Chapter 6 The Secret Gift
The house was quiet.The dishes had been washed.The kitchen cleaned.And after insisting he wasn’t nearly as worried as Lilly believed, Daniel Silverheart had finally retired for the night.Lilly doubted that claim.Her father worried about everything.He simply preferred pretending otherwise.
A smile tugged at her lips as she turned a page in her book.Her bedroom was small but cozy.A narrow bed stood against one wall.A wardrobe occupied another.
A small wooden desk sat beneath the window overlooking the street.The room wasn’t luxurious.But it was hers.
Tonight, a single candle burned beside her book, casting warm golden light across the pages.Outside, Moonspire remained awake.Even this late, distant sounds drifted through the city.
Laughter.Music.Celebration.
The coronation announcement had transformed the capital into one giant festival.
Not that Lilly minded.She couldn’t remember the last time the kingdom had felt so hopeful.Four weeks.
The thought immediately made her smile.
Only four weeks.Soon Kael would become king.Soon everything would change.
Soon. A familiar sensation swept through her it was Warm, Electric and Comforting.The mate bond.
Lilly froze.
Then slowly lowered her book.A grin spread across her face.“You’re getting predictable.”
A soft chuckle came from outside her window.A second later the window slid open.Alpha Prince Kael Ashborne climbed inside.
Like a criminal.Or perhaps a very handsome burglar.
Moonlight spilled across his dark clothing as he stepped into the room.Lilly shook her head.
“One day someone is going to catch you.”Kael closed the window behind him.“Then I’ll simply have to silence them.”
She laughed.“That sounds suspiciously murderous.”
“Only slightly.”He crossed the room.The smile on her face slowly faded.Something was wrong.
Usually Kael looked amused when he visited.Relaxed.Happy.Tonight his expression was harder.
More serious.The realization made her sit straighter.
“What happened?” His jaw tightened.
“What happened to you?” Lilly blinked.
Then immediately understood.“Oh.”Of course.The Tomas incident.She groaned. “Can nobody in this kingdom keep a secret?”
“The palace runs on gossip.”
She rolled her eyes.“Apparently.” Kael didn’t smile.Not even a little.The sight unsettled her. For a moment neither spoke.Then he moved closer.
His gaze drifted toward the repaired blouse she wore.The seamstress down the street had fixed it earlier that afternoon.Still, the memory remained.
And judging by Kael’s expression, he hadn’t taken the news well.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Lilly .”he warned
“I’m fine.” She responded He studied her.Searching.
Verifying.Only when he seemed satisfied did some of the tension leave his shoulders.A little.Not much.
“You scared me.”The quiet admission surprised her.
Kael wasn’t usually so open.The realization warmed her heart. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know.”
His eyes darkened.
“He did.”
The room fell silent.
Something in his tone made Lilly suddenly very curious.
“Tomas?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Kael looked away.
Nothing suspicious about that.
Not at all.
Lilly narrowed her eyes.
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Kael.”
“He won’t bother you again.”
She immediately groaned.
“Kael.”
“He won’t.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
A slight smile finally appeared.
Not because he found the situation amusing.
Because he knew she wasn’t going to stop asking.
“What happened?” she repeated.
“Nothing serious.”
That was not reassuring.
“Kael.”
The prince sighed dramatically.
“He was transferred.”
“Transferred?”
“To a supply post.”
Lilly blinked.
“A supply post where?”
“Far away.”
She stared.
Then burst out laughing.
“Kael.”
“He should be grateful.”
“Grateful?”
“I was very reasonable and chose not to punch him through the wall”
Her laughter only intensified.
The image of Kael deciding someone’s entire career because of a single incident was absurd.
And somehow completely believable.
“I didn’t want him to get in trouble.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Immediately Kael’s expression hardened again.
“Lilly .”
“What?”
“He put his hands on you.”
The quiet anger in his voice made her pause.
Kael took her hand.
His grip was gentle.
Careful.
As though she might break.
“He had no right.”
The room suddenly felt very small.
Very intimate.
The candlelight flickered between them.
His golden eyes held hers.
Steady.
Certain.
Possessive.
“He had no right touching what belongs to me.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks.
“Kael.”
His thumb brushed across her knuckles.
“You are my mate.”
The bond between them pulsed warmly.
Answering him.
Agreeing.
For a moment neither spoke.
They simply sat there.
Holding hands.
Looking at one another.
The world beyond her bedroom faded away.
No coronation.
No politics.
No responsibilities.
Only them.
Then Kael lifted her hand to his lips.
The simple gesture sent butterflies through her stomach.
“Soon,” he murmured.
Lilly smiled.
“You’re saying that a lot lately.”
“Because it’s true.”
His gaze softened.
“Soon you won’t have to deal with any of this.”
She knew what he meant.
The whispers.
The assumptions.
The occasional comments about her status.
The endless secrecy.
Everything.
“Soon you’ll be my Luna.”
The words stole her breath.
Not because they were unexpected.
Because hearing them aloud made them real.
A future.
A promise.
A dream.
She wanted it so badly.
Wanted him.
Wanted the life they could build together.
“Kael…”
His hand rose to her cheek.
The touch was gentle.
Tender.
The kind that always made her heart ache.
“You trust me, don’t you?”
The question caught her off guard.
“Of course.”
