Destined for the Fae King (Courts of Faery #3)

Chapter 40

I expect Lysandir to shift us to his room—or near it, since the area is warded against shifting. However, a few heartbeats later, we appear somewhere completely new to me. Wooden walls made of thick beams support a high, thatched roof. A low, wide bed sits just off to our left, its forest green coverings neatly made. Fae lamps linger nearby but are out now. We don’t need the light though. The wall opposite the bed provides plenty. Sheer curtains waft in the breeze where they are pulled back on either side of the large opening that walks out onto a wooden balcony and wide-open view beyond.

“Where are we?” I gape at the room around us.

The whole thing reminds me a bit of those over-water bungalows I’ve ogled in travel commercials, but instead of on the water, we appear to be high up in a mountain or something. A few trees with thick leaves and draping vines are visible at the periphery, but otherwise, all I can see is sky.

“A private getaway near Calida,” he replies. His thumb rubs the back of my hand. “No one will bother us here.”

The heated look in his eyes has my legs pressing together to stifle a sudden surge of desire .

“We’re together,” I say, still in disbelief that it’s real.

“We are.” He cups my cheek, tugging me close. “I still don’t know how it’s possible, but you’re mine, Mira.”

I bunch his sweaty shirt in my hands. “And you’re mine, Lysandir.”

I stretch up on my toes, closing the last of the distance between us, and kiss him with all the emotions racing through my blood.

He’s mine. I’m his. Even the king has approved us. No one can come between us now.

We’ve defied fate. The passion in his kiss is all-consuming, a flame hotter than the one he was trapped in. He’s a sweaty mess and I don’t care. As long as we’re together, I will take him however I can.

Lysandir’s arms encircle me and slide low, and then he’s lifting me. I wrap my legs around him, my dress riding up around my hips. He groans against my mouth as he moves us. Lysandir lays me on the edge of the bed, breaking our kiss and stepping back. My legs are still spread, my dress around my hips from the way he carried me. Instead of covering my underthings, I widen my legs. He scrubs a hand down his face.

“Little temptress.”

“We’ve waited long enough, haven’t we?”

His countenance grows serious. “Indeed we have.”

And then his shirt is up over his head and gone. I’m tempted to lay back and watch as he removes the rest, but my clothing is suddenly too constricting. I need it gone. Now. Right now.

By the time I slip out of my underwear and kick it away, Lysandir is there, completely, gloriously naked. There’s no time to appreciate the sight before he embraces me again. One hand cups the back of my head, dragging my mouth back to his. The other wraps around me, pressing our heated bodies together before he tumbles us back onto the bed.

His hard body is supported on one arm, keeping most of his weight off me, but enough lingers for me to feel him pressed against me head to toe. And I love it. I never want to be apart from him. My body already aches for him, crying out to have him inside of me. Another part still can hardly believe it. Only his body against mine, my arms around his neck, the press of his lips convince me its really happening. It’s not some dream. Some wish.

Lysandir breaks our kiss and stares down at me. His hooded gaze dances over my face, like he’s trying to memorize every line and convince himself that I’m real too. “I’ve waited so long to taste you.”

“That’s not our first kiss if you recall,” I say between heavy breaths.

“Mmm.” He rocks his hips, his hard length sliding against my skin and twisting up the knot of desire within me. “But I haven’t tasted you elsewhere yet.”

The words haven’t fully sunken in before he’s kissing his way down my neck, my collarbone, and then closes his lips over one nipple. I let out a little moan, arching my back as he flicks the peaked tip with his tongue. He lavishes the other, and then he’s moving downward again, kissing my ribs, my belly button.

Lysandir slides off the foot of the bed and crouches on his knees. I whimper in anticipation as his gaze drops between my legs. A smirk quirks up at the corner of his lips before he grabs my legs and tugs my ass to the edge of the bed.

“I’ve dreamed of this.” He licks his lips. “So many times.” The prince on his knees dips his head between my spread legs, and then he’s tasting me in a whole new way .

The feeling is electric—pure lightning through my veins. He devours me like a man starved, and I suppose he is. How long ago did he first see a vision of me? How many years has he dreamed of this? To have something you crave after so long without.

His lips close around my clit, and I nearly buck off the bed.

“Lysandir!” I tangle my hands in his damp hair.

“Mira,” he growls my name against my core. “My beautiful mate.”

A glow emanates from him, and it only makes me wilder with need. I writhe under his ministrations, taken to the edge but not quite tumbling over.

“Lysandir. Please.” I tug gently at his hair. “I need—I want—”

He pauses to look up at me. Strong hands flex on my thighs. His face glistens with my wetness.

“Please,” I whimper again, releasing him and letting my arms fall limp at my sides.

My prince stands and takes his cock in hand. A little bead of moisture glistens at the tip. “I’m going to mark you, make you mine.”

“Yes.” I slide back up the bed, beckoning for him to join me. “I want it. I want everything.”

The mattress dips as he crawls onto the bed like a predator about to pounce and devour me whole. I watch, enraptured, as he closes the distance between us to cover me and position himself at my entrance. At the first touch, I gasp, my whole body tensing up with aching desire. The tip presses in, and I suck in a breath, marveling at the feel of him.

