Page 63 of Thorns & Fire (The Ashes of Thezmarr #2)

Torj

‘Magic knows its mirror – in resonance, two powers become one song’

– Tethers and Magical Bonds Throughout History

‘W E WERE ALWAYS stronger together. ’

The words settled in Torj’s chest, a fragment that had been missing all his life sliding into place.

He looked at the woman who stood at his side, where she belonged – where she had always belonged. Radiant, beautiful, fearless.

Their soul bond gilded them, a ribbon of gold entwining around them.

Nothing else existed for him at that moment.

There was only her.

Their gazes locked, and Torj saw those willow-green eyes brimming with understanding, with forgiveness, with... love.

He reached for her, his fingers brushing over her fluttering pulse before cupping the back of her head, threading through her hair.

And then he crushed his mouth to hers.

His knees buckled beneath the force of it. Wren’s lips scorched his in a fiery kiss, and Torj lifted her from the ground, wrapping her legs around his middle, not caring who else was there.

Wren was everything. Everything he’d ever wanted. Everything he’d ever needed.

He kissed her hard enough to bruise, until her fingers were digging into his shoulders and her tongue was stroking his in a fever.

Every kiss was a brand, a claim. For she belonged to him, and he to her.

Torj took her to the wall. He needed to be inside her, needed to—

Someone cleared their throat loudly.

He and Wren broke apart, panting.

Thea and Wilder were both waiting by the door. ‘We’ll leave you to it, shall we?’ Thea said with a grin, winking at her sister. ‘We’ll take the supplies back to Drevenor.’

Wilder patted his pocket carefully. ‘I’ve got to talk to Audra as well.’

Wren nudged Torj. ‘Put me down,’ she hissed.

‘Not a chance, Embers,’ he replied, before addressing the two Warswords. ‘See you back at the academy.’

Wilder was shaking his head, a wry smile on his face. ‘Take your time, brother.’

‘Oh, I intend to.’

Wren hit him with the flat of her hand. ‘Torj!’

But he caught her by the wrist and covered her mouth with his once more. He turned his back to where Thea and Wilder had just left. He didn’t give a fuck that they were in an illegal alchemy workshop, surrounded by gods knew what. All he cared about was that Wren was here, with him.

At last, he took her to the wall, caging her against the stone, lost in the taste, in the feel of her.

Soul bonded.

Wren gripped his hair at the roots, demanding more access to his mouth, grinding against the massive erection he was pressing between her thighs.

This was where he belonged. With her, always.

Molten desire thrummed through him, pooling at the base of his spine, in his throbbing cock. The feel of Wren in his arms threatened to undo him. He’d thought of this moment so many times, dreamed of them finding their way back to one another, with no secrets between them, no hurt.

He could feel her heart pounding against his, that gold thread coiling around them, and he could hold it in no longer.

‘I love you,’ he murmured against her lips, grazing her throat with his teeth. ‘Gods, I love you.’

Wren kissed him back just as fiercely. ‘I love you too,’ she said breathlessly, bunching her skirts up around them. She was as desperate as he was, arching into his touch, begging for more.

Torj glanced between them and swore at the naked perfection he found there. ‘Do you ever wear undergarments?’

‘Not lately. I grew fond of tormenting a certain Warsword. Are you complaining?’ she challenged.

‘Gods, no,’ he said, fusing his mouth back to hers.

They were a mess of teeth and tongues, of pawing hands. Torj moaned, deep and guttural when Wren freed his cock from his leathers and licked her lips at the sight of the glistening tip.

‘I need you inside me, Torj. Now,’ she said, her voice thick with heated desperation.

‘I started taking the tonic again,’ he assured her.

‘Fuck me, Bear Slayer,’ she commanded. The title slipped from her mouth before she could stop it, but the low groan from the warrior in question told her that perhaps in this context, the name was acceptable.

Torj reached between them and dragged the head of his cock over her clit, notching himself to her entrance, moaning at the wetness he found there.

‘Torj,’ Wren cried out.

And then he sheathed himself inside her.

Elwren Embervale was made for him . Nothing had ever felt so good, so right . Tight, wet heat engulfed him, sending spirals of pleasure from his balls through his shaft with such force that he wanted to unleash himself then and there.

Wren’s legs tightened around him, and he braced her more firmly against the wall to get better leverage as he pulled out and rammed back inside of her. Each stroke was more intoxicating than the last – addictive, maddening... Together, they were insatiable.

‘I missed this,’ Wren panted against his lips, moving with each one of his thrusts. ‘I missed you.’

Missed her didn’t even cover what Torj had felt in her absence.

It was more like she’d taken a piece of him with her that he could never recover, no matter what he tried.

He had dreamed of her, had smelled jasmine and rain even when she wasn’t there.

.. The world had been bleak and grey, a mindless drag from one day into the next.

‘Never again,’ he vowed, driving himself into her, finding that sensitive spot within.

‘Never,’ Wren moaned. As she did, her walls clamped around his cock and his vision blacked out for a moment.

‘Gods,’ he blurted, using every ounce of willpower to keep himself from spilling inside her. He wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.

Holding her with one arm, he reached between them with his other hand, finding her clit with his thumb, circling.

‘Torj,’ she cried again, her hips bucking. ‘Harder.’

He loved the sound of his name on her lips, loved that he could worship her the way she deserved. Applying more pressure to her clit, he did as she commanded, thrusting over and over again until her words became garbled, and she was shaking with need.

Wren’s hand crept to his throat, squeezing gently. ‘You’re going to make me—’

He didn’t stop. ‘Come for me, Embers. Come all over my cock.’

‘Fuck—’

Wren came around him with a moan he felt in his balls, tightening around him, riding him until he saw stars.

It was the final whimper in his ear that sent him hurtling over the edge after her. His climax hit so hard he nearly staggered as he spilled himself inside her, each wave drawing a low, carnal sound from his throat.

Wren swallowed it with another kiss, which was just as well, because the otherworldly experience had rendered him fucking speechless.

When their lips broke apart at last, Torj’s eyes fluttered open to a vision of gold.

A gold thread, solid and real, laced around them both.

And Wren was smiling.

Soul bonded.

His soul bonded.