Heir of Stardust and Secrets (Mythic Spark #1)

25. Coping

Chapter 25

Coping

A rms crossed, I stood in my guest suite, looking out at the star-flecked sky, the warm air drifting across my skin through the open windows. Behind me, the door creaked faintly as it opened before soft footsteps came toward me.

“Lady, you need to bathe,” a female said from behind me.

“Not tonight.”

“Lady, you really sho?—”

“Not tonight,” I said, refusing to move from my vigil of the stars.

She sighed in resolve, then fussed over the room for a few minutes before murmuring something about a morning bath as she closed the door behind her.

Once I started fighting my eyes to stay open, I turned away from the window, finding that the stranger had transformed the room. Normally, I would have marveled at the fire orbs now floating about the space, but I was more interested in the nightgown she’d laid out on the turned down bed.

As I made to change, a soft, tentative knock came through the door.

Tossing the gown back on the bed, I huffed, readying myself to tell her, in no uncertain terms, to leave me alone. But the instant the door opened, revealing the king, a relieved sob escaped me, and my knees buckled as I fell forward into his arms.

“Shh. Shh,” he soothed as he held me close. “Gods above, you’re freezing, Nyleeria.” Scooping me into his arms like he’d done that first day, he looked down at me with deep, almost desperate concern. “Stars, you’re shaking.”

He was right, the terror had finally caught up to me.

Keeping me cradled in his arms, he sat us down on the couch. I leaned my head against his chest and allowed his warm, steadying presence to envelope me. As I relaxed into him, I could no longer fight back my tears, finally cracking. The king moved a broad hand to clear them away but stopped when I flinched.

A deep furrow creased his brow. “What did he do to you, Nyleeria?” he whispered, his voice a mix of tenderness and calm fury.

I shuddered from the memory and my trembling intensified. “He—” I started, but terror stole my voice. I wanted to tell him, needed to. I couldn’t hold the memory alone. “He bound me”—my hand slid to my throat, feeling the band that was no longer there—“and demanded answers. It was like he was in my mind, all around me. Then he…” My voice cracked, and more tears fell. I wiped at them with the back of my hand, angry at their existence, at how they conjured the phantom breath that prowled along my cheeks in search of quarry it could turn to ice.

I shook my head, trying to dispel the feeling. “He locked us in a dome, then wrapped me in bindings of fog. When he didn’t get what he wanted”—I swallowed—“he turned the bindings into ice that burned like fire and tightened them out of anger—there was nothing I could do. The spark begged me to unleash it, but I forced myself to stay calm and coaxed it back to sleep. I didn’t scream or show fear, it’s what he wanted, and I couldn’t risk my powers coming out. But it…it hurt too much, and a tear betrayed me, and as it slid down my cheek, he said”—a gulping sob left me—“he said, Now, now, Nyleeria. None of that , then leaned in and blew on me, freezing the tear in place.”

“Oh, Nyleeria,” the king said, wrapping his arms tighter around me. I was shivering so hard that the movement transferred to him.

“I didn’t know what to do,” I said, looking up at him, “so I tapped into the part of me that understands his power. I accepted winter for all its beauty, yielded to it, and”—I paused, not wanting to relive it, but I forced myself to move on, move through—“the tear thawed. The rage in Amos’s eyes when he saw it…I thought he was going to kill me. He tightened the band around my neck until I couldn’t breathe, and I took comfort in knowing it would be over soon. Then a flash of light filled my blackening vision, and I was on the dance floor alone. I don’t know how or why.”

“It was Caius,” the king said. “Once he’d realized what was happening, he broke through whatever shield Amos had up. It shattered, and you fell from about ten feet to the ground. No sign of Amos, just you.”

It made sense now why my body ached so much; a ten-foot rag-doll drop isn’t for the faint of heart.

A few heartbeats passed before the king said, “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”

I pulled back a little more to get a better look at him so he could see the truth of my words. “I chose to keep our secret too. This is bigger than the both of us.”

