Soul of Ice (Chronicles of Dawn)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Surina must have barely missed the king. When she’d made it back to his chambers, she found a note saying he’d return with dinner and that a fresh bath was waiting for her. She was honestly surprised by his willingness to give her so much space after last night. Not that they really had a choice.

If she’d stayed cooped up in his suite all day, others might have suspected something was off. Now she was kicking herself in the ass, wondering if that would have been a better alternative.

Tucking away the dragon text into her satchel with all the other books from home, she headed straight for the bath, the endless sweep of her emotions rising and receding as she talked herself in and out of the events in the library.

After years of her affinity being gone, surely it hadn’t just emerged out of thin air, right? With all the time that had passed since she used her fire affinity last, she couldn’t really be certain what it even felt like to harness flame, so it was impossible to pinpoint what happened earlier.

Already halfway undressed by the time she made it to the washroom mirror, she studied herself and the paleness brought on by the blood loss. Pressing into the black and blue bruising, she watched as it disappeared beneath the pressure, returning when she eased up on it.

Bloodwhore .

Her jaw snapped shut, and she searched for the dagger at her thigh, furiously removing it before slapping it onto the marble vanity. The clattering ring it let off brought her glare down to the blade. She dragged a finger across the cool steel, closing her eyes to imagine the hand of the girl in her dreams, who held the blade like it was made for her. Or rather, like she was made to wield it .

Surina wished she could be like that—so sure of herself that doubt could never find its way in. Even spiteful words spoken in ignorance managed to rile her.

Carefully unlatching the leather sheath at her thigh, Surina skimmed a hand through the water. With a hiss of delight, she sank into the seething tub. Once she dumped a bit of soap into the bath, she immersed herself completely, letting the stinging shroud of heat wrap around her like a blanket’s caress. It was enough to burn away much of her worry.

Seconds turned into a full minute before a sharp spike of pain in her hand ripped her out of the water with a gasp. It sloshed over the sides, so she willed it to settle around her.

“What the fuck?” she spat, trailing her fingers along the sun mark, where the pain originated, but the aching had already receded and was replaced by a dim flutter.

A flash of light from the corner of her vision pulled her stare towards the dark section of the washroom that the candles didn’t reach, to the elevated window that opened up to the skies. Through the clear panes was a backdrop of night, and two little orbs of yellowish orange hovering within it. They were too big to be stars.

Fireflies? This late in the season?

That’s what she thought, at least. But after drifting to the other side of the bath to get a closer look, they blinked . In unison.

A ghastly revelation spread her veins. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, her wide eyes desperate to catch any other movements, when a stirring from the bedroom broke that fretful trance. It was barely a second she glanced away, but in that time, the orbs had vanished, and twinkling stars replaced them.

The room was on the second floor, so it couldn’t have been anything but fireflies... and yet, the hollowness in her stomach wouldn’t let her believe it.

Another shuffle on the opposite side of the door had Surina rising from the shortest bath she’d ever taken, tossing on a silken robe like her life depended on it. She dropped the dagger twice just trying to get all of her things and get out.

When she pushed through the entrance, she found Ezra, lounging on the sofa.

“Enjoy your bath?” Ezra smirked, eyeing the dagger she held like she was ready to stab anything that moved.

Her shoulders eased, yielding to the silvery hum of his voice. “Sure, all five minutes of it,” she huffed, resting the dagger on the stone mantel.

That was apparently enough to make him sit up from his feline repose. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought I saw something in the window, but it could have just—”

Ezra was already on his feet and in the washroom faster than she could get the sentence out. When she poked her head inside, he was unlatching the window. “What did you see?” he pressed.

Lingering by the doorway, she twined her finger within the robe’s tie. “I don’t know exactly, but it looked like fireflies. Or maybe stars.”

He ended the brief scan of the perimeter outside, twisting at his waist to face her. “Fireflies or stars?”

The droll way he asked it was not appreciated one bit. Surina’s stare narrowed at his too-quick shift to humor. “Obviously, they weren’t actually fireflies or stars.”

