Page 149 of The Unbound Witch

Flinging his wings out beside him, he gathered me in his muscled arms and swept us both away to the pearly white castle. When he dropped me in our room, my beautiful dress was on the floor in seconds. His hands all over me, his lips searing hot down my body.

The Dark King didn’t pause for permission, nor did he take his time as he tossed me onto the freshly made bed and licked up my core before resting himself there, hard and eager. I couldn’t say I was surprised. We’d stolen every opportunity to find release in each other for months.

Thrusting himself home, I arched off the bed with a cry of pleasure before melting into a puddle below him. Bastian was my weakness and my power. He pulled out, resting his tip against the folds before thrusting forward in another stroke of bliss. I needed him. Wanted him. Begged for him as he moved above me. Undulating my hips, I met him stroke for stroke, letting every bit of emotion I’d had working up to this day loose as he slammed against me, kneading my thighs and commanding my body with fervor.

Soft lips found mine as he kissed me, his tongue demanding entrance. Everything between us became too intense to fight. My muscles clenched around him, feeling each and every inch as he thrust, holding my gaze with those silver eyes. He drove deeper, harder, stealing a gasp with his lips as we both rose and rose. I wanted more from him. Always. I could never get enough of this moment. Could have come out of my own skin below him, exploding from the pleasure. From the way he looked at me like I was the most precious thing in his world. We rode the final wave of euphoria together, my nails digging scratches down his back as I screamed his name.

Hours later, after endless rounds of bliss, I lay in his arms, his warm breath coating my skin as we listened to the cheers and the joy of the Winter Solstice festivities outside. I rolled slowly away from him, reaching under the bed to find the small package I’d hidden below. Lifting the heavy blanket to guard myself from the frigid breeze, the fire in our room not quite hot enough to combat it, I placed the box on the bed between us, the silky ribbon long enough to drape over the sides.

“What’s this?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

“A Solstice present. Open it.”

Wiggling his eyebrows, he tugged on the black ribbon from the box and lifted the lid. He pulled the set of sculpting knives out and studied the deer horn handles before dragging me into a hug. “They’re perfect.”

“I didn’t really know what to get the king who has everything.”

He winked in a very Grey way. “I have something for you, too.”

Slipping a hand beneath his pillow, Bastian brought forward a tiny red box. I gulped as he raised the lid. Peeking over the edge, I gasped as he lifted the necklace from the box by a long, golden chain and placed it over my head. The tiny glass ball at the end thrummed against the bare skin between my breasts.

Raising it to the light of the moon, I asked. “What’s in here?”

“It’s the final page from the Book of Omnia crumpled and locked inside.”

My heart stopped, the tingling sensation in my nose stirring tears. “You didn’t.”

“Cast, my love.”

A single tear fell as I flicked my wrist and a tiny candle in the corner of the room ignited. The dangerous depth was gone, but the magic, the blissful power that coursed beneath my skin had returned. Throwing my hands around him, I didn’t want to ask how he’d managed it without the wrath of that dangerous book. That was a question for another day. Maybe even another lifetime. Because this one was now filled with too much happiness to bother.

That which was meant to destroy, molded me. Death had cursed me, but the goddess had blessed me. The world had broken me, but my family had strengthened me, and somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself as a broken witch, and found myself whole and his.

THE END