His forehead rested briefly against hers.
The mate bond hummed warmly between them.
Then he kissed her.
Softly.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Simply because he wanted to.
And because she wanted him to.
Lilly smiled against his lips.
The familiar warmth spread through her chest.
The feeling she only ever experienced with him.
The feeling of belonging.
When they finally pulled apart, neither moved very far.
Kael remained close.
Close enough that she could see tiny flecks of gold within his eyes.
Close enough to hear every breath.
Then his expression suddenly shifted.
Almost sheepish.
Which was unusual.
Very unusual.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Kael.”
He sighed.
Then reached behind him.
Only now did Lilly notice the small wooden box sitting beside the window.
She blinked.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.”
“Kael.”
His smile widened.
She immediately became suspicious.
Slowly he picked up the box and placed it in her lap.
Her eyes widened.
“You brought me something?”
“Maybe.”
“Kael.”
“Open it.”
Excitement immediately replaced suspicion.
Lilly carefully lifted the lid.
Then froze.
Moonlight silver gleamed inside.
Nestled upon dark velvet rested a delicate pendant.
A crescent moon crafted from silver.
Simple.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
For several seconds she simply stared.
Speechless.
“It’s beautiful.”
A smile appeared on Kael’s face.
The genuine kind.
The one reserved only for her.
“I’m glad you like it.”
Lilly carefully lifted the pendant.
The silver caught the candlelight.
Shimmering softly.
Almost glowing.
“It’s gorgeous.”
She looked up.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.”
The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without doubt.
Something inside her chest squeezed painfully.
Because no matter how many gifts he gave her, that wasn’t what mattered.
It was the thought behind them.
The effort.
The fact that he remembered.
Always.
Kael gently took the pendant from her hands.
“Turn around.”
She obeyed.
A moment later she felt the cool silver settle against her skin.
His fingers brushed the back of her neck as he fastened the clasp.
The touch sent a shiver down her spine.
Then he leaned forward.
Pressing a kiss against her shoulder.
The gesture felt impossibly intimate.
“You should wear it.”
Lilly touched the pendant.
“I will.”
A smile curved her lips.
“I’ll never take it off.”
Something flickered across his face.
Relief.
Affection.
Longing.
Perhaps all three.
“Good.”
The room fell quiet again.
Outside, Moonspire continued celebrating.
The kingdom counted down the days until the coronation.
The future seemed bright.
Certain.
Within reach.
Kael wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her gently against him.
Resting his chin atop her head.
For a while neither spoke.
Neither needed to.
Eventually his voice broke the silence.
“Only a few more weeks.”
Lilly smiled.
“Only a few more weeks.”
“No more secrets.”
The pendant rested against her heart.
Warm from her skin.
A promise.
A future.
A symbol of everything she believed was waiting for them.
“No more secrets,” she agreed softly.
His hands moved to the hem of her shirt. He pulled the fabric upward, and she raised her arms to let him strip it away. The cool air kissed her bare skin, raising gooseflesh across her arms and shoulders. Her breasts spilled free, full and heavy, their peaks tightening in the chill. Kael's gaze dropped to them, and something in his expression shifted,that controlled hunger she knew so well cracking through the surface.
His mouth claimed hers again as he lifted her, his hands gripping her thighs just below the curve of her backside.
She wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively, her bare chest pressed against the rough linen of his tunic, feeling the hard planes of muscle beneath. He carried her across the small chamber, his stride unhurried despite the urgency she could feel building in the tautness of his shoulders.
"My father's home," she whispered against his lips. "We have to be quiet."
A low sound rumbled in his chest,something between a laugh and a growl. "I'll try not to fuck you senseless enough that you're screaming my name."
"You're not helping."
"Wasn't trying to."
He reached the bed and tossed her onto the mattress. The impact made her breasts bounce, the soft flesh rippling, and she heard his sharp intake of breath as he watched. The moon pendant settled in the valley between them, glinting like a watching eye.
Kael pulled his tunic over his head in one fluid motion. The candlelight painted him in gold and shadow,the broad sweep of his shoulders, the ridged muscles of his abdomen, the defined V that disappeared beneath his leather breeches. His skin bore the golden tan of hours spent training in the sun, interrupted by pale scars that told stories she'd never pressed him to share. He moved like a predator, all controlled power and barely restrained violence, and the sight of him made her mouth go dry.
He descended onto the bed, but not over her. Instead, he settled on his stomach between her parted knees, his shoulders pushing her thighs wider as he hiked her skirt up to her waist. Cool air hit her heated core, and she felt suddenly, achingly exposed.
His fingers hooked into her undergarment and drew it down her legs, tossing the scrap of fabric somewhere behind him. Then he parted her thighs wider still, and she watched his face as he looked at her,really looked, with that intense focus that made her feel like the only thing in his world.
Her core was covered in short dark hair that glistened with moisture, her clit swollen and peeking from its hood, slick with her arousal. The sight of it made his nostrils flare, his pupils dilating until his pale irises were ringed in black.
His tongue found her.
The first lick,from her entrance to that swollen bud,sent electricity sparking through her nerves. A moan escaped before she could stop it, loud in the quiet room, and she slapped her hand over her mouth.
Kael chuckled against her flesh, the vibration adding another layer of sensation. "Your father's going to catch us."