“ Obviously ,” he repeated with a wry tilt to his mouth. “So, what else would you have seen through a window on the second floor that looked like fireflies or stars but wasn’t actually?”

She folded her arms over her chest—he thought she was overreacting. “If I knew what it was, I would have just told you what it was.”

His lips twitched, but he had enough self-preservation in him to school his features. “Surina, you’ve been through a lot these past few weeks, and with everything that happened last night, and the loss of blood—”

“You don’t believe me,” Surina interrupted tersely.

Ezra’s face turned to stone. “That is not what I’m saying. I just don’t want you getting worked up over something that could very well be fireflies or stars .”

He doesn’t want you to get worked up and completely lose it again . Really, though, could she blame him?

Releasing a heavy exhale, Surina leaned into the door frame, deciding there were more important things they could be arguing over. “Did you find anything in the archives today?”

Picking up on her quick change in topic, he averted his eyes. “Nothing noteworthy. You?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.” Apart from Kian’s treason, that is. Plus, the whole mishap with the fire. But she couldn’t exactly tell Ezra the latter without explaining the former, and she wouldn’t sentence Kian to death for simply voicing his opinion of the king—even though he had gone about it the wrong way.

“I know it’s only been a day, but I’m not so sure the answer to all our problems will be in a library. The dragons, understanding my magic, the possibility of me being taken to the faerie realms against my will…”

You being some evil creature from lore.

Chilling hands cupped either side of her face, forcing her to look up. “I told you, I will do everything I can to keep you here—to keep you safe. From your magic and the dragons.”

“And I believe you. I just think we need a plan if things go south.” Not that they haven’t already. The odds of finding what they were looking for were small, no matter how ancient the keep was.

Ancient …

Surina gasped, her hand flying out to grip his arm with excitement. “That’s it!”

He cocked his head in question. “What’s it?”

Whatever texts she hoped to find here, or even the logs in the archives, wouldn’t have the precise knowledge they were searching for. There was someone who would though.

“There’s no way to hunt through thousands of books and battle logs to find information on the wards or my magic, but Moira would have been there when the wards were erected. She would know why the ones chosen to travel beyond the barriers were… well, chosen .”

“My spies have yet to find even a trace of her. Water dragons are notorious for being illusive. Rarely seen in the oceans, let alone on the continent. If she left on her own volition, we won’t find her. Not if she doesn’t want to be found.”

Water dragons were all but nonexistent in Orlanthe, most of them having disappeared into the oceans after the rift between fae and dragons began. That was before Lythia formed as a sovereign kingdom to unite the dragons under one king—Emryn.

“As much as I want Moira back, I’m not talking about her, exactly. She studied my magic every day, didn’t she? There has to be documented accounts or records of my progress.” Not only was Moira an instructor and a priestess, but she was also a healer—a scientist, in her own way. When she wasn’t busy with Surina and affinity training, Moira was cooped up in the tower of the apothecary, researching antidotes and concoctions to alleviate ailments for mortals and fae alike.

“Her studies would prove I’m not worthy of Avarynth. And that I’m not the Myr —” Surina choked down the dreaded words she couldn’t bring herself to voice just yet. Not after only finding out this morning she was the real reason her father was killed. “I’m not what Emryn thought I was.”

“Cyril and I have gone to great lengths to keep the truth of the accords hidden. If she documented anything regarding you, I would have known about it, and I would have put an end to it. There are no journals or records she kept. Not of you.”

That flame of hope dwindled to ash in her chest. Of course he wouldn’t let the truth be written down. He was a master of secrets, after all. Nothing would see the light if he had anything to do with it. Fitting, to be king of the Moon Throne—of the night.

“Then it’s back to square one,” she muttered, curling her arms around herself.

The somber sag of his shoulders was visible in her periphery. “This doesn’t mean we give up. It’s been one day.”

“I’m not giving up. I’m just being realistic. And the reality is, we have no plan.”

