Warm, fiery, swirling with his ice, making the contrast burn with heat.
His hands skim my bare skin now, but he’s not only touching my body.
As he comes closer, he’s also touching my soul.
I’ve never let anyone get close to me like this, but with him, I can’t help it.
He’s kind and protective and moral. And above all, he’s always in control—of himself, of any situation, of his need to attack—though he is just as enraged as I am at the chaos in this world.
When I’m with him, I’m soothed inside and it feels like I can breathe.
“Avery,” he says, brushing my hair back, the tips of his fingers making my scalp tingle as he runs them through my hair. “So beautiful.” He kisses my forehead, but it’s sensual this time, a promise of the bond about to be fulfilled.
And I want it. I want the power to protect him. I want to stay with him. I want to fight by his side. I don’t care if it’s in this world or any other.
Every day I’m with him, I’m more certain I’ll always want him by my side.
I can feel it deep in my soul, my magic singing alongside his with perfect resonance.
I just can’t resist it anymore.
“I want to bond with you,” he says, brushing my hair back, his expression heated, his eyes intense. His face has never looked more handsome but mostly because I have feelings for him now. “I want everything.”
“I want it too,” I gasp back, leaning in as he moves down to kiss along my neck, leaving searing little sparks.
I arch as he unbuttons my pants and helps me kick out of them. He picks me up, walking me to my bedroom and tossing me gently on the bed before he quickly removes the rest of his clothing.
Then stands before me, utterly naked.
Tall, handsome, perfect. Human because he’s still wearing suppressors, but I can still see every version of who he is when I look into his face.
He smiles as he gets onto the bed with me, both of us naked and vulnerable, and the air heats as everything seems to slow down.
His hands entwine with mine as he comes over me, kissing me as his body covers me completely.
Everywhere his skin touches mine, I’m burning. Burning in a way that I never want to stop.
I love him, I think, though the thought amazes me.
I’ve shut my heart off to love for so long.
But as he kisses me, his tongue swiping deep, his entire body gentle as he uses it not just to please me, but to show me how he feels about me, I’m glad I have opened up.
There’s more to life than the darkness. It’s been so long since I enjoyed the light.
And it’s true that bad people are everywhere, doing bad things, but tonight I’m just here with my love.
Being alive.
“You’re perfect, Avery,” he says, nipping down my chest to kiss each of my nipples, gently taking one in his mouth and working it into a tortured peak as I writhe with pent-up tension. “You’re everything I ever imagined as my match.”
A tiny flare of doubt lights in me as I think of his words to the other fae about what would happen if I were a fire fae.
But that can’t be possible, I think, arching back into the covers as he releases my hands and moves down my body, kissing me everywhere. My ribs, my sides, my hips, the sides of my belly, the sensitive area where my hip meets my thigh.
He’s learning everything about me, silent and focused, but whenever his eyes meet mine, they’re burning like I am inside.
This man wants all of me, I think breathlessly. He’ll never settle until he knows all of my body and heart.
It’s a scary thought but also comforting because I never want to be let out of his arms.
He moves down, kissing, smoothing his strong hands along my thighs until he’s positioned between my legs, smiling up at me wickedly. “May I?”
He looks like he’s asking for the highest honor, and I can only groan and nod yes as I arch back, my entire body tingling in anticipation.
He starts gently, kissing me over my center, and I jerk up, though his hands find mine and gently pull them down. He’s keeping me calm and able to feel the pleasure of his tongue sliding slowly down my slit, exploring my sensitive folds, then coming up to gently flick at my clit, making me almost shoot over the edge in a second.
I bite back a moan as I try to hold on, never wanting this to end.
“Relax, Avery,” he says, his breath tickling my sex, the slight stubble of his jaw making me only that much more sensitive.
The idea of Brett with stubble just makes him so human, but when I look down into those beautiful eyes, I know there’s magic in those depths.
And when he begins to kiss me again, as if he’s worshipping me, I can’t stop the pleasure from welling up inside me, bursting out as I let out a cry of sheer joy.
It feels so good rolling over me, shaking me to my core, my entire body rocked with each wave, taking me higher as I close my eyes, and even then, I feel our bond.
It pulls us tighter in every moment, and as I hear him murmuring quiet encouragement through my orgasm, I open my eyes. The feeling of him watching me is even more intense.
“I want to be with you forever, princess,” he says gently. “I want to protect you and your kingdom for the rest of your life. So please, soul bond with me.”
I don’t even really know what he’s entreating, but I can only nod, nearly sobbing from the pleasure as he starts kissing my sex again.
I’ve never felt worshipped like this. Never felt I could make myself so vulnerable and be so loved.
Never thought I would be able to trust someone.
Now I don’t know what I would do without him by my side. And the thought terrifies me.
But not enough to distract me from the heated, incredible feeling of his tongue expertly bringing me close to orgasm again.
“Brett, you really do overdo everything,” I gasp out, writhing against the sheer strength of the tension inside. My fingers and toes are tingling, and when he licks straight over me, I can barely remember how to think.