"You're the one making noise," she hissed through her fingers.
He responded by sealing his lips around her clit and sucking.
Her hips bucked off the mattress, but his hands pressed them back down, holding her open and still as he worked her. His tongue traced circles around that sensitive pearl, alternating between broad, flat strokes and pointed flicks that made her vision blur at the edges. The sounds were obscene,wet, slick noises as he licked and sucked, his own harsh breathing, the rustle of sheets as her fists twisted in them.
She bit down on her knuckle, trying to muffle the whimpers that kept escaping. Each one seemed to spur him on, his pace increasing, his grip tightening on her thighs. He'd always been skilled with his mouth, but tonight there was something different,something almost desperate in the way he tasted her, like he was trying to memorize her flavor, like he needed this as much as she did.
The pressure built in her core, that familiar tightening that preceded release. Her thighs trembled against his shoulders. Her back arched off the bed. She was so close, teetering on the edge, her body wound tight as a bowstring…
He stopped.
The absence of his mouth was its own kind of agony. She made a sound of protest, her hips seeking contact that was no longer there, and opened her eyes to find him rising onto his knees. His hands went to the laces of his breeches, working them loose with practiced efficiency.
He shoved the leather down his hips and freed himself.
His cock stood rigid against his stomach, thick and flushed, the head glistening with moisture. She'd taken him inside her before, knew the stretch and fullness of him, but seeing his size never failed to make her core clench in anticipation. He was built proportionally to the rest of him,large, imposing, designed to dominate.
He kicked the breeches off entirely and moved over her, one hand braced beside her head while the other wrapped around both her wrists. He pinned them above her in one swift motion, stretching her body taut beneath his. The pendant slid sideways, the silver moon cold against her collarbone.
"Look at me," he commanded.
She met his eyes,those pale, frosty irises that held fire just beneath the surface. His gaze never wavered as he positioned himself at her entrance, the thick head of his cock pressing against her slick opening.
Then he thrust.
The sudden fullness stole her breath. Her moan rose unbidden, loud enough to wake the dead, but his mouth crashed down on hers and swallowed the sound. His tongue swept past her teeth, mimicking the rhythm of his hips as he buried himself to the hilt.
She was spread around him, stretched and filled, her body struggling to accommodate his girth even as her walls pulsed with pleasure. He held there for a moment, letting her adjust, his breath coming in harsh pants against her lips.
Then he began to move.
Each thrust drove her deeper into the mattress, the bed frame creaking in protest. His grip on her wrists tightened, keeping her pinned and helpless beneath him as he set a relentless pace. The angle hit something inside her,that spot that made stars burst behind her eyelids,and she tore her mouth from his to gasp for air.
"Quiet," he growled against her throat, his teeth grazing her pulse point. "Unless you want your father to walk in and see his daughter being fucked by the prince."
She clamped her lips together, but the sounds still escaped,tiny, breathless whimpers that she couldn't seem to stop. The wet slap of skin against skin filled the room, punctuated by the rhythmic creak of the bed and the harsh mingling of their breath.
His free hand found her breast, kneading the soft flesh, rolling the nipple between his fingers until she was arching into his touch. The dual sensation,his cock pounding into her, his hand tormenting her breast,pushed her closer and closer to that edge he'd denied her before.
"Kael," she breathed, barely audible. "I'm…"
"I know." His pace increased, his hips snapping against hers with bruising force. "Come for me. Let me feel you."
The command undid her. Her orgasm crashed through her in waves, her walls clenching around him in rhythmic pulses as her body shook with the force of it. She bit down on his shoulder to muffle her cry, her teeth leaving marks in his golden skin.
He followed her over the edge with a groan that he buried in the pillow beside her head. His hips stuttered, then drove deep one final time, and she felt the hot pulse of his release filling her. His cock throbbed inside her, spurt after spurt of his seed painting her walls as he claimed her completely.
They stayed like that for a long moment,his weight pressing her into the mattress, their hearts hammering against each other, their breath gradually slowing from desperate pants to something approaching normal. His grip on her wrists loosened, and she flexed her fingers, feeling the ache where he'd held her.
When he finally lifted his head, his eyes had lost some of that wild edge. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then to each of her closed eyelids, then to the tip of her nose,gentle touches that contradicted the brutal possession of moments before.
"Mine," he murmured against her lips.
"Yours," she agreed.
He shifted his weight, settling beside her rather than on top of her, but kept one arm draped across her stomach. His softened cock slipped from her body, and she felt his seed trickle down her thighs,a familiar sensation, one she'd grown to crave.
The tremors had not yet faded from Lilly's limbs when Kael's hand slid down her sweat-slicked stomach. His fingers traced the curve of her hip, then dipped lower, threading through the mess of their combined release coating her inner thighs. She gasped, her body still humming from the climax that had barely finished rolling through her,and then his fingertips found her entrance.
Two fingers pushed inside without hesitation.
Lilly's back arched off the mattress, a broken sound tearing from her throat. Her swollen pussy clenched around the intrusion, oversensitive and dripping, still fluttering with aftershocks. The wet sound of his fingers sliding into her filled the quiet chamber,obscene and unmistakable.
Kael's mouth found the curve of her ear. His breath was hot against the shell of it, his lips grazing the sensitive skin just beneath her earlobe before his teeth closed in a sharp nip. The sting made her jerk against him, and he hummed low in his throat,a sound of dark satisfaction.