She felt the agitation in the shift of his posture. “If it’s a plan you want so badly, here’s one…”

Her eyes floated up from the floor, their stares locking for what felt like an eternity before his mouth finally moved again.

“Marry me.”

She didn’t say anything—she couldn’t . Not after that fucking proclamation.

“Marry me,” Ezra repeated, his voice sure and firm as she reeled, dumbfounded.

He risked a graze of his fingers down her arm in that silence. With one pleasant stroke, tingles trickled down her spine. It was his saliva in her blood that made her body respond like that, but his bite was only a small fraction of the reason.

“As consort, you would have the protection of my name, as well as your own. My armies would be at your disposal. An heir to the Sun Throne and consort to the Moon Throne? No dragon would dare glance in your direction. I’m not even sure Seros himself would risk it, but I would welcome any attempt.”

“You ask me to marry you and then threaten the Divine of Creation all in one night?” All in one minute . She scoffed. “Are you crazy or an idiot?”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “So is that a no?”

“I—” Her mouth hung open as she struggled with a reply. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

“Say you’ll think about it.”

She didn’t pull from the hand that curled around hers, sealing her into his cool grasp.

He couldn’t be serious. There was no way after centuries of never taking a consort, he would choose now to do so—choose her .

“Even if it’s just in name alone, it would make them think twice. Let me do this for you, Surina. Let me protect you the only way I can. With my crown.”

“Consort in name alone,” she repeated slowly. That cut deep. So his willingness to marry her didn’t have anything to do with his feelings for her, but stemmed from some duty to keep her alive? He made it sound more like a sacrifice than an act of devotion.

A tug at her chin and his breath was coasting her lips. “More than name, if that’s what you wish.”

One full-body shudder later, and her blood whirled to life beneath her skin. “You’ve never had a consort,” she countered with the obvious, reining in that reaching heart of hers before it completely fell into his hands. “Now you want one, all of a sudden? Is this another game of yours?”

He pulled from her, his features hard as he swept past, disappearing into the dim light of the bedchamber.

“Ezra.” Gods, there you go again, pushing him away . She didn’t even get a foot through the doorway before he was standing in front of her again, something in his hand.

“This isn’t a game, Surina. I have wanted this for a long time.” Ezra lifted the object into her sight. “I have wanted you , for a long time.”

It was a small parcel, wrapped in a black fabric—no, it wasn’t black. The way the light of the fire shone on the box, she recognized it as the deep-blue satin wrapping from the other day.

“That’s the box from the gardens,” she stated plainly, and he met her observation with a guilty smile. “I knew there was another!”

The smooth laugh that followed made her forget every bit of his deception from that day. Meanwhile, the look he hit her with made those memories of the garden come back in full force. Her blood turned molten under that stare. A stare that said he remembered it too.

Reluctantly taking the box, Surina gave it a quick shake. It didn’t make a sound she could easily identify, so her curious gaze swung up from the parcel.

He looked… nervous.

Lifting the lid, her lips parted to suck in breath as she revealed an elegant, twining silver ring. A teal, marquise-cut emerald was set in the middle of the whimsical twists and whirls, fastening it in place.

As it gleamed in the fire, it reminded her of Ezra’s eyes, and how they darkened and brightened in the light and shade.

“It’s sort of a Nightwood heirloom,” he whispered, plucking the jeweled ring from the box when she didn’t comment. “It’s been passed down to the eldest male in our family for generations. Originally, it was crafted as a proposal necklace for the lady of the Nightwood patriarch almost a thousand years ago, but no one has worn it for centuries. Not even my mother when she was consort.”

Not even his mother had worn it.

Like many fae, Ezra’s mom had passed away in childbirth. During birth, the body’s hastened healing was reduced tremendously, allowing the baby to break the womb without it healing back over.

“Ezra, I can’t take this. Like you said, it’s a family heirloom and—”

“ You are my family, Surina.” Ezra lifted a hand to her cheek, guiding her eyes to his. “I would never ask you to chain yourself to me—to the throne—if I didn’t think it was the only way to keep you safe. I want more than to just keep you safe, though. After all of this has passed, and you’re free to choose, I want you to choose me . Not the protection I can offer. Me .”

