Blood of Two Crowns (Hallowed Fates #2)

Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

MAREINA

W aking up beside Malekai was the second-best thing to ever happen to me. Handsome features slack, his peaceful expression lent a certain lightness that I’d never witnessed in him. Laying beside Malekai like this, dressed only in one of his shirts, with his delicious heat pouring into me and his bare, broad and thickly muscled chest winking me in the face had me slick with desire.

Even my magic was writhing—both inside me and around me. Around us. Dark red tendrils whispered over his skin like they were trying to lick him. Taste him.

Willfully pushing away all thoughts of recent violence and turmoil, I was choosing to focus on the gift at hand. After all this time, I was finally lying beside the male I loved, revelling in his glorious presence. Perhaps it made me unforgivably selfish, but not only was I desensitized to death, I had spent my entire life forsaking the desires of my heart and, thus, my happiness. I refused to let it pass me by any longer.

Simply staring at him beside me in bed caused this thing to wind tighter between us as if physically pulling me closer to him. Urging me to press my lips to his. For my hands to caress the thick, formidable length of his cock pressing against my abdomen and hip.

His sea salt and embers scent seemed to thicken in the air. My hips squirmed as my core clenched with need for him. A soft, low rumble purred from his chest as his hips shifted forward to drive closer to mine. My breath caught at the same moment his eyes popped open wide with shock.

Large hands gripped me with brutal strength as he shifted me onto my back and straddled me, burying his face in my neck. “Oh praise fuck, Mareina.”

Emotion swelled in my chest, my hands sliding up the scarred plane of his back as he drew away slightly, concern pinching his brows. A tendril of dark golden hair hung over his perfectly arched brow.

“Are you ok?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

“What do you remember?”

My throat worked as memories flashed through my mind of Nakoa, seemingly blinded by his anger at my betrayal and his attempt to kill me. Of nearly killing my own soulbound. Stabbing Zurie. Of my father’s bother, Somnus, giving me the news about my father drinking from the River Oblivion and now having no memory of me. Of something happening to my mother because of Keres, my father’s sister. Though he hadn’t given me any details.

“Everything. And nothing I care to remember.”

The heat radiating from him felt hot enough to brand me. That burning embers scent of his further intensified and I swore I could faintly smell smoke.

My heart pounded as he leaned forward on one elbow, and his free hand possessively gripped my jaw. “You have no fucking idea how worried I was.”

My heart squeezed even as my arousal burned brighter, eliminating whatever restraint I had on my emotions and my body. Drawing my legs out from between his, I wrapped them around his narrow waist. Instantly my hips rose, slicking my entrance against his cock and turning my words breathless. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

He growled, body tensing as the hand on my jaw coasted over my neck before fisting a handful of my hair. Something dark flickered beyond the turquoise depths of his gaze, further confirming that staring back at me was someone or something I had only caught the briefest glimpses of before and had ignored. His voice was little more than an animalistic growl. “You belong to me, Mareina.”

My heart soared as his lips met mine in a bruising kiss. At the warm, almost cinnamon-y taste of him—oddly similar to my venom. My fingers carded through his hair and roved over his thickly muscled shoulders. My nails dug into him with the need to hold him closer. “I want you to mark me as yours,” I murmured against his lips.

He growled low, the heat of his body stoking higher alongside the intensifying prickle of his magic, making the hairs of my body stand on end. It felt like the way the shifting of someone’s form was described.

“My venom isn’t like yours. It will hurt, Mareina.”

“If it’s yours, I want it.”

Before I could dwell any further on it, Malekai gripped the bottom hem of the shirt I was wearing and tore it in half. The heat of his gaze, like a flame, licked up every inch of me. Of my bared breasts and?—

Akash almighty.

I sat up on my elbows to peer down at the inky, blood-red snake marking the space between my breasts and upper abdomen. It moved, slithering around one breast before curling around the other and re-settling itself between them. Watching me with sentient, intelligent eyes. All three of them.

“Arcanum.”

I didn’t know what exactly that was, but I couldn’t bring myself to care enough at the moment to ask. My sole focus, need, and desire were currently wrapped in the cage of my legs. Where he belonged.

Malekai’s hands engulfed my waist as his lips parted, and his fangs sank into the plush flesh of my left breast. A searing heat burned my veins, tearing a whimper from my throat. Blinding pain burst through me that sent my nails carving crescents into his flesh. The warmth of his blood blossomed at my fingertips, stoking my hunger.

