Page 51 of Wrath of the Dragons (Fear the Flames #2)

Chapter Thirty-eight

Elowen

My voice is hoarse from laughing and my feet ache from all the dancing Finnian and Ryder led me through. I even shared a dance with Braxton, who blushed through the entire song, and I spun around a few children from the orphanage who tugged on my skirts.

As I stumble off the dance floor, I tilt my head to the far side of the room where Cayden is watching me from the shadows.

The hair on my arms rises when I note the heat laced within his eyes.

I take a step to my left to duck behind a pillar, peeking around it to watch him kick off the wall and take a step to his right.

He’s always carried an aura of danger and mystery, warding all others away, but it pulls me toward him.

Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced pain where love was supposed to be, and love where it never should’ve existed.

I slip behind another pillar, but when I peek around the side, he’s nowhere to be seen.

Exhilaration shoots through me, knowing he’s watching even if I can’t see him.

I keep moving until I stride out of the throne room and find the nearest exit from the castle.

I can’t see or hear him, but I can feel his presence.

My lips still burn from our brief kiss during the ceremony, and the promise of more weakens my knees.

Hurrying down the path I walked several hours ago, I follow the trail of dying candles into the forest that leads to the base of the castle.

The sleeves of my gown flow through the trees like woodland spirits dancing for the moon as I hop over a stream and quicken my pace.

My curls whip around me as I swing my head in all directions, seeing nothing other than snow-coated pines and icy rocks.

My heart pounds in my chest when I make it to the base of the mountain where the ceremony was held.

I fist my dress while running down the abandoned aisle, trampling the flower petals as snow crunches close by.

He wouldn’t let me hear him unless he intended it. Like a predator homing in on their prey and wanting them to know a collision is imminent.

A small ledge curves around the edge of the pool, and I squint into the darkness as the wind blows, taking some of the falls with it.

There’s a dark cave behind the base of the waterfall.

I’ve always obeyed my curiosity, unable to ignore the nagging voice that tells me to explore an unknown place.

It’s strange because I’m almost never curious about people.

They’re usually disappointing when you peel back their layers, but nature has a way of surprising you even with its smallest details.

The stone is slippery underfoot, and I grasp more of my skirts to save them from tumbling over the ledge and dragging through the surface.

Ice crackles beneath me, creating weblike cracks as I step.

Sharp peaks press into my palm as I lean on the wall beside me and climb up the incline, keeping my footing while ducking behind the gushing falls and rounding the corner.

I’m submerged in darkness and listen to my surroundings to paint a picture in my mind.

It’s obvious there’s a river splitting through the center of the path based on the echoing sound of rushing water.

The ledge I’m standing on grows thicker as I continue around the curve and spot a faint blue glow at the end of the narrow cavern.

My hair becomes heavier as the air grows thick and moist. I drop my dress and reach one hand behind me to sweep the tresses off my neck, but it does little to offer me any reprieve, considering my discomfort grows with every footfall.

But my grip slackens on my curls when I step through the archway in a daze, my gaze tracing the enchanting sight.

Pools upon pools of crystal water spill into each other, staggering in size and height, with steam wafting off their surfaces.

They’re built into the rock, and I’m forced to crane my neck to see the top.

The misshapen ceiling is speckled in blue glowing splotches more vibrant than any night sky I’ve ever seen, with shards of rocks piercing between the clusters.

“Hello, wife.” Cayden’s hands snake around me. “Following you always leads me to the strangest places.”

“Well, at least you’ll never grow bored,” I answer. “Did you know this was here?”

“No. I don’t think it’s common knowledge.”

I slip out of his hold and spin to face him, slowly unlacing my corset while kicking my shoes off. “Then perhaps we should take advantage of our discovery.”

“Leave that on,” he commands, a look of pure hunger flashing across his features. He stalks toward me and presses my back into a wall. Dampness bleeds through my gown, and his lips skim over mine as he tilts his head down.

A crease forms between his brows, and his throat bobs. “I didn’t chase you with the expectation of anything more than your company. It doesn’t matter that it’s our wedding night. I don’t want to do this if you’re not certain.”