He really thought being his consort would be some horrible tragedy.

“I don’t need an answer tonight, but what I do need, is for you to take this ring. If you don’t, then I’ll toss it into the fire now, because I would watch it melt from this world before letting it grace another’s hand.”

Why did he always seem to know exactly what to say? Maybe it only seemed that way because all of this was new to her. When she looked into his pleading eyes, though, it felt like this was new to him, too, despite his long-lived years.

“I couldn’t possibly let you do that,” she whispered through a half grin.

At that, he smiled, brilliant and warm, offering the full wonder of his canines.

Her face pinched together in question when it was the right hand he lifted. The one with the sun scar. “Shouldn’t it go on my left hand?” Surina asked, assuming it should be worn as an engagement ring.

“When you’re ready.” His words were soft, and there wasn’t any pressure in the way he said it.

She stilled, her breath catching as he slipped it onto her ring finger. It was captivating, watching those powerful hands do something so delicate and gentle.

Wriggling her fingers, she watched as the large gemstone glistened with each movement. Almost a perfect fit. Only a little too loose. She needed to gain more weight anyway. The past couple weeks had taken its toll on her, and while she’d gained some muscle from her daily training, two weeks wasn’t nearly enough time to put on real muscle.

His voice broke the trance the emerald pulled her into. “Promise me you’ll wear it, no matter what you choose. Whichever realm.”

Those words stirred something inside of her. Maybe it was a mix of the pain in his eyes, the lingering uncertainty of what their futures held, or the way he curled around her like he was the only thing tethering her to this world, but she couldn’t let that doubt drift between them.

“I promise,” she breathed, lifting on her toes to meet his lips.

She drowned in the taste of his kiss—the minty flavor and the pine of his scent. Like a pristine blanket of snow on a tree, surrounding her in a cloak of plush ice. They moved against each other’s lips until his hand grazed the marks of her neck, and she broke away, gasping for air.

“Does it still hurt?” He carefully slid a thumb along the marks, studying her reaction.

Bloodwhore.

The vile slur slithered across her thoughts when she glimpsed the points of his teeth.

She shook her head, reluctant to tell him of what she’d heard today, knowing full well he’d leave to end the lord in his own home for uttering it. And she wasn’t willing to part from this moment. If only Kian knew what kind of male Ezra really was.

The king who saved her from almost certain death, even before she stepped into this world. From the dragon in the gardens, to just last night. Without that wondrous, piercing kiss to her throat, she wouldn’t have survived her own loss of control.

Let them call her whatever they wanted. Let them believe that Ezra was using her for his own dark desires. None of the others mattered anymore, not to her. Not when she found the truth in his eyes—they belonged to each other, and always would.

As if Ezra could feel that spark ignite the moment hers did, their mouths crashed into each other, and that doubt evaporated.

Surina had been so preoccupied with the silken feel of his hair that she hadn’t noticed her robe open up to him—her back arched against the cool palm running along the peak of her breast, kneading her aching nerves.

Again, she broke their kiss, hoping to find enough air to quiet her blood, quickly giving up when she followed the intensity of his stare. His eyes explored where those powerful hands traveled, dancing along her breasts until he met the thin fabric barely holding on.

A whisper against her flesh, the robe fell to bundle at her toes. She let him take in all that he wanted, appearing as if it was the first time he’d seen her like this.

Uncomfortable in the long silence, she dipped her chin to look down at herself, but his soft, strong fingers held her in place.

“You are the most beautiful being I have ever— will ever —lay my eyes on. And I don’t just mean your body. I mean your heart…” His hand slid to the center of her chest, grazing the curves of her breasts as he laid his palm flat, right atop the frantic thumps.

“Your mind,” Ezra continued, dragging his palm up, past her collarbone, and around the back of her neck, until his fingers twined the hair at the base of her skull. “I’ve wasted so much time without you.”