"You didn't think we were finished, did you?" His voice was rough gravel, scraped raw from his own release moments before. His fingers curled inside her, pressing against the front wall of her cunt with deliberate precision. "I'm nowhere near done with you."
Lilly's hands fisted in the tangled sheets beneath her. Her hips moved of their own accord,shifting, grinding down against his hand, seeking more of that devastating pressure even as her body screamed it was too much.
The heel of his palm ground against her clit with each thrust of his fingers, and she could feel herself dripping around him, her own slick and his cum easing the path as he pumped in and out.
"I'm going to take you again," he murmured against her ear, his tongue tracing the outer edge before his teeth scraped down to her neck. "I'm going to spread you open on my cock and fuck you until you can't remember anything but my name." His fingers twisted, thrust deeper, and Lilly whimpered. "I'm going to fill you up so thoroughly that you'll feel me dripping out of you for days."
The filthy words sent a fresh surge of heat pooling low in her belly. Her nipples peaked against the cool night air, the sheer fabric of her gown bunched uselessly around her waist, and she could feel the moon pendant resting in the hollow of her throat,a cool counterpoint to the fire building beneath her skin.
Kael's thumb joined the assault, circling her clit in slow, maddening strokes while his fingers continued their relentless rhythm. The squelch of her pussy around his hand was shamefully loud in the dim room. Each thrust pushed more of their combined fluids from her body, running down the crack of her ass to pool on the sheets beneath her.
"You're so wet for me," he breathed, his lips brushing the sensitive spot just below her ear with each word. "So fucking drenched. I can feel how much you want it,how your greedy little hole is trying to suck my fingers deeper."
Lilly turned her face toward him, her lips parting, but no coherent words emerged,only ragged gasps and broken moans. Her hand found his wrist, not to push him away but to hold on, her fingers wrapping around the corded muscle of his forearm as he worked her open.
His teeth sank into the junction of her neck and shoulder,not hard enough to break skin, but firm enough to make her cry out. The possessive bite sent lightning streaking down her spine, and her cunt clamped down around his fingers in response. Kael groaned against her throat, the vibration of it traveling through her body.
"That's it," he rasped, releasing her skin to tongue soothingly at the mark he'd left. "Clench around me just like that. Get yourself nice and ready, because I'm going to bury myself so deep inside you that you won't know where I end and you begin."
His fingers spread apart inside her, stretching her open with a scissoring motion that made her see stars. The pressure was exquisite, bordering on too much, pushing her toward that razor-thin edge between pleasure and pain. She was still swollen from their earlier fucking, still tender, but her body yielded to him anyway, hungry for everything he would give her.
The moonlight streaming through the window caught the sheen of sweat on Kael's arm as he worked her, the muscles shifting beneath his sun-darkened skin. His chest pressed against her side, the heat of him a brand against her fevered flesh. She could feel his cock stirring against her hip,hardening again, already preparing to make good on every wicked promise spilling from his lips.
"I can feel you getting close again," he murmured, his fingers curling to find that spot inside her that made her vision blur. "Your pussy is practically sucking my fingers in. You want to come again, don't you? Want me to make you fall apart on my hand before I even put my cock back inside you."
Lilly's thighs fell open wider, her body surrendering to the relentless rhythm of his hand. The tension coiled tighter in her core, building toward something devastating. Her breath came in short, desperate pants, her hips rolling against his palm in a frantic, uncoordinated rhythm.
But Kael's fingers slowed,just enough to keep her teetering on the edge without pushing her over.
"Not yet," he whispered against her ear, his teeth grazing her earlobe. "You don't come until I'm inside you. Until I'm so deep that you can feel me in your throat."
His fingers continued their maddening pace,slow, deliberate thrusts that kept her poised on the precipice.
Each stroke dragged against her swollen walls, each brush of his thumb against her clit sent sparks cascading through her nerve endings. She was trembling, shaking, her body straining toward release that he refused to grant.
"Kael.. " His name broke from her lips, half sob, half prayer.
His mouth curved against her ear. "That's it. Say my name. I want to hear it on your tongue when I finally let you cum."
His fingers thrust deep once more, curling with devastating precision, and Lilly's world narrowed to the place where their bodies joined,to the slick, obscene sounds of his hand working her drenched pussy, to the heat of his breath against her neck, to the impossible, unbearable need coiling tighter and tighter in her core.
Lilly's thighs quivered around Kael's hand, her body strung tight as a bowstring that refused to snap. The denied orgasm coiled in her belly, a pressure with nowhere to go, and her fingers twisted in the sweat-damp sheets beneath her. Her breath came in shallow, ragged pulls, each exhale carrying the ghost of his name.
"Please." The word scraped past her throat, raw and desperate. "Kael, please…I can't…."
His fingers curled inside her, finding that devastating spot that made her vision blur, and her back arched off the bed. A strangled cry tore from her lips, her hips chasing his hand of their own accord, seeking that final friction that would send her over the edge. But his pace remained maddeningly controlled,slow, deliberate thrusts that kept her suspended in agonizing limbo.
His thumb pressed against her swollen clit, circling with just enough pressure to make her gasp but not enough to push her into release. The wet sounds of his fingers sliding through her slick heat filled the chamber, obscene and relentless. She was drenched, her arousal coating his hand, dripping onto the ruined sheets beneath her, and still he denied her.
