Page 164 of Ashborne Forged

The sensations—his hands on me, his body within me, his breath on my neck, his teeth against my skin—braided with the powerful emotions coursing through me like blood in my veins. Love, need, relief, joy, fear…

It was overwhelming, and yet, I begged for more.

Even in the wake of that climax, there were mere moments in which I shook, before the pleasure began to rise again, responding to every touch—fingers tight on mine, palm spread at my navel, his body heated and strong, himself inside me. I was helpless. Ecstatic. My very bones trembled.

But over it all, above the impossible pleasure, even better, was him.

Every hair on my scalp rose as he moved against my back. Goosebumps peppered my neck and washed down my spine from the point where his breath fluttered against me. And his words…

Dear God, I hadn’t known I needed to hear it. Hadn’t questioned it in my mind. But when he declared his love, something within me broke open.

The bond I’d so desperately clung to, reached through, sought him by, expanded with light and heat, filling my chest, tightening around my heart, thrumming, drumming, sending me higher.

The world fell away. The darkness, the fear, the cold stone. Nothing existed but he and I—the warm strength of him at my back, his hand gripping mine, the other holding me, pulling me to him with such fervor, yet cradling me.

His breath, rushing, hot against my skin, whispering love in my ear—the rush of aching joy flowing through the bond like blood in our veins, feeding each other. I could feel him—every inch of him, swim in the sensation of him… and in the overwhelming love that flowed from him.

I had never felt so precious. So treasured.

In my whole life, I’d never been certain I could be loved, until that day in the hut, when he’d bared his heart, rather than his body.

And now…

I turned to look at him as a tear slid under my lashes and down my cheek. He groaned and kissed it away, taking me again, and again, his grip growing stronger.

‘Do I hurt you, Grace? I can’t—’

Frightened that he’d misunderstood my tears, I threw one hand back to cup his skull, tangling fingers in his hair and holding him to me. ‘No! Don’t stop! More!’

I was shameless. Desperate. But honest. I needed more. More contact. More warmth. More him.

He buried a groan in my shoulder and clung so tightly to me, it should have hurt. But it didn’t. I needed more. Yet, I was helpless, my body weak as I breathed his name, begging for him.

And through the bond, through his body, in his mind, I felt the shift—the moment when he lost the last shred of control. And as that bestial, boundless side of him took over, he hissed through his teeth, held me so tightly, and told me what it all meant to him.

‘Mine forever. Tied to me. You’re safe, Grace. No matter what comes, no matter who might try to separate us, I will. Not. Allow it. Don’t fear—however dire it may appear, I will come for you. Always. Every fucking time. You have to believe me. You have to trust me—’

‘I do! I will!’

Voski shuddered and thrust harder, taking me to my toes, and pressing my body closer and closer to that glittering peak once more.

I knew this was wrong—so risky. So dangerous. If Breckon were to discover us, or the king, we would both be executed.

And still, I wanted more. Yearned to draw it out, to never let it be over.

Then my body began to pulse, rising in waves. I sobbed, breathlessly gasping my love and need.

“I can’t do this without you. I don’t want anyone else. I love you—”

“Mine!” He breathed in my ear.

“Yes! I—oh!”

My body arched, pleasure and need coalescing into pure bliss that washed through my body in electric waves as Voski buried his face in the back of my neck.

‘Oh, beautiful… come for me—shit!’

When I jerked, he did too, his body bucking, twitching, his cries in the bond wordless, though his lips never stopped at my ear.