Page 69 of The Call of Crimson (The Crimson & Shadows #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

OPHELIA

E lijah’s warm tongue circles my clit in slow, maddening spirals that drag a moan from my throat. The last traces of sleep vanish the moment he thrusts a finger inside my center, curling it. In and out, he pumps his fingers as his tongue continues lapping at my sex.

My fingers thread through his loose curls, hips arching off the mattress. A whimper escapes me as he sucks my clit, his fingers continuing their deliciously torturous ministrations. That familiar warmth builds low in my core, a tingling sensation growing at the base of my spine.

“Elijah.” His name comes out as a breathy plea.

“Come for me, my dark goddess,” he demands, a devilish grin spreading his sinful lips.

With a few more strokes of his fingers, I’m tipping over the edge as release courses through me. Pleasure electrifies every nerve ending, stealing the breath from my lungs.

Before the orgasm can subside, I feel Elijah’s length aligning with my entrance. He thrusts in to the hilt in one swift motion. Giving me no time to adjust to him, he moves in and out in long, punishing strokes.

His lips find mine, swallowing my scream as his strokes perpetuate my pleasure.

My fingers dig into his scalp, eliciting a delightful hiss from his lips.

Deft fingers massage my butt as he guides one leg up, placing my ankle on his shoulder.

The new angle leaves me panting from how much deeper he feels inside me.

“Gods, Ophelia. I would gladly lose myself in the feel of you,” Elijah reverently whispers against my mouth.

Ecstasy-filled gasps escape me as goosebumps cover my flesh. He continues rocking into me, trailing reverent kisses over every piece of skin he can. My nails drag over the skin of his back, leaving red marks in their wake.

“Then lose yourself, Eli. Just come back to me in the end,” I say, my words a raspy demand.

Something flashes in his eyes, but is gone before I can decipher it. His thrusts increase in tempo, stealing the breath from my lungs. Our bodies writhing together creates a symphony of pure carnal bliss.

The familiar tingling of impending bliss starts low in my belly, intensifying rapidly at Elijah’s long, smooth strokes.

“Fuck, baby,” he groans. “I can feel how close you are. I need to feel you shatter around me.”

His words heighten my arousal, pushing me ever closer to the edge of orgasm. My inner walls clench in response, dragging a deep moan from his lips.

I reach for a pillow to stifle the scream I’m useless to stop.

“No,” Elijah snarls.

“Breyla is two doors down,” I protest, albeit weakly.

“I don’t fucking care. When you come all over my cock, I want to hear you scream my name.” His tone is demanding and borderline possessive. The gleam in his eyes is intense and unrelenting. I’ve never seen him like this before, and it does inexplicable things to me.

I nod in understanding and drop the pillow.

“Now fucking come for me, Ophelia,” he demands, his words throwing me over the edge into utter oblivion.

I shatter around him, his name a scream as I do so. Wave after rapturous wave crashes into me, my body trembling with pleasure as his thrusts continue, growing frantic.

Elijah’s lips find mine, taking my mouth in a brutal kiss full of teeth and tongues as he shudders and spills inside of me. I groan into the kiss at the sensation of him pulsing inside my core.

After a few more moments, he breaks the kiss and pulls out, dropping next to me on the bed. Our breathing takes a few more seconds to even out as the high from our release finally fades.

I roll to my side, facing him with a satiated smile. “That was certainly one way to wake a girl,” I tease.

He strokes my face softly, hand cupping my jaw. “I should have been waking you up that way every morning since the first.”

“You’ll just have to do it for the rest of our days, then,” I suggest, giving him a flirty smile.

That same haunted look crosses his face, disappearing as quickly as it arrives. “Deal. For the rest of our days together.”

“Good. I’ll hold you to it.”

His eyes lock on mine, searching for something momentarily before he whispers, “I love you, Ophelia.”

A startled gasp escapes me. I hadn’t been expecting him to say that, but as I read the sincerity in his gaze, a feeling of rightness settles in my chest.

“Elijah, I?—”

He raises a hand to my lips, cutting off my words.

“I didn’t tell you because I want you to say it back. I just needed you to know.”

“But what if I feel it too?”

“Then tell me at the end of the day,” he says, smiling softly.

A strange request, but one I oblige. I nod and show him how I feel, the only way I can. I press my lips to his in a kiss, soft, reverent, and laced with every feeling he won’t let me speak.

Our tender kiss quickly turns heated as I push him back, straddling his hips. He hardens beneath me, and I slide down his length. We let out a collective sigh once I’m fully seated. Then I roll my hips and use my body to say all the things he won’t allow me to speak.

When we finally emerge later in the afternoon, we head to the private library in the royal wing. Hand-in-hand, we enter to find Aurelius, Breyla, Ayden, his sister Rowina, and, surprisingly, his general, Darian.

Breyla greets us by wrapping us both in a tight embrace. “I’ve missed you both so much,” she whispers, her body relaxing in our hold.

“You know I can’t stay away from you, B,” Elijah jests.

“These last few months have been inexplicably difficult without you. I’m so happy you’re safe now.”

She releases us, stepping back and handing me a plate of food. My stomach growls at the sight, and she gives me a knowing smile.