His hands cupped my breasts, teasing my nipples as his venom continued to seep into my veins. A delicious, sharp curl of pleasure that I felt in my clit eased the pain of his bite and drew a soft moan from my lips. His throat worked on a single swallow before he pulled away and sank his fangs into my other breast. Gradually, the pain was replaced by a tingling heat. His cock began to steadily stroke over my clit, stealing keening noises from me. Malekai’s tongue laved at the wounds of the twin marks before diverting his ministrations to the tender peaks of my breasts.

I pushed away the sensation of guilt and anger rising in my chest. Guilt at how I knew this would wound Nakoa. Anger that he’d marked me against my will. Desperate to drown out the pain, my hips thrust in tandem against Malekai’s cock, already leaking his seed on my abdomen. His hands trembled as his grip returned to my waist, tightening to the point of bruising.

The sight of my blood on his mouth was nearly my undoing. I licked a stripe across his lower lip and stole it between my teeth. The action drew a rumbling growl from his throat. His hand slipped between my legs before he licked my arousal from his fingers.

“Have I always made you this wet, tessari mú?”

“Always.”

Malekai sat back on his heels, gripping me by my hips and lifted my pussy to his face. I let out a yelp of surprise, now basically upside down. He growled his satisfaction, inhaling my scent deeply once more before his tongue licked me from entrance to clit where he wrapped his lips around the aching bud and sucked.

“Look at this beautiful fucking pussy. So tight and pink and sopping wet for me.”

My hands gripped the solid muscle of his thighs as he proceeded to feast upon me like a starved beast clutching its prey to its hungry mouth. The wet, slick, sucking noises filling the room between my soft cries and Malekai’s growls were a sweet symphony.

He rewarded me by slipping two fingers into my entrance and curling them against that sensitive, shallow spot inside me. Malekai’s fingers pressed firmly against it—nearly to the point of pain—stroking in tandem with the ministrations of his mouth. The action was demanding and ruthless—bearing no concern for the noises it drew from me or the way it made my body tremble.

Less than a minute had passed when liquid heat gushed from me. My words became unintelligible as I writhed in his hands. Malekai continued to devour me, gently guiding my body down from my climax and licking up my mess before laying me back down on the bed beneath him.

Malekai gripped his tremendous length in his fist, giving it a steady stroke. It was nearly the length of my forearm, perhaps 9 or 10 inches, thicker than my wrist and curved ever-so-slightly upwards. Pearlescent pre-cum leaked from the slit of his thickly flared crown and dripped onto my clit where he rubbed it in, making my pussy spasm with need again.

“I’m gonna fuck you til you bleed, tessari mú. You might wanna hold onto something.”

His promise stole my breath. “You swear?”

A luminous grin split his face as he gave me a dark chuckle and aligned his cock with my entrance.

“Since the day I laid eyes on you, Mareina, you have possessed me. My heart, my soul, my mind—my cock. It’s all yours.”

I braced my palms on the headboard above me as he pressed the broad head of his cock to my entrance. My core spasmed at the demanding stretch. “Oh, fuck… Malekai.”

Malekai groaned, tipping his head back as he hissed a curse, and his hips gradually slid forward inch by inch.

“Tell me who this pussy belongs to, Mareina.”

“You. She belongs to you.”

Bracing himself on one elbow, he brought his lips near mine, grazing against them with every uttered word. “I love you, Mareina Kalini. In this life and all our lives to come.”

His words were punctuated by the meeting of our hips as he settled fully inside me. The ache and pain of his length and girth gradually ebbed. Something intangible but no less visceral seemed to lock between us.

Emotion stung my eyes, and I drew my fingers over the apples of his cheeks. “In this life, and all our lives to come. When Akash returns us to Source, my soul will always seek yours.”

Malekai’s eyes glistened before he captured my lips as he withdrew to the tip, only to slide home.

Tingling energy rose, lighting up my entire body in waves. My head spun, and the entire world narrowed down to just the two of us. Salty tears slipped from the corners of my eyes to chase our lips as I poured the last century’s worth of emotion into our kiss.

Malekai’s voice dropped to a growl.

“I’m so fucking angry you kept this from me for so long.”

“I wanna spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

Taking in the gravity of my words, emotion flickered in his eyes as his strokes slowed. “I would do it all over again if I had to, Mareina. If I had to pay in blood, every second of time I got to spend with you, I’d let Akash bleed me dry, and when I died, I would beg to reincarnate so I could do it all over again if it meant that I would be beside you.”

My breath hitched with emotion that made my eyes burn. “Katadamna kaza.”

Malekai’s strokes gentled as he held my gaze, fingers slipping between mine. “Katadamna kaza, tessari mú... Ad thanátou kae sora.”

To death and beyond.

Malekai sat back on his heels, gripping me by my upper thighs as his strokes turned unforgiving. Sucking on his cheeks, he let a ball of spit land directly on my clit. Caressing it in teasing circles as his half-lidded gaze took me in, briefly dipping back to where we were joined.