"Not yet." His voice was a low rumble against her ear, hot breath ghosting over the sensitive skin of her neck.
"You'll come when I'm inside you. Not before."
A whimper escaped her, her head tossing against the pillow. Her nipples strained against the bunched fabric of her gown, aching and peaked, begging for attention that matched the desperate throb between her legs. She tried to press her thighs together, to create some additional friction, but his broad shoulders kept her spread open, kept her utterly at his mercy.
His mouth found her breast.
The first touch of his lips against her sensitive flesh drew a sharp cry from her throat. He sucked the peaked nipple into the wet heat of his mouth, his tongue swirling around the tight bud in slow, deliberate circles. The sensation shot straight to her core, intensifying the relentless pressure building inside her, and her hands flew to his hair,fingers tangling in the golden strands, pulling him closer even as her body trembled on the edge of release.
He groaned against her breast, the vibration adding another layer of sensation that made her hips buck against his hand. His fingers never faltered, continuing their steady thrust into her dripping pussy, curling and stroking with devastating precision. Each push of his hand squelched obscenely, the sound of her wetness echoing in the quiet chamber, a testament to how thoroughly he had worked her body.
His teeth grazed her nipple,a sharp, stinging contrast to the soft heat of his tongue,and she gasped, her spine curving off the mattress. He soothed the sting with another long, slow swirl of his tongue before pulling back just enough to blow cool air across the wet skin. The chill made her shudder, made the nipple pucker even tighter, and then his mouth descended again, sucking harder this time, pulling the sensitive flesh deep.
"Kael…." His name broke apart on her tongue, half-moan, half-plea. Her hips rolled against his hand, chasing his
fingers, trying to increase the pace, but he held firm to his torturous rhythm. The coil in her belly wound tighter, impossibly tight, and she could feel her body clenching around his fingers, trying to draw them deeper.
He released her breast with a wet pop, only to turn his attention to the other. His tongue traced the curve of her full flesh, leaving a glistening trail across the honey skin before finding the neglected nipple. He circled it slowly, teasingly, his breath hot and damp against the sensitive peak while his fingers continued their relentless dance inside her.
She was sobbing now,soft, desperate sounds that she couldn't seem to control. Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out, every nerve ending alight with sensation, and still that final release remained just out of reach. The orgasm hovered at the edge of her consciousness, a wave that kept rising but never broke, and the suspense was exquisite torture.
His mouth closed over her nipple, sucking with firm, steady pressure while his tongue flicked against the bud. At the same moment, his fingers thrust deep and his thumb pressed hard against her clit, and she screamed,her whole body seizing as the pleasure crested.
And then his hand stilled.
The orgasm receded like a tide pulling back from shore, leaving her gasping and shaking on the bed. Tears of frustration pricked at her eyes, her body clenching around his motionless fingers, trying desperately to find the friction it needed. A broken sound escaped her throat, somewhere between a whine and a sob.
"Please," she begged again, the word barely audible. "Please, I need…I need…"
He lifted his head from her breast, his pale blue eyes meeting her gaze. His lips were swollen and glistening, his jaw tight with restrained desire. Slowly, deliberately, he withdrew his fingers from her aching core, and she whimpered at the loss, at the empty feeling he left behind.
His hands found her hips, firm and commanding, and he rolled her over. The movement was swift, decisive…the strength in his grip leaving no room for resistance. She found herself on her hands and knees, the cool night air hitting her sweat-slicked skin, her tangled hair falling around her face. The sheer gown was bunched around her waist, leaving her bare from the hips down, her curves on full display.
A large palm pressed between her shoulder blades, pushing her down onto the mattress. Her cheek pressed into the sheets, her arms folding beneath her, and her hips tilted up,presented to him like an offering. The position left her utterly exposed, utterly vulnerable, and a fresh wave of heat flooded through her at the knowledge of how she must look to him.
The bed dipped behind her as he moved into position. His hands gripped her hips, broad fingers wrapping around the generous curves, holding her steady. She could feel the heat of him radiating against her bare skin, the thick length of his cock pressing against her slick entrance, and her breath caught in anticipation.
He leaned over her, his chest brushing against her back, and his lips found her ear. "You're mine," he murmured, the words a dark promise that sent shivers cascading down her spine. "Every inch of you. This body belongs to me."
She moaned into the sheets, her fingers clenching in the fabric. His words settled into her bones, a claim that resonated with something deep and primal within her. The moon pendant pressed cool against her throat, a reminder of his earlier promise, of the future he had sworn to build with her.
His cock pushed forward.
The thick head breached her entrance, stretching her open, and she gasped at the intrusion. He was big,impossibly big,and even as wet as she was, even as thoroughly prepared as his fingers had made her, the sheer girth of him made her body resist for a moment before yielding. He sank into her inch by inch, slow and relentless, filling her completely.
A long, low moan spilled from her lips as he bottomed out, his hips flush against her ass. She felt impossibly full, stretched around his thick cock, her inner walls clenching and fluttering as they tried to accommodate his size.
The angle was different in this position,deeper, more intense,and she could feel him pressing against places inside her that made her toes curl.