“Still, I’m terribly sorry for what happened to you, how he violated you.” More tears streaked my face, and he reached over again to wipe them away. My body went rigid. “Please,” he whispered, his voice cracking in a plea.

I braced for the biting touch of frost as his hand moved closer, but was met with a warm, gentle caress. I tilted my head into his touch, happy for the comfort to replace the memory.

He pulled me in close and placed a kiss atop my head. Resting my cheek against his chest, I curled into him, finding solace in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat .

We stayed there for a long while, silent as he caressed my back in long, soothing motions; my frayed nerves soaking in the safety of his embrace.

He made to move as if adjusting our position, his hand brushing against my leg, and the unexpected contact of his callouses on my bare skin sent a ripple through me. We paused, and his heartbeat quickened beneath my ear. I looked down, not realizing until then that portions of my skirt had bunched mid-thigh when he’d swept me up.

His hand now hovered above my ankle, and we watched as his fingertips lowered to my skin before deliberately tracing upward. The gentleness of his exploration sent my skin quivering with gooseflesh, and my world narrowed to that singular touch until he paused just above my knee. I waited, but he didn’t move. Looking up at him, I found his eyes fixed on me—waiting for me to object, I realized. Taking my own fingers, I followed the bunched hem of my skirt and freed it, the fabric making a soft rustling sound as it slid off the side of my thigh and pooled on the ground. Holding my gaze, he ventured a little higher, then paused again.

I placed a hand on the side of his face and felt the day’s stubble greet me. My thumb traced the pouted lines of his sensual lips while his hand on my back slid upward, splaying wide before pulling me into him until his mouth met mine, sending a cascading wash of sparking jitters down to my toes.

The kiss was slow and filled with longing, like he’d waited an eternity for this moment. I let myself get lost in him, and wound my fingers through his hair, his soft curls wrapping around me as if wanting to experience me as much as I wanted to experience him.

Craving more, my tongue slid across his lips, and he let me in as his fingers continued up my thigh.

After tasting me thoroughly, he broke the kiss and nipped at the side of my neck. I tilted my head back for him, and he took his time licking up from the dip of my collarbone to my ear before dragging my lobe between his teeth. My back arched in response, and a low, guttural sound of approval came from deep in his throat.

His wandering fingers made their way to the apex of my thighs, pausing. He nipped at my lobe in silent question, and I arched further in response.

He shuddered in surprise when nothing stood between him and the slickness that gave away the full effect he had on me. His fingers reveled in its existence before sliding one of them into me, and my breath hitched as primal yearning gripped every part of me.

“Gods, Nyleeria,” he gritted, the warm air of his breath caressing my skin.

Biting the corner of my lip, I opened my eyes, and as I held his gaze, he slid his finger out, then added another one and sent them back in. I gasped at the extra width filling me, and he caught my mouth with his, sliding his tongue in, caressing, exploring, claiming.

The corded muscles of his body moved as his fingers began working in earnest. I braced myself, giving him better access, and he used it to our advantage.

My heart pounded and my breaths came heavy as my body responded to each glorious pass he took.

In a fluid motion, he slid me off him and laid me on my back, fingers still working their magic. He kissed my skin as he followed the chain of my necklace down to my sternum before lowering himself further.

I gasped as he sucked in the bundle of nerves at my apex, where his mouth continued to do the most delightful things, working in unison with his fingers.

“I want you in me,” I pled in a pant, toes flexing.

He ignored me and continued his ministrations. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the armrest, allowing him to do as he pleased—getting lost in the moment as the world melted away.

Pure ecstasy coiled and my mouth gaped open, soundless. The small of my back lifted, and my head pressed into the couch. I couldn’t breathe, it was… oh gods —all at once, an electric surge, sharp and welcome, bolted through my body, and I grabbed a pillow, muffling my moans of rapture.

When he’d released all the pleasure my body could offer, he slipped his fingers out and kissed the inside of my thigh before sliding up my body. Dropping the pillow to the ground, I grabbed for him with both hands, tasting myself on his lips.

Releasing him, I pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, then paused. Stars, he was just as I remembered, even better in this light.

