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nRETH

nHer scent was everywhere—in his nose, on his skin, filling the room. Her scent, that beautiful, plump richness that had grown out of the rosy sweetness of the child he'd known so many years ago. But now it was laced with something soft, like a spring day when the blossoms began to bloom in the hills—something just on the edge of scent, a hint.

nAs she came alive under his hands, her scent spiked and he groaned against her neck.

nShe rolled her hips and braced, trying to make him enter her. But he was so terrified, so certain, so utterly certain of what was coming, he knew that moment would overwhelm him. He wasn't ready.

nSo, cupping her ass, then stroking his hand down her thigh, he kissed his way down her neck, laying his tongue against the mark, inhaling her, then using one hand to keep her gently pressed against the wall he dropped lower, finding first one nipple, then the other, rolling his tongue against them, sucking and opening his mouth over them.

nShe sighed and buried her fingers in his hair, then clutched at his shoulders when he dropped lower, kissing the space between her breasts, licking her ribs, diving his tongue into her navel. And he stopped there, kneeling before her. Let her leg drop, and he stopped.

nHands on her hips, he laid his forehead on her stomach and just… rested.

nHer chest rose and fell quickly, but she swallowed, bringing her arms around to hold his head.

"Reth?

"

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"I vow to you,

" he whispered, laying a kiss on her belly,

"No matter where you are, no matter what lies before you, I will stand for you.

"

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"Reth, I—

"

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"My Kingdom, my body, my life… My last breath for yours.

"

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"Reth, stop, you don't need to—

"

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"The very last drop of my blood, so that yours might not be spilled.

"

nA tiny sob caught in her throat and she clung to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

nHe laid another kiss at her stomach and inhaled.

"And if ever I should… should leave you, if ever you should lose me… I will call down the Creator Himself to protect you and watch over our child.

"

nShe shook once.

nHe took his head from her stomach and looked up then into her shining eyes.

"Mine,

" he whispered. Then he kissed her stomach again.

"You too, little one.

"

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"Oh, Reth, I love you so much,

" she cried, pulling at him to bring him up. And with a final kiss on her belly, with his hands trailing up the back of her thighs, he finally let himself stand and reach for her. He pulled her knee to his hip again and found her, right there, ready, so ready for him.

nAnd before he moved to take her, he laid his lips on hers and said,

"The Creator is my witness, Elia, I will never love another.

"

nThen, his body shuddering, squeezing his eyes shut against the urge to weep, fingers digging into her thigh, and at her waist, he finally took her.

nAnd when she cried out and dropped her head back, giving him her throat again, he took that too—tenderly, so tenderly. All of her open to him.

nAnd he thanked God for her trust.

n*****

nELIA

nWhen he'd pressed her into the wall, gasping her name in that tortured rasp, her heart sped up and desire spiraled through her.

nShe was desperate for him, desperate to be close, as close as two people could be. To reassure herself that he was still there. He'd taken her full attention, made her ache for him, then he'd dropped to his knees and given her that vow.

nSeeing him that way... so earnest, so determined... and so broken himself... it had almost broken her. Everything in her cried out to be joined with him, and she pulled him to his feet, aching with need.

nWhen he rose and pressed her in, took her body with his, her entire skin crackled with heat and electricity. She'd almost come right there, and as he continued his attentions, she was left gasping.

nShe clung, and cried his name, her fingers digging into his shoulders. But, far from the frenzied coupling she'd expected, Reth just sighed her name and rolled against her. He kissed her lips softly, combed her hair back from her face, then kissed her again, and rolled against her again.

nAnd again.

nWhen her mouth fell open, he took it, his tongue dancing against hers. And when he found her, head back, he laid his lips to her neck, the flat of his tongue against her skin, and he groaned her name.

nHe was trembling—but not with restraint, she realized. With fear.

nHe couldn't stop whispering her name, like a prayer, a plea. And even when he thrust, it was a long slow slide, as if he stroked her, inside and out.

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"My love,

" he whispered.

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"Reth, are—

"

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"I love you.

" Pinned between him and the wall, she could barely move, but he did the moving for both of them.

"I love you, Elia.

"

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"Reth!

"

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"They can fight us, love. They can even tear us apart. But they cannot take that. They cannot take love. They cannot make it cold. They cannot kill my heart for you.

"

nShe sobbed and kissed him, pulling him closer as he thrust again, long and slow, steadily holding her at the peak.

nThe gentleness in him, the way his fingers fluttered against her skin, and his lips traced her. The rasp of his voice—so full of emotion and wanting, he could barely contain it. The roll of his hips the slide of his warmth against hers—everything conspired to break down the wall she'd tried to keep up, to keep herself focused on the task.

nAnd when he finally lifted her so they were face to face, urging her to lock her ankles at his back, he'd opened his eyes and locked on hers.

nWide-eyed and overwhelmed by his gentle but insistent loving, Elia held Reth's face as he rocked into her again, and again, his eyes—pained, yet glowing with love—never leaving hers.

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