“You like that about me,” he says. “You like how I can take care of you. You like that I’m too much.” His grin is confident, wicked, and I can only imagine how many women have wanted him for their own, even in his world.
But he has eyes only for me, and the thought is hauntingly wonderful as my eyes roll back in my head from another strong release, this time with him lightly sucking my clit.
As waves of pleasure roll through me, I can’t help but wonder what life would be like with this on the table at all times. This intimacy, this sweetness, this sensuality.
If this is the power of a soul bond, I should have grabbed him the moment he showed up.
“Avery,” he says, watching in awe as I finish orgasming, a trembling, flushing mess.
My hair is tousled, my makeup is mussed, and I can tell from the look in his eyes that I’m still the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
I hadn’t actually believed a man could look at a woman like that.
That he would want to care for her and want to stay. And never want to hurt her.
Suddenly, I’m so grateful to him for his patience in being by my side. For not letting me push him away. For always being willing to be vulnerable.
I reach out my arms for him because I can’t bear for him to not be close any longer.
He surges forward, his body covering mine, his hard, warm length pressing urgently to my thighs, making me even wetter.
He kisses me desperately, as though his life depends on it, and I kiss him back, winding my hands into his hair.
I taste myself on my lips, and it turns me on furiously, knowing how hard he made me come, knowing he’s the only one who could.
He pulls back, gasping, and looks down between us where we could be joined in a moment.
“Do you want me to use protection?”
I shake my head. “No.” I can’t imagine being separate from my bond. “Do you need
to?”
He shakes his head. “We do not pass illness, and I cannot make you with child unless you wish it. It’s just how fairies work. Though, I can explain later—”
“Then explain later,” I say breathlessly, thrusting my hips wildly against him, trying to tempt him toward what I want. He’s so hard, so long, so delicious. But more than anything, I just want to be close.
I want to see his face when we join.
He gently parts my legs, and I watch him, chest heaving.
God, he’s beautiful, his eyes tense with concern as he positions himself at my entrance.
Even he looks worried about the fit.
I just shake my head. “You couldn’t hurt me. You were made for me.” I almost gasp at the shock of hearing my own words, but I know them to be true.
He stares at me in shock as well, but then his lips slowly turn up and he’s beaming. I can almost feel his glow.
His wings shoot out from his back, reaching to the ceiling, and he gives me an apologetic look.
“The apartment above me is empty,” I say, aching so to have him that I can’t even breathe right. His hard length is so close to my sex. I crave him more than I crave my next breath. “It’s okay… to be yourself.”
He smiles and leans down to kiss me again, then my neck, keeping our bodies close. “I can’t help it, so I suppose that’s a good thing.”
His ears aren’t out, nor his hair, but his wings are so beautiful I can barely stand to look at them. Flying out behind him in light-blue flames, powerful and delicate and drawing out the magic in me.
Then he slowly pushes inside me, and I moan as I let him in. I have to take deep breaths to relax, but every time I tense, he waits, propped on his forearms, watching me in concern, his every move about my comfort.
Finally, he’s all the way inside me, and though it’s incredibly tight and sensitive, it’s also the best feeling in the world when he props himself above me on his hands and I can look up at him.
His hips melded to mine, his beautiful wings flying up to the ceiling, and now his hair falling over his shoulders, his ears lengthening.
His features are almost too beautiful.
But not for me. I put a hand up to brush his hair back, marveling at its length.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “But I’m most myself when I’m with you. In the moment, I am defenseless. I can’t hide. I can’t run. I can’t suppress. Avery, I give you everything that I am.”
I nod, and I can feel something in me fighting to get out as he begins to slowly move.
Good God, I think, as fire shoots through me, the tension in my body going through the roof with just one stroke.
It’s slightly painful because it’s my first time, but he keeps me wet and ready, stroking my clit with one of his hands, kissing my neck, and slowly moving in and out. In and out.
I can’t breathe because of the fire inside me, because of the way something is trying to get out. Because of the way I know I’m still not with him all the way because there’s a part of me neither of us knows yet.
But all I can think of is the pleasure, the way nothing feels as good as him seated deep inside me, making us one, our bond swirling in the air, our bodies tight with oncoming pleasure.
And then I feel it happen. Feel my heart open and something rushing out. But when I sense what it is, I immediately stop it, push it back.
I don’t want him to see it. I don’t want to face his reaction, even if there is only a tiny chance of him being upset.
Not at this moment when I’m realizing I’m utterly in love with him. Not when my body is poised on the peak of ecstasy and his beauty is all I want to see.
So I simply keep smiling up at him, thrusting my hips up to meet his, enjoying the incredible pleasure between us.
And the love.
My body, my bond, all of me wants him.
Even if I can’t show him my true form.
“Is something wrong?” He pauses, looking down at me, and my heart twinges at the sweetness of him always paying such close attention to my feelings.
“I’m fine,” I say, running my hands over his shoulders, down his back, soothing him and calming myself.