Shuddering, he watched as I pressed my lips along the shadowy curves of his torso before freeing him from his remaining garments.

The full, bulging length of him stood at attention as he knelt over me, and I swallowed, heart skipping a beat before racing with vengeance.

His mouth claimed mine as he swept me up and walked us to the bed. Gently, he released me, the smooth tile cool on my feet. From behind, he swept my hair to the side and placed a kiss on my shoulder. Breathing in, I tilted my head into the touch.

With a quick movement of his hands, my bodice gave way. A breath later, I moaned as his body pressed against mine; luxuriating in every inch of the silken ripples that rested against my skin.

Hands now firmly on my hips, he bit down on that tender part of exposed skin where my neck gives way to my collarbone, and a rumbling sound of approval reverberated through me as he glanced down to find my peaked breasts now fully on display, adorned only by the low-hanging diamond. Still pressed against me, I turned my head toward him. His lips met mine as his hands slid up my torso, claiming their mountainous bounty, and a deep, yearning throb pulsed through me.

Placing a kiss on the nape of my neck, he released them, running his callouses down my sides as he knelt. Unclasping my skirt, he slid the fabric over my hips, and it made a soft ruffling sound as it pooled at my feet.

He licked his way back up to standing, then turned me to face him, both of us now fully exposed.

Cradling my face in his palm, he held my gaze, his gray-blue eyes catching the flickering lights. No one had ever looked at me like that before, not even Eithan, and stars did I love it. Pulling me in, he kissed me so thoroughly that my core heated as if I hadn’t already drunk in all the pleasure I could handle.

He stepped forward, forcing me back as he continued claiming me. The back of my legs hit the bed, and without breaking our kiss, he lowered me down on to it. Leaning between my thighs, he sucked in my bottom lip before breaking away.

Primal yearning stared down at me as he gripped me, sliding me down toward him. I bit my lip, knowing the bed was the perfect height for him to have me this way.

A throaty moan escaped him as I laid bare, ready to be taken as he wished.

He used his hand to guide himself to my entrance, and I questioned his girth as its bulking presence pressed against the part of me that throbbed for him, but my body was well past listening to reason, and my hips tilted up in response.

Without warning, he sheathed the full length of himself, and a gasped sound of my pleasured surprise filled the room as his sheer strength forced me to grasp for leverage and press back. Gods, I was utterly filled to the brim with him. I wrapped my legs around his torso, savoring the pulsing sensation as my body adjusted to his fullness.

A guttural purring noise left him, and he bent down, shifting even farther inside me as his mouth made its way down to my ear. “You’re not a virgin,” he growled.

“No,” I rasped.

He stood, unwrapped my legs from his torso, and rested my calves on his shoulders—nothing but feral delight danced across his features. “Good. I’m going to enjoy fucking you the way I’ve dreamed of. ”

Gulping, I gripped the sheets at the promise he’d just made and braced myself.

He slid out of me torturously slow, then paused at my entrance before burying himself deep enough that every thought eddied from my mind.

“Gods, Nyleeria. It’s even better than I imagined.”

He gripped me hard and moved with deliberate intent.

The slight aching throb from his fullness was quickly washed away by the frenzy that multiplied with every thrust, every movement.

He pulled me along the edge of oblivion, bathing me in the trembling sensation. His name was on my lips until I was rendered breathless, that one last movement pushing me over the edge. With no pillow in sight, I bit down on the inside of my arm as pleasure tore through me. Thaddeus spilled all of himself in me, and the reserved sounds finding their way through his clenched jaw and tight grip were only a fraction of what would have rung out if we were truly alone.

Utterly spent, we heaved heavy breaths, words lost to us.

Coming back to reality, I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him toward me, needing to taste him. His length moved inside me as he leaned down to oblige my silent request.

After, he kissed my forehead, no doubt tasting salt, before lifting his weight and gently removing himself. He extended a hand, and I accepted it, feeling lightheaded as we made our way to the lavatory.

Thaddeus turned the taps, and soon we sank into the warm embrace of the bath.