I shove a piece of chocolate pastry in my mouth, moaning at the explosion of sweetness on my tongue. Elijah’s eyes heat as he reaches for a piece of food on my plate.

I yank the plate away from him as he lays his fingers on my chocolate delicacy. “Mine,” I say, giving him a side-eye.

He furrows his brows at me. “Ophelia, share.”

“Get your own.” I shove the rest of the chocolate delicacy into my mouth. It was too much for one bite. I have no regrets, even though I struggle to chew.

“You and your chocolate,” he says, rolling his eyes.

I just shrug and mumble around my food, “You should know better by now.”

Breyla chuckles and hands him his own plate, complete with a chocolate pastry.

He takes it, nodding his thanks. “At least one of you cares about me.”

Finally managing to swallow, I pat him on the cheek and say, “I think I showed you just how much I care about you this morning.”

Elijah’s nostrils flare, his eyes dancing with heat as he looks me up and down.

“Oh, we know,” Breyla says dramatically, taking a seat on one of the couches surrounding the fireplace.

We take a seat on the empty couch, and I tuck my feet under me as Elijah wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“So, tell me more of what’s going on in Rimor,” Breyla says.

Before Elijah can respond, Aurelius cuts in. “I think that can wait a day, Princess. Let’s just relax and enjoy this time together.”

She raises an inquisitive brow before Ayden adds, “Elijah already briefed me. Aurelius is right. Let’s just enjoy the day.”

AYDEN

I lean against the bookshelf nearest the group currently playing cards. The pure joy I see in Breyla’s face nearly breaks my own heart. A piece of her has been missing all these months away from Elijah. Seeing her now is bittersweet.

“You’re hiding something, brother,” Ro accuses. I hadn’t even noticed her approach.

Discreetly, I cast a sound shield around us. “Use your Gift, Ro. What do you feel from Elijah right now?”

Her honey-gold eyes slide to him, focusing intently.

“I feel joy and love. Something that tastes an awful lot like acceptance and regret tangled together…” Her voice trails off before a startled gasp leaves her lips.

“Oh gods.” Tears gather in her eyes as she stumbles from the intensity.

Rubbing at her chest, she croaks, “Pain, so much pain.”

Her gaze turns to me. “What’s going on?”

“He stopped a poisoned arrow meant for Ophelia on their journey here. She doesn’t know he’s dying.”

“How the hell does she not know?” she all but demands.

“He kept the cut hidden from her and Cillian, and he’s a master at masking his pain. He wants neither Breyla nor Ophelia to know.”

“Why would he keep this from them?”

“Is it not obvious?”

“Explain it to me.”

“He wanted this.” I gesture to the laughing group. “He wanted to enjoy his last moments without them fussing or trying to change the fates.”

She nods in understanding, her lips thinning. “Then I shall help him enjoy it pain-free.”

With smooth strides, she crosses the room to where Elijah sits. A delicate hand runs across his shoulders as she leans down between him and Ophelia.

I see Elijah’s shoulders relax, his pain fading away at the touch of Ro’s Empath Gift.

“What do you say to us escaping this stuffy castle to go dancing?” Rowina suggests, grinning and wrapping her arms around the couple.

“Dancing?” Breyla perks up at the mention of her favorite activity.

“Yes, Princess.” I grin. “There’s a tavern in town that local musicians frequent. There’s music playing nearly every night of the week.”

Aurelius’ eyes narrow at the use of his pet name for Breyla, making me stifle a laugh.

“And you’re just now telling me about it?” Breyla asks, voice dripping in disbelief.

I shrug. “I didn’t know you enjoyed dancing so much until recently, so why would I have told you?”

Breyla scrunches her nose in confusion.

“Are we going or not?” I ask, trying to move this conversation along. “We haven’t got all day.”

Elijah’s eyes meet mine, and a look of understanding passes between us at just how true those words are.

He jumps to his feet, pulling Ophelia with him. Breyla is up next and already striding for the door. The rest of our group joins them, pulling fur-lined cloaks around their shoulders as they go.

“Go ahead with Breyla, doll,” Elijah tells Ophelia. “I need to grab something first.”

I stop beside him as the others disappear into the corridor. He turns to me, all traces of playfulness gone.

“A word, prince.”

“Of course.”

When the door clicks shut behind the others, he turns to me. “I want to thank you.”

I raise a curious brow at him. “Whatever for?”

“For everything you’ve done and will do to protect them.”

I stiffen at his words, not fully understanding his meaning. “I don’t follow.”

“I know, but you will,” he says with a half-smirk.

“And they call me cryptic,” I say sarcastically.

His smirk fades, voice dropping into something quieter. “Take care of her. Or so help me, I will find a way to haunt your ass.”

“She’s my fiancée. Of course, I will take care of her.”

“That’s not the she I was referring to.”

Oh.

“What aren’t you saying?”

“A great many things, Prince. But I leave you with this: there is room enough in her heart for two great loves. Don’t be the one to stifle that.”

“You have grown frustratingly vague in your old age,” I try to joke, but it falls flat.

“Come on, let’s go catch up with them. I don’t want to miss a thing.” He clasps my shoulder, ushering us forward and out the door.