“And here you are, wasting more time,” Surina whispered, trying to mask the rousing nerves with a coy, playful grin. That mask shattered when he returned a villainous smile, curated just for her own sinful desires. Gods, the hold he had over her with a single look… it scared her, in a frightfully alluring way.

In those few, tortuous seconds of quiet, her heart did an innumerable number of leaps before the king hoisted her from the ground. She wrapped her legs around him, and he hauled her over to the bed, setting her down amongst the freshly made ivory sheets, and tugging her right to the edge.

Correcting his earlier error, he didn’t waste any more time, starting with the line of buttons along his blouse. His eyes were hungrier than before, never leaving her stare, even as she reached a sure hand to his, brushing him off himself.

As she finished the last of the buttons for him, a burning warmth crashed between her legs as his blouse fell away, and she drank in the fine, hard lines of his torso.

Bringing a kiss to the dancing shadows of his fair, marble-like abdominals, a rumbling shudder from deep within his chest brought an appeased grin to her lips. So she did it again, dragging those lips to just above where his breeches struggled to hold in his cock. Leaping at the chance to right that wrong, she pulled at the ties of his pants, until it finally sprang free.

The air barely stirred as they reveled in silent exploration of one another. Surina would never get used to seeing such unnatural beauty—the rigid outlines of his torso as cut and clean as sculpted marble. Only when he chucked his clothing to the side, stepping forward again to twist his fingers into her hair, did she realize he wasn’t made of stone or marble. Nor was he an immovable piece of art. He was real, and he was hers.

While the feel of him in her hair was hypnotic, she couldn’t think of anything other than the fullness of his cock only inches from her touch, and how badly she needed it to fill her. This was different from her need for him in the past—that had been stark, blinding lust. Now, her mind was wholly clear.

Surina lifted her hand with the shimmering emerald, folding her fingers around his length. It was smooth, like velvet. A shiver ran along her spine when the sounds of his soft, breathy pleasure coasted her ears. Those gentle stirs set her on fire, and she gripped him harder, sliding down his length until she drew a bead of moisture from the slit in the broad head.

Wanting nothing more than to claim him as her own, Surina tilted forward, her tongue already salivating with the thought of taking him in her mouth.

Ezra tightened the hold of her hair, tilting her chin up before she could latch onto him. “So quick to get to the point, you corrupt thing.” Gently, he tugged at her hair, forcing her back, and onto her elbows. “Wild, untamable girl. What shall I do with you?”

Surina could think of a few things, but words were lost as he dropped his hand, falling to his knees between her legs. She gasped, gripping the sheets when he seized her thighs, shoving them apart to give him a full view of her sex.

“Tell me,” he began, sliding one of her legs over the muscles of his shoulder, “do you enjoy seeing me like this, princess? A king knelt before you?”

Biting down a yelp when he ran his fingers along the throbbing slickness between her legs, she could barely meet that nefarious grin of acknowledgment as he pulled his gleaming flesh from her.

“I guess that’s answer enough,” he droned, tossing the other leg over and bringing that depraved mouth down the center of her.

“ My gods ,” she hissed, closing her eyes when the impact of his tongue rattled her senseless.

Goosebumps bloomed as Ezra blazed a tortuous path inside of her. It only took moments of searching for that tight coil to twine and twine—he was getting so much better at it, having charted those maps of her pleasure these past couple weeks.

When she was close, she opened her eyes to find him ravenously watching her—studying her reactions to the wicked flicks of his tongue. After that, there was no more control of her hips. They rose and swayed, meeting his glorious expedition.

The vibrations from his deep growl of approval sent a pulse of delight between her legs, and when he suckled the bundle of nerves, trapping it between his teeth, he had to hold her waist down to keep her still as the climax broke through her writhing body.

Surina’s trembling arms failed to keep her upright as his mouth drew out the coursing bliss in its entirety. An aching desperation consumed her the moment his touch left her flesh, and the hazy fog of him retreated.

