Page 51

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

“ T his bed is very tiny.”

Tristan angled his wings, trying to get comfortable in the, admittedly, very small bed in Cassandra’s new room. She wondered how Ronin had fit in it.

Cassandra scrunched her wet hair with a towel, another wrapped around her body. “Don’t worry, I’ll fit.”

“That’s my line.” He smirked.

“The shower’s even worse. Good luck washing your wings.”

He swept his gaze across hers. “You do look quite filthy.”

She smirked over her shoulder. “That’s my line.”

He laughed—a Tristan special. Loud and hearty enough to inspire a growl from Ronin’s room across the apartment. “Come here and give me your towel. I’ll clean them off for you.”

She crossed the room and handed him her hair towel, keeping the other wrapped around her naked body. Though she wasn’t sure how long Tristan would stand for that.

She sat at the edge of the bed, spreading her wings, and Tristan rose up on his knees behind her. She closed her eyes, relishing the gentle drag of the towel along her feathers. Zaps of pleasure sparkled through her every time his fingertips brushed one.

Ronin, Silas, and Mireille had all touched her wings—accidental brushes or entanglements during training sessions—but nothing compared to the heady sensation of Tristan’s touch.

Heat pooled between her thighs when he stroked a finger along the downy feathers at her shoulder blade. His lips grazed her earlobe. “I could make you come this way, you know. Could have you soaked and screaming my name in seconds.”

She breathed out a ragged laugh. “I don’t think Ronin would appreciate that. Thin walls, remember?”

Tristan ran his fangs along her neck and she shuddered, her nipples stiffening. “If you think that I breached the wards of Tartarus, smashed open that gate, braved those mists, fought off the beasts in that moat?—”

“I did most of that fighting.”

“—defended myself against a tiny Fae female’s wicked fists?—”

“A tiny Fae female’s legendary fists.”

His breathy laugh tickled her skin. “If you think I braved all those dangers to return to you and not have you writhing beneath me in this ridiculously small bed tonight, you are sorely mistaken.” He abandoned the towel, running his hands along her wings. The feeling was exquisite; like each and every feather connected to a nerve ending in her clit. She moaned and he wrapped a hand around her mouth. “I do remember—vividly and quite often—how hard it is for you to be quiet.”

“I’ll try my best,” she whispered against his palm.

He removed his hand. “Or we could just go to sleep.” He yawned, fake and obnoxiously loud. “I am pretty tired.”

She turned and pushed him down onto the bed, then straddled him, pressing her bare sex against the loose gray pants Ronin had let him borrow. “I will beat you with these legendary fists again if you don’t get inside me right fucking now .”

He cocked an eyebrow, folding an arm behind his head and popping his biceps. Sweet Amatu, he was a spectacle . She traced her fingertips down the sculpted planes of his torso, savoring the warm, hard perfection of him.

She’d missed this. Missed him. Missed his teasing and his laughter and his presence . She could surely conquer anything, even the Koenig, now that they were together again.

He peeled her towel off and tossed it to the floor as her fingers scrabbled at his waistband.

He stilled her wrists. “Wait. Let me look at you for a moment.”

She placed her arms at her sides and threw her shoulders back, fluttering her wings behind her.

Awe shone in his honey-brown gaze. Awe and adoration. He stroked up her thighs, over the curve of her waist, then cupped her breast and ran a thumb across her nipple. She arched into his touch, never tearing her eyes from his as his cock thickened beneath her.

“Bless the Creator,” he breathed. “You’re devastating. I can’t believe she gave you to me. Turned you for me.”

Cassandra cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“The only way a human can be Turned is if the Goddess herself blesses it. I was able to Turn you for a reason. Though fuck if I know what that is right now.” He thrust up into her and she rolled her hips in answer, whimpering. “Or care.”

“Don’t distract me with your dick magic.” He barked out a laugh. “Tell me what this means. Does it mean you’re not fated to Ione?”

He sat upright, bringing a hand to her cheek and looping an arm around her waist, pressing their chests together skin-to-skin. Utter bliss. “I don’t know what else it could mean. Though I have no idea why the Goddess would have Turned two females for me. The prophecy?—”

Cassandra placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing back. “You saw it? You retrieved the Compendium?”

He rolled his eyes and released an annoyed sigh. “Because I really want to be talking about some dusty old book when I finally have you naked in my lap again… But yes, we did. And though it’s not entirely clear, my interpretation is that it’s my choice to make.” He leaned forward and the whisper-soft graze of his mouth across her lips rustled her feathers. “And I choose you , Cassandra. Only you.”

“Fuck fate,” she whispered against his mouth, then tangled her hands into his silky hair and slid her tongue past his lips.

He kissed her back, ardently, reverently, then flipped her underneath him, her silky feathers cool against her back. He tugged his pants off, then settled between her thighs and wedged a hand between their bodies, positioning himself at her entrance.

Concern furrowed his brows. “Is this okay? We don’t have to. I know you’ve had a terrifying night. Despite all my teasing, I really can wait.”

“Well, I can’t. Please, Tristan. I need you.” She angled her hips, enough for his tip to slide into her.

He groaned, pressing their foreheads together and his eyes blazed molten. “Thank fuck” was all he said before he thrust in fully, his hand over her mouth to stifle her scream.

This. This was her favorite part. The initial penetration, that delicious fullness as her body stretched around him.

They melted into one another, and her senses heightened. Tristan’s beautiful face above her in vivid clarity. His every breath tickling her cheeks. His scent and touch more intense than ever before.

Sweet fucking Amatu, is this how sex had always felt for him? She almost wished he’d Turned her sooner.

He ran a hand down her torso, along the side of her breast, then over her hip and under her thigh. He folded her leg up and thrust in harder, fucking her deep and slow. Savoring her.

She matched his rhythm, marveling at how well their bodies fit together.

As if the Goddess had crafted them specifically for each other.

“ Fuck , Cassandra, you feel so good. Perfect. Made for me.”

She kissed his jaw, dragged her teeth along his neck, angled her hips so he’d brush her clit with every downstroke.

Release coiled low in her belly, tensing and tightening, and this was all she wanted. Didn’t ever want to leave this bed. Didn’t care about the city or the mists or the wards or the world beyond. All she needed was him. Tristan. Her Rebel Prince. Moving inside her, filling her.

She could spend eternity beneath his powerful body and still beg the Creator for one more second.

“I’m close.” She brought his hand to her lips, nipped his callused fingertips.

His muscles tightened, his pace faltering, but he grinned down at her and wrapped his palm over her mouth, hooking his thumb under her chin. “Loud as you want, Cass. I’ve got you.”

He slammed into her and she erupted, cursing, her fangs grazing his rough skin. Waves of liquid heat radiated from her core, shuddering her limbs and rattling her feathers. Her inner muscles clenched and released, prolonging her pleasure and she was sure that nothing in her entire life had ever felt this good ever .

Tristan followed shortly behind, grunting against her neck as he spent himself inside her. He made to roll away, but she pulled him closer. Wanted his weight and warmth on top of her for as long as possible. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, stroking his feathers.

“I choose you, too, Tristan,” she whispered into his ear.

“Naturally.”

She laughed into his hair, his cock still buried inside her.

They stayed that way—joined in every way possible—until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.