He held still for a moment, letting her adjust, and his hands tightened on her hips. His grip was possessive, almost bruising, his fingers digging into the soft flesh hard enough to leave marks. The thought of wearing his fingerprints, of carrying the evidence of his claim on her skin, made her core clench around him.
"Feel that?" His voice was rough, strained with the effort of holding back. "Feel how deep I am? How completely I fill you?"
She couldn't form words,could only nod frantically into the sheets, her body trembling around him. He felt impossibly deep, the thick length of him pressing against her cervix, and every small shift of his hips sent sparks of pleasure-pain racing through her nerve endings.
He pulled back slowly, dragging his cock through her clinging walls until only the tip remained inside. The friction was exquisite, every ridge and vein of him stimulating her oversensitive flesh, and she whimpered at the sensation. Then he thrust forward, hard and deep, burying himself to the hilt in one powerful stroke.
The force of it drove her into the mattress, her face pressing into the sheets, her fingers scrabbling for purchase.
A cry tore from her throat,part shock, part pleasure,as her body accepted the brutal penetration, her wet hole stretching around him, swallowing him whole.
He set a relentless pace, his hips snapping against her ass with each thrust. The sound of their bodies meeting filled the chamber flesh against flesh, wet and obscene punctuated by her muffled moans and his harsh breathing. His grip on her hips kept her steady, kept her exactly where he wanted her, and each powerful drive of his cock sent her lurching forward only to be pulled back onto him again.
"You're going to take everything I give you," he growled against her ear, his breath hot and ragged. "Every. Single. Inch."
His words made her clench around him, made her body tighten despite the brutal stretching, and he groaned in response a sound of pure, masculine satisfaction. One of his hands released her hip to slide up her spine, pressing her further into the mattress, pinning her beneath his weight while his other hand maintained its bruising grip on her hip.
The angle shifted, and suddenly he was hitting that devastating spot inside her with every thrust. Stars burst behind her closed eyelids, her mouth falling open in a silent scream as the pleasure built with terrifying intensity.
The denied orgasm from before was nothing compared to this the pressure mounting higher and higher, coiling tighter and tighter, promising a release that would shatter her completely.
His lips found the curve of her neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin where her shoulder met her throat. The same spot he had marked before the place where his bite would claim her, bind her to him forever and the knowledge of what that bite meant, of what he was promising with every thrust, every possessive touch, sent her spiraling closer to the edge.
"Say it," he demanded against her skin, his voice a rough command. "Say you're mine."
The words tumbled from her lips without thought, without hesitation. "Yours..I'm yours…"
His hips pistoned faster, harder, driving into her with a ferocity that left her breathless. The wet slap of their bodies meeting was obscene, the squelch of her arousal loud in the quiet chamber. She could feel her own wetness coating her thighs, coating him, the evidence of her desire dripping down onto the ruined sheets beneath them.
His hand slid from her spine to her breast, palming the full flesh, rolling the nipple between his fingers. The dual sensation his cock pounding into her from behind, his hand teasing her aching breast pushed her closer to the edge, the pressure in her belly reaching a fever pitch.
"That's it," he rasped, his thumb flicking across her nipple. "Take it. Take all of it."
She was sobbing now, the pleasure too much, too intense, her body strung tight and trembling as she hovered on the precipice. Every thrust drove her closer, every touch pushed her higher, and she could feel the orgasm building like a storm about to break.
His grip on her hip tightened, his fingers digging into her flesh hard enough to bruise, and he drove into her with one final, brutal thrust that buried him to the hilt. His cock pulsed inside her, thick and hot, and she felt the first hot splash of his release against her cervix.
The sensation triggered her own climax. The orgasm crashed through her like a wave breaking against rocks, tearing a scream from her throat as her body convulsed around him. Her inner walls clenched and fluttered, milking his cock, drawing him deeper as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her. Her vision went white, her mind going blank, everything narrowing to the feeling of him filling her, claiming her, marking her as his.
He held himself deep inside her, his hips pressed flush against her ass, his cock twitching as he emptied himself into her. His breath came in harsh, ragged pants against her neck, his body trembling with the force of his release. His hand gentled on her breast, his touch shifting from demanding to tender as he rode out the last waves of his pleasure.
She collapsed beneath him, her legs giving out, her body going boneless against the mattress. He followed her down, his weight settling over her, his cock still buried inside her as the last aftershocks of her orgasm rippled through her core. The wet heat of his release filled her, seeping around his softening length, and she could feel the evidence of their coupling dripping onto the sheets beneath them.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. The only sounds in the chamber were their mingled breathing slowly returning to normal and the distant hoot of an owl outside the window. The moonlight continued to stream through the glass, casting silver patterns across their tangled bodies.
His lips pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the mark he had left on her neck. Then another, gentler still, against the curve of her shoulder. His hand smoothed down her side, a tender contrast to the bruising grip of moments before, and she shivered at the gentleness in his touch.
He rolled to the side, taking her with him, keeping her tucked against his chest. His cock slipped from her body, and she whimpered at the loss, at the sudden emptiness. His release trickled down her thighs, warm and wet, and she could feel how thoroughly he had filled her.
His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close, and she pressed her face into the heat of his chest. The steady thud of his heartbeat echoed in her ear, a comforting rhythm that slowly chased away the trembling in her limbs.
His fingers traced idle patterns on her sweat-dampened back, his touch feather-light and soothing.