The bed shifted beneath his weight right as her lips parted to call for him. His frame prowled over the top of her. Slinging an arm under her hips, Ezra pulled her further up the blankets, laying her on the mound of pillows at the headboard.

Release was barely receding when those predatory eyes met hers again, trailing to her lips, and lingering on the marks of her throat before ultimately falling on her breasts.

“You don’t look nearly satisfied enough,” he murmured across the plump swells, low and hungry. “We’ll have to amend that.”

The warmth between her legs started up again when she looked to where his cock rubbed against the light dusting of hair. She couldn’t help but wonder how he would even begin to fit inside of her, remembering how tight it felt around just two of his fingers.

He chuckled, blocking her view of him when he leaned in, pressing cool kisses to one swell and sliding a hand up to cup the other. “Not yet.”

Surina’s skin hummed with the possibility of what was soon to follow. Her back bowed the moment his mouth closed over a nipple, suckling the same way he had between her legs. “But I want—” Her words broke off when he moved to the other side, working it just as marvelously as the other.

Fuck, what did she want?

This. Him. All of him.

“I want you, Ezra.” She wasn’t even sure if her words came out coherently.

They must have, though, because he stopped completely.

Gradually, he released his hold of her breasts, scanning the length of her body. “And I plan on taking you, just as I promised I would,” he murmured softly, but there was nothing soft about the way he looked at her. “Starting with this pretty little sex between your thighs.”

Her mouth opened in a silent cry when two fingers found their way inside of her, and he donned a smile made of pure sin. She almost melted right there. She would have, if not for the chilling nature of his body on her—in her.

The glow of the fireplace was behind him, highlighting the tips of his tousled, dark hair, making him look as savage as she felt in his touch.

“But I won’t stop here.” Ezra worked in and out of her, slipping a forearm under her head. “I won’t stop until I have all of you. Body, mind, and soul. The way you have all of me.”

Each of his promises ended and began with a slick pump of his fingers, until she was breathless and utterly sopping. When he withdrew, angling the broadness of his head at her entrance, the air in her throat caught.

Nerves swept in, and she laced her arms around his back, hoping the feel of him would make the flip of her stomach go away somehow.

“Look at me, Surina.” The low rasp of his voice brought her gaze up from where they were almost joined. “It’ll only hurt for a moment,” he assured her.

The way his demeanor immediately gentled, she knew her fear was unfounded. Her heart warmed with the thought of their bodies twining into one, and it was enough to settle any worry she might have had.

“I trust you,” she breathed, and something flashed across his eyes when she spoke those words. But before she could read into it, his lips were on hers, and the wild heat from earlier made a vicious return.

Leaving her lips, he swept down her cheek and further, to the bite on her throat. Surina groaned when his tongue ran along the ridges of the punctured kiss—what she would give to drift in that sweet ocean of ecstasy again. His ocean.

Another time , she mused, because now she wanted to experience all of this .

In the same moment he pressed the tips of his canines to her skin—not enough to draw blood, but to send her heart into a thunderous wreck—he slid into her.

Biting down on her bottom lip, she held in a whimper as he released a soft sigh against her neck, stretching her to his fullness. Thinking she’d taken him completely, she was surprised when the pressure moved up, further and further, until a penetrating sting cast a sharp cry from her.

Ezra stilled, nestling against her throat before brushing a kiss to it. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, repeating the words between each kiss. He was careful not to shift from where he remained inside of her, until she loosened the tight wedge her legs had formed around his hips.

“It’s okay,” she said.

He lifted his head so their eyes could meet, as if he had to be certain she was sincere. When he saw she was, he began to move again—the teal of his irises darting across her features with every slow stroke.

The novels were absolutely correct—with each pump of his hips, the ferocity of the initial sting gave way to a spreading thrill. When her quiet pants built into a low groan, Ezra’s churning hastened, and he tightened his hold on the flesh of her waist. He’d been holding back before, and she needed that in the beginning, but now she felt as starved as he looked.

