ELRETH

Tangled together on the lounge in the Great Room, Elreth almost groaned with sheer satisfaction. Her body hummed and yet she felt more relaxed than she had in weeks.

Her mate was back. He was awake and in love and… the cloud that had followed him since he'd lost his mother had blown away.

She knew it would return, but in that moment, for those minutes they'd had… he was back and her heart celebrated.

He'd slumped over her, his face buried in her neck, his arms braced on the lounge below her to stop himself from suffocating her. But she loved his weight on her and pulled him down, clutched his shoulders and held him there.

Neither of them spoke.

She wasn't sure if Aaryn dozed or only found peace, but she could feel the tension easing out of him as his breath slowed, then eased, right alongside hers.

Closing her eyes and smiling to herself, she examined her body—warm and pressed down into the lounge by his weight. Her limbs still tingled and hummed in the afterglow of her climax. Everything at her core throbbed deliciously.

She felt safe and warm and… happy.

All the problems and tensions of the world fluttered at the back of her mind, but she ignored them. They would still be there in an hour or two when she no longer felt this languid satisfaction. They would still be there tomorrow when a new challenge cropped up, or Aaryn's darkness came back, or… or whatever was going to happen. But for those minutes, laying there with her mate covering her like a blanket, Elreth refused to feel them.

Slowly, she trailed her hand up his back, then back down, her fingers following the ripple of muscles, the dip that ran the length of his spine. She smiled and her belly flooded with heat—again—as her mind flashed images of him standing before her naked, his eyes latched on hers and that wicked smile…

Then he sighed deeply. He didn't move his face from her neck, but mumbled,

"That feels wonderful.

"

"Good,

" she whispered, smiling, and kept stroking, slowly, up and down, enjoying the weight of him on her and wishing they could simply lock the cave door and live this way. Every day. Every moment.

Then Aaryn took a deep breath and pushed himself up to prop on one elbow and meet her eyes. She could still reach his sides, so she trailed her hands up and down those instead, the ladders of muscle that rippled under his ribs as he stared into her eyes.

"That is a gift,

" he said, searching her eyes.

"Being able to do that, to love it. To feel you like that—see you like that. It's… Elreth, you have no idea how hot you are.

"

"Pretty sure you're biased,

" she said, grinning.

He shook his head, his face serious.

"I was thinking about it just now… how I get to be the only one who ever sees that side of you. That's… that's a privilege, El,

" he said uncertainly.

She blinked, a little shocked.

"Well… thanks.

"

"I mean it.

"

"I know.

"

He traced his free hand from her temple, down the side of her face, then up the line of her jaw.

"You're so strong, and so sure. I thought you were going to fight me tonight, and I was ready for it. I was going to make you submit,

" he said, his eyebrows popping up suggestively.

"But you just… gave in.

"

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks, but she knew she needed to be honest.

"I like it,

" she said quietly.

"I like seeing you take control. And I like… following you, in this. I mean, you know your way better, but it's more than that. I like giving myself up to you.

"

"Pretty sure you don't like it as much as I do,

" he said, watching his own hand as he traced the line down her neck to her breast, then circled her nipple with a fingertip. It hardened under his touch and his brows rose again.

"Well, hello, there.

"

Elreth stretched and shook a little bit as he leaned down and softly took the little peak in his mouth, gently. But it pinched and pulled at that place deep in her belly.

"Stop!

" she said, pushing him off, giggling.

"Unless you want me to get me started again.

"

Aaryn's eyes snapped up to meet hers again, flashing.

Elreth was shocked.

"Already?

"

"I'm game to try if you are,

" he growled, and before Elreth could say anything, he pushed up to sit, pulling her up with him until his back rested on the back of the lounge and she faced him, straddling his thighs.

He'd been soft within her, about to slide from her, but she felt him coming alive again as she settled into his lap and bit her lip, clenching her muscles experimentally.

Aaryn's head tipped back onto the lounge and he groaned.

"Holy **, El.

"

"You did something to me,

" she murmured, a little shocked at how quickly her own fire was coming back to life.

"What did you do to me. It's like… it's a hunger, Aaryn. I've never been hungry for another person in my life. But you make me hungry. You make me ache, in the best way.

"

He growled and pulled her down into a kiss, his hips already rolling, already moving within her. She was sensitive because of her orgasm so at times it was almost too much, her breath catching, her body twitching. But as Aaryn grasped her hips and began to move her slowly, grinding, rocking, but no rush—a gentle meeting at first, and slow retreat, then returning to each other slow, but insistent.

Elreth leaned over him, gripping the back of the lounge, letting their movement bring their lips together, then apart, her lips loose and full, swollen from all the earlier kissing. Her breasts bobbed, right under his chin and she felt like she should have been embarrassed, but all she could find within herself was stunned appreciation for the incredible way he made her feel.

"I love you so much, Aaryn,

" she sighed.

His jaw was tightening already, and his fingers dug into her hips at the words, pulling her down and in so they both groaned at the increased pressure between them.

Elreth let her head sink back and swayed her hips, riding him, slowly leaning further away, seeking those flaring lights at the edge of her bloodstream that heralded the perfect angle, groaning when she found it and clinging to his shoulders as they moved together perfectly.

Then Aaryn dropped his head and latched onto her nipple, sucking and laving it with his tongue, and the fire that had been building within her roared to a bonfire.

And as she curled her arms around his neck and pulled him in, demanding that he not stop, she cried his name and shook her head. It wasn't enough. It was never going to be enough. He could take her to this peak over and over and over…

It would never be enough, because it was him. And with him, her mate, the other half of her soul, she always wanted more.

Always.

*****

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