She could still feel the echo of his possession in every inch of her body the ache between her thighs, the tenderness of her breasts, the sting of his grip on her hips. She was marked, claimed, thoroughly and completely, and the thought made something warm and satisfied unfurl in her chest.
His lips brushed against her hair, a whisper of a kiss. "Mine," he murmured again, but this time the word was soft, almost tender a promise rather than a claim.
Kael's arms tightened around her, his chest still pressed firm against her back. The heat between them hadn't cooled,wouldn't cool,and his breath stirred the tangled hair at her temple. His hand slid from her waist to her hip, fingers pressing into the soft curve with deliberate slowness.
"Up," he murmured against her ear.
His grip shifted, pulling her upward before she could gather her scattered thoughts. Lilly found herself drawn into a seated position, her spine settling against the broad expanse of his chest. The hair on his thighs scraped against the backs of hers as he adjusted her, positioning her legs on either side of his. The ruined sheets bunched beneath them, damp and twisted from their earlier exertions.
His cock thick and hard again, impossibly eager pressed against the cleft of her arse. She felt the heavy length of him, the slick heat of his shaft sliding against her skin, and her breath caught.
"Straddle me." The command rumbled through his chest and into her back. His hands guided her thighs wider, settling her properly across his lap. "That's it."
Lilly shifted, her wet pussy dragging along the top of his cock. The sensation drew a shudder through her she was still swollen from before, still drenched in his cum and her own slick. Every movement sent a fresh wave of heat pooling between her thighs.
Kael's mouth found the curve of her neck, his lips brushing the marks he'd already left there. "Ride me," he breathed, the words hot against her skin. "Take what's yours."
His hands climbed her torso, palms rough and possessive as they claimed her breasts. He cupped the heavy swell of them, thumbs dragging across her nipples until they peaked and ached. She arched into his touch, her hips rolling instinctively, grinding her soaked cunt along the length of him.
"That's it," he growled. "Feel how hard you make me. Feel what you do."
She reached down, her fingers wrapping around his shaft. He was thick thick enough that her hand barely circled him and the silken skin over that iron core pulsed against her palm. She lifted her hips, positioning him at her entrance, already spread and loose from the brutal pounding he'd given her before.
Lilly sank down.
The stretch stole her breath. He filled her inch by inch, her swollen walls parting around his girth until she'd taken him to the root. A broken sound escaped her throat half gasp, half moan and she sat there for a moment, impaled, feeling every ridge and vein of him pressed deep inside her.
Kael's teeth found her shoulder. Not a gentle nip a bite, hard enough to bruise, hard enough to make her clench around him. "Move," he commanded, the word vibrating against her marked flesh.
She moved.
Lilly lifted her hips and dropped them, setting a rhythm that made the bed creak beneath them. Each thrust drove him deeper, her slick cunt swallowing him to the hilt before she rose again. The wet sounds of their fucking filled the chamber obscene and shameless, the slap of skin against skin, the squelch of her pussy gripping his cock.
His hands stayed on her breasts, kneading and squeezing, fingers digging into the soft flesh hard enough to leave impressions. He pinched her nipples between thumb and forefinger, rolling the tight peaks until sparks of sensation shot through her chest and down to where they were joined.
"Harder," he rasped against her throat. "Fuck yourself on me harder."
She obeyed. Her thighs burned as she drove herself down with more force, the impact jarring through her bones. The head of his cock struck something deep inside her a spot that made her vision blur and her mouth fall open and she chased that feeling, grinding against him in tight circles before lifting and dropping again.
Kael's teeth raked across the side of her neck. He bit down at the junction of her shoulder, sucking the skin between his teeth until she felt the blood rise to the surface. Another mark. Another claim. His mouth moved lower, finding fresh skin to bruise, his breath coming in harsh pants against her throat.
"Mine," he snarled, his hips bucking up to meet her descent. The force of it made her tits bounce in his grip, and he squeezed harder, possessive and demanding. "Say it."
"Yours…" The word came out breathless, fractured by the rhythm of their bodies. "I'm yours…"
His cock throbbed inside her, swelling even thicker, and she felt every pulse as he neared his edge. Her own release built in her core, that coiling tension winding tighter with every thrust, every bite, every bruising grip of his hands on her breasts.
She rode him faster, chasing the peak, her slick dripping down his shaft and pooling at the base. The wet mess of their coupling smeared across her thighs, across his lap, the scent of sex thick and heady in the humid air.
Kael's hand left her breast and slid down her stomach, fingers finding the swollen bud at the apex of her sex. He circled it slow, deliberate pressure that made her thighs shake and her rhythm falter.
"Come on my cock," he ordered, his voice a low rumble against the fresh bite mark on her shoulder. "Now."
Her orgasm crashed through her like a wave breaking against rocks. Her back arched, pressing harder against his chest, and her cunt clamped down around him in spasming waves. She screamed his name, a broken sound, something raw and animal and her whole body shook with the force of it.
Kael's hands seized her hips, holding her down as he thrust up into her clenching hole. Three brutal strokes, four, and then he buried himself to the hilt and held. His cock pulsed inside her, flooding her with hot cum, and she felt it felt him filling her again, marking her from the inside.