He releases himself to cup my cheek, brushing his thumb along my skin. “My mate. My Mira.”

His glow flares brighter in a corona around us as he presses forward. I moan as he enters me, stretching almost to the point of pain but not quite. A sharp curse slips from Lysandir. He bares his teeth, and I know he’s trying to take it slow, let me adjust.

“I can take it,” I tell him. “Give me everything.”

And so he does, bottoming out and holding himself still inside me. The feel of him is everything, like he was made for me and I for him. No one and nothing could ever be more perfect than this moment.

But then he moves, retreating and thrusting back in. And I was wrong. So wrong, because the pleasure is dizzying, so much more than I expected.

He fills me up in the best way, until there’s no him or me, just us.

A few more thrusts and I’m hanging on the edge, the knot of desire within me twisted up so tight I can barely think. “Lysandir. I’m—I’m going to—”

He growls against the crook of my neck. His scent fills my nose. It’s his warmth against mine. Everything is him. On his next thrust, I shatter, screaming my pleasure and bucking against him. His powerful form holds me to the sheets as he wrings out my desire, teasing it out with thrust after thrust until he flings his head back and roars his own pleasure.

We’re both a panting, sweaty mess, clinging together through the last waves of pleasure tingling under my skin. It’s then that I feel something cool slide under my skin near my hip. It circles once, twice, before settling.

“Mira. My Mira,” Lysandir pants. Our foreheads are pressed together, our breaths mingling. The pure love and adoration shining in his eyes makes my chest swell.

I cup his cheek.

“Yours,” I promise .

Lysandir slips from me with a groan and tumbles onto the bed at my side, still breathing heavily. His strong arm comes around me, pulling me half atop him. We lay that way for a minute, locked together, until his palm smooths down my side to settle on my hip. He rubs his thumb over the skin that had been cool just a moment ago.

“I feared I’d never see this,” he says.

The mark is beautiful, swirls of flame chasing each other in a circle. I can’t help but grin as I take it in. I’d always kind of wanted a tattoo but had never gotten one. A good thing, since none of them could ever compare to this. It’s a mark of love. A symbol of our bond.

“I want to see yours.” I scoot back on the coverings to get a good look at his hip. The mirror image of our mark is on him too. Just seeing it is like tossing fuel onto the smoldering fire of my desire, and I’d climb right back atop him in that moment if he were ready for it.

“What do you think?” he asks, almost hesitantly.

“I love them,” I reply. “And I meant what I said in front of your brother. I love you.”

He caresses my face, pushing hair back behind my ear. “I love you too, Mira. I will all my days if you’ll let me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

We venture out of bed, not bothering with our clothes. I grab a blanket and wrap it around myself, but Lysandir doesn’t seem to have the same modesty and thankfully doesn’t mind me checking out all of his assets.

I wander toward the balcony, determined to finally learn a little more about this place he’s taken us. “A private retreat, huh? And you just happened to have it ready for us? Just in case? ”

A small huff of laughter slips from him as he follows after me. “No. I took a risk that it wasn’t in use.”

“If it was?”

He smirks. “Then whoever was using it would have had quite a story to tell.”

A little laugh of my own bubbles up, but I nearly choke on it when I catch sight of the view beyond. We are high up on a mountain, clinging to its forested edge where it looms over a long valley.

“Is that Calida?” I point toward the large mass of buildings in the valley.

“It is. There are a number of other lodgings like this one around the mountainside, but it will be hard to see them among the trees.” They seem to hug the building on either side of the balcony, almost like its nestled among their branches. It might be.

The valley stretches out for some distance, full of lush, green life basking in the afternoon sun. But out near the horizon, the green vanishes in an almost straight line, giving way to browns and grays.

“What is that?” I point toward it.

Lysandir’s humor fades. “The Shadow Lands. Unseelie territory.”

The pronouncement threatens to steal all my warmth. “So close.”

It makes sense. It’s why we came here after all, but I hadn’t realized exactly how close it was.

Lysandir wraps his arms around me, pulling my back against his chest and placing his chin atop my head. “You mine, and I will keep you safe, no matter what comes.”

“I know.” I place my hand over his and lean back against him. Despite the grim reminder on the horizon, I could stay like this forever. Maybe the king will let us, at least until he chooses his queen and Lysandir and I can be more open with our relationship.

We’re marked now. It’s not just a visible symbol on our skin—any fae will feel it and know our connection.

Between the warmth of the male at my back and the languidness in my limbs from my release, I’m so relaxed that I let out an embarrassingly large yawn. Lysandir chuckles. He adjusts his stance, and I feel the press of his renewed erection at my lower back.

He leans in, his breath ghosting across my ear and raising goosebumps on my skin. “I hope you’re not too tired, little mate, because I’m not done with you. Not nearly.”

Any lingering sleepiness vanishes instantly. A few touches, some whispered words, and I’m a ball of aching need once more.

Lysandir frees me from the embrace of his arms and stalks around until he’s the only majestic view in front of me. He grabs my blanket and gives it a solid tug. I let it fall.

He holds out a hand to me.

“Well?” He raises his brows in question, his grin devastating.

I take his hand and let him lead me back to bed.