidden for his entire life.

But I’m not made of glass, and I didn’t break. He never scared me.

“I love you, Rhion. All of you,” I whisper, more than a little breathlessly. “And I don’t want you to ever hide yourself from me.”

He doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pulls me away from the tree, and I finally feel the dozens of scratches running down my back, blood running thick from them. His fingers are covered in it, but he doesn’t care. Instead, he just keeps staring into my eyes.

“How could I hide from my heart?”