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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

ADOM

T he room was cloaked in darkness, but to me, it might as well have been bathed in sunlight. One thing about being born with the eyes of a big cat was my ability to see in the dark. My gaze swept dispassionately over the familiar outlines of my chambers: the tall wardrobe near the window, the low table with a book spread open on its surface. I ignored it all as I glared at the closed door to the queen's chambers.

I'd never opened that door before. It had been empty all the years since the king's quarters had been mine. I swore I could feel her on the other side.

The wood was sturdy. I could break it down with one swift kick of my boot. It probably wasn't locked. Not that that detail mattered. I wasn't supposed to go in there, wasn't supposed to see her until our vows were exchanged during the eclipse.

There were ancient customs and rituals at play. The Moon had already cursed my life; I wasn’t about to invite more misfortune by breaking tradition. And yet, the door called to me like a siren’s song, urging me to cross the threshold, to see her, to hold her?—

I exhaled sharply and turned away, heading to my bed. Not hers. Before I'd taken the first step, I froze.

There was a lump in my bed. A fairy-sized lump with the hint of purple wings peeking out of the covers. She was here. In my bed. Like I'd conjured her up.

Her head rested on the pillow that had cradled my restless dreams for years. Her hair spilled across the sheets in dark waves, catching the faint glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains. Her breathing was steady, her chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm. The tips of her wings fluttered every few seconds.

She shouldn’t be here. And yet, the sight of her felt like it was meant to be.

My claws flexed at my sides. I stepped closer, carefully, as though I might shatter the illusion if I moved too quickly. The scent of her grew stronger, filling my lungs with every breath. She smelled of flowers and earth and mine.

“Charlotte? Little sphinx ?"

She stirred at the pet name I'd given her. Her eyelids rose slowly. For a moment, she seemed disoriented, her green eyes searching the dark. Then they landed on me.

“Adom.”

My name had never sounded like a smile. Like the answer to a prayer. It had always come at the end of a scream of terror as courage or breath left a foe's body.

“You shouldn’t be in my room before our wedding day. You're breaking the rules.”

“I don’t care about the rules. I needed to see you, to be with you.”

My claws brushed against that lower lip that could command anything of me. She didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away. She leaned into my touch and kissed the tips of my claw.

“We have a few hours before night turns to day. I promise I’ll be gone before then. I won’t do anything to jeopardize the breaking of the curse.”

Her words unraveled me, thread by thread, until I was nothing but the beast she had cured with nothing but a friendly smile. My hand trembled as it cupped her cheek, claws grazing the soft curve of her jaw. I had spent years commanding armies, holding the line against trolls, mastering every impulse to ensure my people’s survival. But here, with her, I was undone.

I leaned in, close enough to feel the warmth of her breath against my skin, the faint floral sweetness that clung to her like the bloom of spring. I told myself to be careful, to be patient, to savor this moment like a starving man offered a single bite. My hunger was too great. I could only think of how long I had been starved of such tenderness. Since the day my father died, no one had looked at me with anything but duty or fear.

“I wanted to see you in your wedding suit.”

The absurdity of it struck me, and I laughed. A deep, rumbling sound that shook loose the tension coiled tightly in my chest.

Charlotte climbed over me and reached for the suit I hadn't seen on the chaise. This woman had truly gotten past my defenses. She'd snuck into my room with armor. Under her command, I stripped myself bare, offering her every bit of vulnerability.

She watched me, biting her lip as I stepped into the wedding suit. The fabric felt alien, nothing like the coarse tunics or battle leathers I was accustomed to. It was soft—too soft—like woven moonlight against my skin. The cut was exact, tailored so precisely to my frame. The snug fit over my thighs made me hesitate, unused to clothing that hugged rather than armored.

Charlotte's hands brushed over the waistcoat, adjusting it with careful precision. Perhaps copping a bit of a feel. Not that I minded. I stood still under her gaze, more exposed than I had ever been in battle.

“Well?” The fabric stretched slightly over my shoulders as I spread my arms. “Do I meet your expectations?”

“You look…magnificent."

There was that lip bite again. It was going to make me throw the suit off.

"Now take it off.”

Clearly, my bride and I were on the same page. I smirked and did as I was told. I figured she'd want me to place the suit back in its garment bag. But she was on me before I had the shirt over my head. She unbuttoned the trousers and pushed them down my thighs, her knees bending to follow the fabric down.

She took my cock in her hand, and I hissed. She didn't give me any more warning than that. She took me from hand to mouth, swallowing as much of me as she could manage.

I roared.

So much for traditions and rituals. Charlotte hefted my heavy sack with one hand and the base of my cock with the other. With two hands and her tongue, she brought me to the brink and then stopped. She pulled off me with a pop of her mouth. Then the slip of a fairy pushed me onto the bed. I fell with a mighty crash.

She stripped the nightgown from her gorgeous body with the hand that had nearly unmanned me. The sight of her naked had my cock weeping in surrender as her wings fanned out behind her. This was how to bring the Beast Prince to his knees.

I wasn't even on my knees. She had me flat on my back, begging for mercy.

My little sphinx showed me none. She mounted me, spreading her lavender thighs over mine. I arched up, spreading her obscenely wider.

I didn't need to ask if she was ready for me. My big nose scented her arousal. My cat eyes saw her pink folds glistening. She slid down onto me with ease.

Well, mostly with ease.

It took a moment and some movement, but my fairy took all of me inside of her. Once she was fully seated with me completely inside her, we took a single breath together. And then we began to move.

I thrust up, which caused her wings to flutter. She ground down, which caused my claws to dig into her hips. Faster and faster we rode each other until I swore we were flying.

"I love you, Adom. You have all of my heart, always."

I couldn't form words. The beast had my tongue. I could only growl as I thrust up into her tight sheath. This fairy would be the death of me, and I'd go happily.

She clenched her intimate muscles in time to my thrusts. The spasms became erratic, the grip on my length tighter. She arrived at her peak and was about to go over. I gripped her tighter to me, my claws drawing blood as my little sphinx threw back her head and roared her pleasure.

"I am yours body and soul. From the moment I met you and until the day my soul no longer gives light, I am yours, Charlotte. I love you."

A sob burst from her chest, mingling with her cries of ecstasy. Silent tears followed the sob. They slid down her cheeks like rain on glass.

I understood the feeling. I had not expected our union to be like this. Reversing our positions, I pulled her beneath me and kissed each of her tears away. My cock was still hard inside her. Her thighs were locked around my back, her arms locked around my neck. There was nothing for me to do but rock gently into her until she reached a second and then third peak. Once she was spent, I finally loosened the hold on my own pleasure.

There was no roar this time. There was no need. There was no competition to warn off. No enemies daring to near my territory. The mating ritual was complete, save for the spectacle we'd engage in the next morning with the whole of Solmane watching.

Right now, she was simply mine. And I was hers.

The moon hadn’t lifted its curse. It might not ever. It didn't matter.

There was a lightness in my chest, a sense of being tethered to something more meaningful than curses and moons. What I had now, what Charlotte had given me, was more potent than anything the moon could grant—or take away. I wasn’t whole in body, but I was whole in spirit.