Calling me back to the moment.
It doesn’t matter what I am. I can work that out later.
Right now, he’s here with me, making love to me, and I just want to see him lose himself to pleasure in my arms.
I want it more than anything I ever wanted in my life.
I nod eagerly. “I’m fine. It’s just… the first time, you know.”
“Let me know if there’s anything you need from me. If you’re sore, I can stop at any time.”
I nod again and he’s satisfied, and I let out a little mewl as he moves, swirling himself slightly in my wet heat.
God, that feels amazing against a part of myself I didn’t know I had.
I’m close now, so close, and he’s murmuring sweet words about how much he adores me, even as he strokes in and out, his hard, masculine body taking me closer to the edge.
And our bond draws us even tighter than before.
“Avery, I’ll never leave you,” he says when we’re so close to the edge I don’t think we can make it any longer.
“Yes,” I say, thrusting up against him. “Yes.”
“I love you,” he says as he presses deep inside me, and I come violently, my whole body clenching, drawing out his release as well.
He gasps, hunching over me, shoulder muscles rippling, arms tightening, his cock jerking, making the waves of my release that much more sensitive.
He’s breathing hard, and I watch his face in wonder as waves of pleasure wash over me, bathing me in warmth, surging through my body from head to toe, everywhere that possesses any blood.
His bond is around me, inside me, intertwining with mine. I can sense it; I can even feel our colors.
Icy blue and fiery red.
He leans down to kiss me, still inside me, and we both breathe hard for a moment, pressing our lips together and then gently stroking one another with our tongues as if trying to soothe and connect after something so intense.
When he finally pulls back to look at me, he smiles, but there is hesitance in his eyes. He props himself up on his hands. “You didn’t awaken.”
I frown, pushing up on my elbows as he gently pulls out, then goes to grab a towel and comes back to carefully clean me.
I could cry he’s so gentle sometimes.
When I’m clean and cared for, he helps me pull my clothes on and then pulls on a pair of lounge pants to cover his bottom half.
He gets on the bed with me, then rests on his side, propped up on one elbow.
I’m finally lucid enough from orgasm to realize his hair and wings are gone.
He’s the Brett I’m most familiar with once again. Though, the other one, that magnificent warrior who was atop me, is something I can’t wait to see again.
My mind wanders back to my magic, and I try to push it out of my mind.
I don’t want it to ruin this moment.
He reaches out, brushing a hair off my forehead because I’m flat on my back, still too tired to breathe.
I did have three orgasms.
I still can’t believe this happened.
“You didn’t manifest when we bonded,” he says again, this time more softly. “I wonder why.”
My lips press together because I don’t want to tell him. My heart did surge toward him, and I think I could have fully manifested if only I wasn’t a fire fae.
He’s watching me, and as if he can see my distress, concern lights his eyes. “Did you enjoy everything we were doing? Did I hurt you in any way?”
I shake my head. “No. I just… Maybe I need more time.”
He smiles, and I can tell he’s trying to be okay with the situation. But I don’t know what it means to him that my magic didn’t come out.
“I understand,” he says finally. “As long as you let me know if there’s anything you don’
t like. Anything you want me to do differently.”
I shake my head. “This is all just so new to me. Who knows how long it might take for my fae to come out?”
He nods, but his expression is hesitant now as he relaxes down on the bed. “As long as you’re sure you will tell me. It would kill me to be unaware of something paining you, as you are my soul bond. My life.”
I nod, feeling slightly guilty. But after what just happened, I can’t bear to face any rejection in his eyes.
And I’m just insecure enough that I can’t forget that conversation I heard through his door.
And how he said I couldn’t possibly be a fire fae, as if it were the worst thing that could happen.
He watches me for another moment, and I can tell I’m holding back slightly in my heart.
But then he opens his arms for me, and I go into them. And as we relax back into the blankets, listening to each other’s heartbeats, I have to believe everything is going to be fine.
I might just need to go down and ask the other fae a few questions.
Like how to tell my soul bond I’m the opposite of what he wants.
23
Avery
I know from experience that Brett sleeps like a baby most mornings, so I quietly leave the room early, knowing it should be fine since I’m just going to head downstairs.
I should be back before he even wakes up.
I leave a little note on the kitchen counter just so he knows where I am, because I know he never checks his phone.
I walk downstairs and knock quietly on the fae’s door and bite my lip when Flynn opens it, looking confused.
He stares past me. “Where is Brett?” He blinks. “Didn’t you two bond last night?”
I stare at him. “How did you know that?”
He flushes, his cheeks matching his red hair. “There was a surge of fire magic.” He opens the door for me to come in. “How did he take the news?”
I’m almost relieved that he brought it up before I did. I sit down on a couch, running my hand through my hair. “How long have you known I was a fire fae?”
Flynn swallows, taking a seat across from me. “From the first moment we met.”
I nod. “But Brett can’t see it?”
Found by Frost: Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds Book 1 Page 15