Page 200 of Of Masks and Fury

“I love you,” I said against her mouth. “So much it terrifies me.”

Tears spilled from her eyes, tracking down her temples, into her hair. I kissed them away, tasting salt and everything we’d beenthrough together. Our fights. Our fragile trust. And the slow unraveling of walls I’d thought unbreakable.

She laughed through the tears, a sound like wind chimes in the night, her fingers threading into my hair. “Terrifies you? The mighty Trew, brought down by what most see as a fluffy princess?”

“You’re anything but fluffy,” I growled.

“Perhaps Ididstab you hard enough.” Her tone was light, but her eyes held the depth of oceans, pulling me under.

“I’d choose you a thousand times over, enemies or not.”

My control was fracturing with each stroke and each breathy sound she made. The claiming urge rose inside me. I wanted to mark her, brand her.

I dropped my mouth to her shoulder, scraping my teeth across her sensitive skin. Not hard enough to break the surface, but enough to leave a mark. She arched beneath me, her nails dragging down my back in response. Careful of my wounds but still marking me as hers.

“Harder,” she gasped. “I need you harder.”

I drove into her with a force that made the bed shake. The gauzy curtains swayed with our movement, and the whole world narrowed to the feel of her beneath me, around me, consuming me.

Her inner walls began to flutter, and I angled my hips, hitting the spot that made her cry out.

She shattered, coming with my name on her lips, her body clenching around me in rhythmic pulses that dragged my own climax from me. I buried myself as deep as I could, pouring everything into her as waves of pleasure crashed through me.

For long moments we stayed locked together, trembling, gasping for breath. I was dimly aware of our magic still sparking between us, the threads woven so tightly now that they might never fully separate.

I started to pull out, but she tightened her legs around my waist.

“Stay,” she whispered. “Just a little longer.”

I settled my weight partially on her in a way that didn’t crush her. She traced patterns across my sides, careful of the bandages that caught the moonlight as I breathed.

Her touch was a balm, her fingers weaving invisible sigils of protection over my skin, as if she could heal every wound I’d ever received just by willing it.

I buried my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the sweet tang of us mingled together. “You’ve claimed me more thoroughly than any crown ever could.”

“I’ll do so every single day of this lifetime and others the fates may grant us once we’re gone.”

“Then I will spend every lifetime proving I am worthy of being chosen by you again.”

Sleep pulled at both of us. I couldn’t bring myself to move, to put even a bit of distance between us, though I eventually eased from her and to the side, taking her with me, keeping us entwined.

Her breathing evened out, her body going slack. I rose onto my elbow and watched the moonlight dance across her face.

She was beautiful with her lips swollen from my kisses, her hair tangled across the pillow, and a faint flush still coloring her cheeks. The pendant rested in the hollow of her throat, rising and falling with each breath.

Gavelle and Pherin landed on the balcony railing with barely a whisper of sound. Comfort flowed through our bond, their contentment at being with each other mixing with satisfaction from their hunt.

I sent them gratitude and love, feeling Isi stir as similar emotions filtered through her connection with Pherin.

I kissed her cheek before I settled back and let sleep take me.

She nuzzled into my neck, her breath a soft caress against my pulse. “Promise me you’ll still be this insufferably possessive come dawn?” Sleepy mischief filled her voice.

I chuckled, the vibration coasting through our joined bodies. “For you, I’ll chain the dawn and make the night eternal so we never have to leave this bed.”

“And I’ll reach up and collect the stars, giving them to you one by one. We’ll make you a new crown with them, one that will show the world how amazing you truly are.”

Her words wrapped around my heart, as strong as forged steel. I pulled her closer, our bodies still entwined. “Then wear my heart as your pendant, love. It’s yours to command.”