The king moved in faster, methodical thrusts, something that sounded like a mix between a growl and a moan echoing in the chambers. Ezra reached to where he slid in and out of her, masterfully pressing his thumb to the nerves above.

Surina’s back bowed with each pass of his fingers, toiling to lure out her release. Then her body began to move on its own, her hips trying to time every collision perfectly.

“Feral thing,” he snarled, slowing his haste to withdraw completely. It was only seconds that he paused outside of her, but it was enough to make her miss the way he stretched her out, until he plunged back in. Right to the hilt. Drawing a throaty moan from her when he did so again. And again.

“ Gods , your pleasure is a chorus to my ears. The way you sing for me—it fucking undoes me. You undo me.”

Surina sprawled her fingers along the tight lines of his torso, wanting the friction of his skin back on hers—though this… this lit a fire inside, the sheer appetite of him bleeding out into his pumps, and the territorial manner with which he seized her flesh. Something fractured in his restraint when their sultry glares met.

Shifting his knees further beneath her thighs, he hoisted her waist up so that, when his hips slammed into her next, she writhed in the glory of the sensational battle their bodies endured—his cool waters sizzling against the flames of her flesh. As he pounded into her, the sound of their skin meeting resounded within the chambers, each decadent plunge grinding into her exquisite center.

Surina shuddered when his roar rang out, unleashing himself on her as the tightness built. Lifting one hand from her waist, he clenched the headboard above, crackling ice splintering out from his palm, spreading the length of the wooden frame.

She dared a glance back at him. When she caught sight of the being before her, like a god of frost and wind—dense fog twisting from his flesh, rising in cool, hazing tendrils, and the glint of those elongated, piercing fangs—her climax devoured her just as he found his.

With a rasping moan, he emptied himself inside her, slowing his churning thrusts until he’d spilled it all for her. Ezra lowered his heady breaths to Surina’s throat, pressing a kiss to his bite.

To his mark.

She soaked up every last bit of him, from the lingering chill of his kiss, to the smooth, slick withdrawal of his satisfied length. The fresh hollowness took its toll when he left her completely.

He shifted out from under her legs to lie on his back among the pillows, pulling her in against his chest.

“That was…” Her dry, throaty voice made it difficult to speak as she etched the grooves of his abdominals, glistening in his own sweat—and definitely hers too. It was strange how his skin was a frigid embrace after all of that, and there she was, molten, inside and out. She wasn’t complaining, though; it was a wonderful contrast.

“I didn’t know it could feel like this. That was amazing.” It truly was, and it wasn’t just the sex either, but something else entirely.

When she looked at him— really looked—she saw something different. Something exhilarating and otherworldly and new. She needed more of it. She needed to know he felt the same.

Reaching to lift her chin, his chest rose and fell in sync with hers as their breaths mingled as one. “It has never felt like this before, not with anyone. Not in any of my years.”

Scoffing, she jerked her chin free. “You’ve probably said that to every lady.” She could tell he spoke the truth, though. She just didn’t know how to face the intensity of it all.

Continuing to follow the ridge that cut a path from his hip to below his navel, she slid her finger right towards his—

He seized her wrist, forcing her to glance where he peered down through dipped lashes, caressing her fingertips with his lips so delicately, it might as well have been a breeze gliding over.

“I mean it, Surina. Never .” Ezra kissed her hand then, rubbing his thumb on the newly placed ring. “You have me wrapped around these pretty fingers. Enchanting little creature, I am yours.”

I am yours— words that sealed his soul to hers, whether he meant to or not. Surina inched up to take his lips in hers. Their warm, sweet kisses quickly paved the way to heated, eager nips of skin and teeth.

He roped his arms around her body, turning her over until she lay on her back again, a delightfully nefarious grin plastered on that beautiful face. “Ready for more already? You really are a corrupt thing.”

A light laugh passed her lips, partly from the thrill of his hands rising up to claim her thigh, but also from how bright the future now looked with him in it. No uncertainties. No doubt. Just them.

I am yours.

He was now—just as much as she was his.