My moans stuttered as that tingling energy built anew, and I began to slam my hips in counter to his. “Oh, fuck, Malekai… I’m gonna cum again…”

Malekai gave a deep hum of pleasure, taking his time as his strokes steadily picked up their pace, the caress of his thumb upon my clit never faltering. “I’m gonna fill this pretty pussy up with my cum, and I want you to steal every drop.”

Merely the image those words gave me inspired another orgasm to rise. “Gods, yes. Please.”

Malekai leaned over me again, taking my jaw between thumb and forefinger. “Open.”

I eagerly followed his direction, opening my mouth and extending my tongue. Malekai rewarded me with a ball of spit. I greedily swallowed, and my orgasm erupted, dragging a breathy cry from my throat as my writhing against him increased. My nails dug into the flesh of his thighs. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than the way you come undone for me. The way your cunt needily grips my cock.”

As soon as my orgasm waned, Malekai took hold of my legs, laying them to one side. His strokes slowed but remained deep.

“On your knees, Kalini.”

My mouth went dry as my belly swooped with anticipation as I shifted to present my backside to him. Malekai gave a deep hum of pleasure as he alternated between gripping and caressing the generous flesh of my ass before moving to stand at the foot of the bed. Gripping me by my hips, he yanked me to the edge and knelt behind me, taking fistfuls of my ass in his hands as he proceeded to devour every inch of me.

“Fuck, Malekai!”

He growled from behind me, delivering a swift smack to the globe of of my ass. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve fantasized about claiming this pussy, Mareina. How about you be a good girl and make it up to me?”

Malekai rose, sweeping his cock through my wet folds and over my clit. Weaving an arm around my waist, he fisted my hair to bring me flush against his front before dipping his head to nip at my ear lobe. “Do you trust me?”

“With my life.”

I felt his fangs against the curve of my neck as his lips parted on a smile. “I want my name on your flesh, and yours on mine. Would you like that, tessari mú ?”

I nodded, throat working on a swallow. “More than just about anything.”

Malekai growled his pleasure, folding my arms behind my back. His fangs sank into the curve of my neck as he caressed the ache between my thighs by sliding his cock through my folds. More of his venom flowed into me before he withdrew his fangs and took my folded arms in one of his large hands, leaning back to watch as he pounded into me. When his cock began to harden further, his thrusts turned slow and deep as if edging himself back from orgasm.

“I want it where you can always see it,” he murmured against my neck before turning me around to lay me back on the bed. “So you never forget who you belong to.” He punctuated the words with a wink that I swore I felt in my clit. “It’ll need to be deep, but stop me if it hurts too much, ok, sweetheart?”

I nodded eagerly. No way in all the hells would I stop him.

Malekai willed his dagger into his hand. The blade parted the flesh of my wrist like a knife through butter, but the pounding, swelling of my heart drowned out the pain. My blood trickled onto my belly between us.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“In this life and every life to come, tessari mú.”

His magic, like burnished gold, flared, weaving itself into the wound. My heart squeezed with so much love it fucking hurt. He’d carved his name in cursive. In moments, my skin was already knitting back together. All that remained was a pink scar in the shape of his name.

He pressed a kiss to the mark before flipping the dagger with practized ease to pass it to me by the handle. “Choose your canvas.”

My eyes roved up and down his body. Fuck me . He was so beautiful it hurt. There was already a bounty of scars, but now, it seemed obvious my name was the one thing missing. Pressing the dagger flat on the bed, I leg-swept him and pinned him beneath me. Malekai’s face lit up as a husky laugh rumbled from his chest, and I pressed the tip of the blade directly above his heart. His grin broadened. “Perfection.”

I lifted my hips, sliding down his still-hard length before pinching the blade between my fingers like a quill. “I can’t promise it’s going to be as pretty as yours, Theikos.”

He gave me a devilish grin, gripping another fistful of my ass. “As long as it’s legible so everyone knows to whom I belong.”

Malekai’s blood spilled over his chest as I began to carve my name over his heart. I wasn’t remotely surprised when I felt his cock harden further inside of me.

As I finished carving the last letter, the crimson tendrils of my magic poured into the wound. Malekai gripped me to the point of bruising as he lifted his hips and began to slide in and out of me. The dagger fell from my hand onto the bed as I succumbed to our pleasure.

Malekai rolled, pinning me beneath him again. I licked a stripe up the side of his neck before sinking my fangs into his flesh. The effect of my venom was immediate. I cried out in ecstasy from around my mouthful as Malekai growled, and his thrusts turned brutal again. After allowing myself several gulps, I released him as another orgasm began to rise, making my core grip his length like a fist.