I reach up, resting my trembling hand on the nape of his neck. However awful the world may think he is, Cayden has never pressured me for anything, no matter how blatant his desire is.

“I want this.” I smile faintly, and he traces it with his finger. “I want you.”

His mouth descends upon mine in the next second.

I stand on the tips of my toes to get closer to him as he wraps an arm around my waist and threads his hand through my hair.

He parts my lips and presses me to him like I’m a flower between the pages of a book, but the only word transcribed within the novel is his name.

I’m completely and utterly consumed. He’s all I can think of as the world fades around me.

He kisses me like the world is ending and he’s desperate to memorize the taste of me before we’re torn from each other.

I’m breathless when he pulls back, and his pants mingle with mine. “Gods, I’ve missed you,” he murmurs.

My heart skips in my chest, and he looks at me for a long moment before lacing our fingers together to lead me up the slope, not stopping until we’re nestled beside a small pool somewhere in the middle.

Whatever is causing the ceiling to glow is reflected on some of the rocks bordering the path.

Cayden turns to me, and my eyes slip shut as he glides his fingers down my neck and across my collarbone.

I lean into his touch, craving more than a gentle brush.

It’s been so long since we’ve been together.

I want him to make me feel like I’m his again.

“I’ve watched you all day, unable to tear my eyes away, imagining the moment when I’d finally be able to take this gown off you,” he whispers, and I force my gaze back to his.

“Wanting you is the sweetest torture I’ve ever experienced.

Not even sleep grants me mercy. You’re always there when I close my eyes, in my mind, whenever you’re not in front of me. ”

I thought he’d be ready to rip my gown off once he caught me, but he handles me with reverence, caressing the beading on my bodice and raking his eyes over my frame like he’s assuring himself that I’m truly his bride.

He takes a step closer, and I lick my lips when our chests press together as he loosens my corset.

He never detaches our gazes when the bones slacken and he hooks his fingers into the sweetheart neckline to slide the gown down my body, sinking to his knees as he does.

His jaw clenches as he stares up at me. I bite my lip when he cups the backs of my thighs, dipping his thumbs beneath the lacy strap attached to my garter belt.

His breath dances across my torso when he leans forward to place a kiss.

“Did you wear this for me, beautiful?” The deep timbre of his voice makes my thighs press together.

I nod, not trusting my voice as he rises and walks around me in a slow circle.

A rough breath rushes from him when he looks at my face again, and he tosses his crown and tunic aside.

“I must’ve been a fucking martyr in a past life. ”

I smile softly and step out of the puddle of skirts at my feet to undo the laces on his pants, though he doesn’t remove my crown or the veil attached to it.

His eyes burn with unrestrained desire as he abandons them, making me shiver from the anticipation of what I know he can do.

This feels different from any other time we’ve been together because Cayden is no longer just my ally, he’s my husband.

A sly grin coats his features as he hoists me in his arms, and a needy whimper climbs up my throat when his hard length presses into me.

My pulse flutters in my neck, and I roll my hips forward to glide against the bulge.

He groans, and I drop my forehead against his shoulder while repeating the same movement, but his hands latch on to my hips before I can do it again. “What kind of man would I be if I didn’t take my time on you after you put this on?”

I tighten my legs. “An intelligent man.”

He chuckles while walking us into the pool and a pleased hum vibrates within my chest as the warm water rises over my hips.

I trail my lips up his neck, needing him closer, needing to feel him.

He walks to the front of the pool and sets me on the ledge.

Fear stiffens my spine when I take in the steep drop to the next pool below, and the edge is so thin I’m not even fully on it.

“Which you clearly are not! Put me down.”

“I’ve never kept my desire for you hidden, and I won’t let you rush me through this, Elowen.

If I want to stand here and admire my wife, I will.

If I want to wrap your legs around my head while I fuck you with my tongue, I will.

And if I want to bury myself deep inside you and make you cry out my name like a prayer, I will.

In fact, I look forward to it.” His words wind me so tight I feel like I’ll break from the simplest touch. “Is that understood?”