His teeth sank into the curve of her neck one final time as he came, the bite grounding them both as the aftershocks rolled through their bodies. He held her there, impaled and trembling, until the last pulse faded and his grip softened.
Lilly slumped against his chest, her legs too weak to support her. His heartbeat thundered beneath her ear fast at first, then gradually slowing. His hands released her hips and slid around her waist, pulling her closer, keeping her flush against him.
The chamber held its breath around them. Lilly's weight pressed warm and real against Kael's chest, her curves molding to the hard planes of his body as the aftershocks of their coupling still rippled through her muscles in faint, trembling waves. His softening length remained buried inside her, their combined fluids warm where they leaked from her swollen entrance, pooling beneath them on the disheveled sheets. The air hung thick with the musk of sex and sweat, the salt of their bodies mingling in the humid darkness.
Kael's hand moved from the small of her back, trailing upward along the curve of her spine. His fingertips traced the ridge of her shoulder blade, then the delicate architecture of her vertebrae, each bump a landmark on territory he'd already claimed with teeth and tongue. The bite marks on her neck and shoulder throbbed in time with her pulse, bruised crescents standing dark against her honey skin in the moonlight that spilled through the window.
His arm stretched toward the bedside table, muscles in his shoulder shifting beneath sun-darkened skin. The silver pendant caught the light as his fingers closed around it,the chain slithering across the wooden surface with a soft metallic whisper. The moon charm dangled from his grip, spinning slowly, throwing fragments of pale light across the rumpled bedding.
Lilly stirred against him, her amber eyes heavy-lidded as she lifted her head from his chest. The motion pulled her inner walls tight around him, and a soft, breathless sound escaped her throat,half gasp, half whimper. Her thighs trembled where they bracketed his hips, the muscles there exhausted from the relentless rhythm he'd demanded of her.
Kael pressed the pendant into her palm. The silver was cool against her fevered skin, a shocking contrast to the heat that still radiated from every inch of her body. Her fingers curled around it instinctively, the delicate crescent shape fitting into the hollow of her hand like it had been forged for her alone. The chain pooled in her wrist, fine links catching on the dampness of her skin.
"Wear this always." His voice emerged rough, scraped raw from the growls and commands that had filled this room for the past hour. The words ghosted across her temple, his breath warm and unsteady. "A symbol of my promise to claim you publicly, no matter the cost."
His hand covered hers, enveloping her fingers and the pendant both. His palm was calloused from years of sword work, the skin rough against her softer flesh, but his grip held no violence now only possession. Only certainty. He pressed her fist closed around the charm, his thumb stroking across her knuckles in a gesture that contradicted the fierce declaration of his words.
Lilly's breath caught. The pendant seemed to pulse against her palm, or perhaps that was her own heartbeat thundering through her veins. She could feel his heart too, pounding against his ribs where her chest pressed to his their rhythms out of sync at first, then gradually aligning like two wolves finding the same stride on a hunt.
His fingers tangled with hers, threading through the spaces between, locking them together around the symbol of his vow. The silver bit slightly into their joined grip, a small sharp pressure that grounded the moment in something tangible. Real. Not a fever dream born of pleasure and moonlight.
The marks on her body ached the bite on her shoulder where he'd broken skin, the bruises forming on her hips where his grip had been iron, the tender swelling between her legs where he'd used her thoroughly. Each throb was a reminder. A brand. Evidence that she belonged to him as completely as he belonged to her.
Kael's free hand came up to cup her jaw, tilting her face toward his. His pale blue eyes held hers, the frost in them melted to something warmer, something that looked almost vulnerable beneath the dominance.
Moonlight carved shadows beneath his cheekbones, highlighted the golden strands of hair that fell across his forehead in disarray. She'd done that her hands had tangled and pulled and ruined the careful quiff until it fell in wild waves.
"No matter what my father does," he continued, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth where her lips were swollen from his kisses. "No matter what the court says. No matter what ancient law they wave in my face." His voice dropped lower, a rumble she felt through his chest more than heard with her ears. "When I take the throne, I will stand before the entire kingdom and name you my Luna queen. This I swear."
The pendant grew slick in their joined grip, both their palms sweating now. Lilly could feel the tremor in his fingers not fear, but the intensity of a man laying himself bare in a way that battle never demanded. This was a different kind of courage. The kind that required him to defy everything he'd been raised to honor.
She squeezed his hand, the silver crescent pressing harder into both their palms. A shared pain. A shared promise. The chain dangled between their wrists, swaying gently with the rise and fall of their breathing.
"Say it back to me." The command in his voice was softened by the catch in his breath, by the way his hips shifted beneath her as if he couldn't bear even this small distance between them. "Tell me you'll wear it. Tell me you'll wait for me."
Lilly's lips parted. The words rose from somewhere deep in her chest, from the place where her wolf should have lived but never awakened a hollow that Kael had filled instead with his devotion and his dominance and his unyielding certainty that she was worthy of the crown he meant to place on her head.
"I'll wear it." Her voice emerged hoarse, wrecked from screaming his name. "I'll wait. I'll…"
She couldn't finish. His mouth claimed hers, swallowing the rest of her vow. The kiss was slower than before, less desperate, more deliberate a sealing rather than a taking. His tongue swept past her lips, tasting her, marking her from the inside as his fingers tightened around hers and the pendant pressed between their palms like a third heartbeat.