Malekai gave a dark chuckle, slowing his strokes. He licked my throat and nipped me hard before murmuring in my ear. “Greedy thing. You’ll have to earn the rest of your orgasms.”

He pulled out of me and stood beside the bed. “Back on your knees, Kalini.” With a heavy-lidded gaze, he grinned down at me with purely masculine satisfaction—blood streaking his chest, abdomen, and cock from the mark I’d adorned his chest—as I knelt at his feet, eager to worship at the altar of his proud length. Holding his gaze, I caressed the needy peaks of my breasts, pinching them as I extended my tongue and licked a slow, vertical stripe up his length. A dark grin parted my lips. “You’ll let me cum if I’m a good girl?”

Malekai’s gaze darkened further, growling deeply as he wrapped his hand around a fistful of my hair, baring my throat to him. “You wanna be my good girl, Mareina?”

I moaned my affirmation from around the head of his cock. With anyone else, this kind of thing would make me want to gut them like a pig, but with him, I was living for it.

His grip on my hair tightened. “I want your words.”

I licked my lips in eager anticipation as I held his gaze. “I’ll be a good girl. Just for you.”

He gave a grunt of approval while the look he gave me practically promised violence. “Swallow every drop of this cum, and let’s see how good you are at begging.”

I hummed my pleasure as I took the hard, silky length of him and began to stroke him in tandem with the ministrations of my mouth. Precum blossomed on my tongue, spurring my efforts. My hands stroked him in tandem with the ministrations of my mouth, and Malekai’s hips began to thrust in counter to my movements. “ Fuck, Mareina. This is the only place my cock belongs. Your gorgeous mouth, voluptuous ass, and this beautiful, needy cunt.”

I whimpered my agreement, pulling back to take a breath. Lavishing his cock with open-mouthed kisses from base to head as I held his gaze. My words were filled with adoration. “So fucking perfect.”

I descended his length, taking as much as I could into the back of my throat. Not nearly his entirety, but I vowed to one day be able to. Malekai held my head by my hair as he pumped into my throat, filling the air with vulgar wet noises that stoked my arousal. Saliva spilled from the corners of my mouth, dripping down my neck and chest. Slicking my hands over the mess, I caressed it over my breasts and teased my nipples.

Malekai groaned at the sight. “Fuck, Mareina… All of this is for me?’

Emotion streaked my cheeks, and my voice turned breathy with reverence. “All for you, Malekai.”

Rotating my palm in a gentle twisting motion over his crown whilst stroking down the rest of him, Malekai began to fuck my hands, and he forced my gaze back up to his by gripping my throat. “Beg me for my cum, tessari mú.”

I held his gaze, pouring a lifetime’s worth of all the love and desire I had for this male, all while licking, sucking, and kissing my way up his length.

“Please, Malekai. I need all of you. I need your heart. Your soul. Your mind. Your body and your perfect cock, along with every drop of cum you have to give. I need you like I need the air in my lungs.”

Malekai’s eyes glistened as his jaw flexed. He released my hair and scooped me up off the floor in one swift motion to spread me out beneath him on the bed. My legs parted, and as I looked between us, I saw the blood coating my thighs. A breathy moan punched out of me as he slid back inside me.

“Mine,” Malekai growled as he thrust with deep, firm strokes. My eyes held his as I breathed my reply. “Yours.”

His thumb returned to my clit, already drenched with my arousal and blood, making another orgasm rise, soft and tingling. My back arched, and my nails dug into his powerful thighs. Malekai’s hips stuttered as he filled me with liquid heat. “Li Saro, Mareina.” I love you. “In this life and the next.”

“I love you in every life, Malekai.”

His strokes gentled, and his eyes dipped to where we were joined. I could feel his cum seeping out of me. “Look how perfect you are, filled with my cock, my cum, and my blood.”

He withdrew from me briefly to push his leaking cum back inside. Satisfied his seed was where it should be, he leaned in close, brushing his lips against mine. “Marry me, Mareina.”

My breath caught, and the sweeping motion of my fingertips along his back stilled. When I hesitated, vulnerability flashed across his face. “… Considering everything that’s transpired over the last several days, this may not be the best timing, but?—

“Yes.”

My eyes burned with sweet relief, the threat of my emotion escaping. Malekai pulled back slightly to catch my expression. A watery grin perched on my lips. “Yes.”

Malekai’s expression hardened as though trying to quell his own emotion. “Yes, you’ll marry me?”

I nodded, too much emotion clogging my throat to speak.

Malekai’s eyes glistened as they searched mine before his mouth captured mine, and his arms came around me to scoop me into his lap. “My wife.”