by C. A. Szarek
Lucan had broken the spell on it.
Anyone could handle it, but she’d always be overprotective of it. She never let it far from her side.
Watching the boy take down something so powerful Hadrian had been afraid to try was amazing.
It’d been effortless for the boy.
What a relief to have Lucan fighting for the right side. Using his magic whenever asked, he was also a tremendous help at repairing Tarvis. Everyone, no matter their station, pitched in.
But with the king leading the charge and performing work that was very much below his station, no one else complained.
King Nathal really was a great man. He’d summoned additional knights from Terraquist, replaced all the servants at Castle Lenore and filled Uncle Everett’s personal guard.
Most of her aunt and uncle’s staff had come back with the rest of the people of the Province when they’d come out of hiding, but quite a few had been killed by Varthan.
Cera grimaced.
So many deaths.
King Nathal had immediately sent some men to hunt down all the other shades and anyone loyal to Varthan, vowing they’d be dealt with.
Tristan played an intricate part in identifying them all, but it pained him. He was a healer, and he didn’t want more death, however justified; but they had to keep Varthan’s army from trying to avenge him.
When word of who’d killed him got out, they’d come after Lucan.
“Cera, love?”
She smiled at Aunt Em, pushing away pain at the reminder of her mother. It wasn’t her aunt’s fault she resembled her mother so much. They’d been identical twins. “Yes, Aunt Em?”
Her aunt reached for her hand. “I want you to go to your chamber and rest.”
“I will in a bit.” Cera fought a yawn, studying her aunt. She had to be exhausted. They’d been straightening and cleaning the great hall, clearing it of all signs of Varthan and his shades. Her aunt had been scrubbing floors next to the maids. “You should rest as well, Auntie.”
Aunt Em gave a brilliant smile that reminded her so much of her mother and her sister, Kait, she couldn’t blink the tears away fast enough.
“You admonish me?” Her tone was amused.
Cera pushed away her sadness, not wanting her aunt to sense it. “Avery tells me I’m bossy.” She forced a smile.
“My son is still lacking in manners at times, then.” Aunt Em winked.
“Lady Lenore.” Gamel’s father, Bannet, came rushing to them, two worried maids on his heels.
“Yes, Bannet?” Aunt Em asked.
“I’m sorry, but we have need of you, milady.” The head steward shot an apologetic glance to Cera, but she smiled.
“All right, what is it?” Aunt Em’s voice was calm, causing the flustered steward to relax.
They left then, heading out of the great hall, his arms gesturing wildly as he told her aunt the problem.
Cera shook her head and let out a low laugh. Whatever it was, it’d be fine.
Bannet had always been good at over-reacting.
“Here, love.” Jorrin’s voice took her from the scene and she looked up at him in appreciation of the flask he pressed into her hand.
Taking a sip of sweet wine, she closed her eyes as it quenched her dry throat. The warmth hit her belly pleasantly and loosened her tight limbs. “Thank you.” Cera leaned into him as he slid onto the bench next to her.
“Any time.” He kissed her cheek and threw his arm around her shoulders.
She glanced at him.
When would they have time alone?
Cera wanted his arms around her and his lips somewhere other than on her cheek. She’d like his lips everywhere other than her cheek, like they’d been when they made love by the ruins.
Her body warmed, and she shifted against him.
Jorrin quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing.
She’d been transparent enough. Cera wanted him again.
“His energy is exhausting.” Jorrin gestured to the king, whose head was bent in discussion with Lords Dagget, Gallard and her uncle at the opposite end of the great hall. “No wonder he’s so widely feared in battle.”
Cera laughed. “But look at it this way; we’ll be headed out soon.”
“I know.” Jorrin sighed.
She shot him a sharp look. “Don’t you want to go to Terraquist?”
Jorrin hesitated, and her heart pounded.
Is he going to leave me?
“The king said we’ll go,” he said finally.
“But you don’t want to.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Not what I meant, love. We’ll go to Terraquist when we’re finished helping your aunt and uncle.”
She gave him a long look and swallowed hard to keep tears at bay.
What if he didn’t want to stay with her?
“I think I’m going to head to my room.” Cera’s heart dropped to her stomach.
“I’ll walk you to it,” Jorrin said, rising and offering his hand. He met her eyes and smiled again, kissing her quickly.
She leaned into him when he threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side as they walked.
“Where’s Trikser?” Jorrin looked around.
“Hunting, I think. I let him outside. He needed to run,” Cera said, but her mind raced.
What if Jorrin left her?
Did he want to?
He loved her, didn’t he?
They’d never discussed a future.
She had to get back to Greenwald; she was the only one who could run her Province. It was hers to care for, like its people, but could she ask Jorrin to be by her side?
Cera wanted nothing more.
They didn’t speak as they headed to the room she’d always occupied when staying with her aunt and uncle.
Jorrin opened the door, pausing so she could enter.
Turning to face him just inside the doorway, Cera tried not to stare. She reached for his hand, heart pounding so hard there was no doubt he could hear it. “Don’t go,” she whispered.
His eyes widened as she tugged his hand.
Nodding for effect, she stepped back, pulling him into the room.
“Are you sure, love? The others . . .”
“Shut the door,” Cera ordered.
She wanted to be with him again.
Needed him.
Didn’t want Jorrin to leave her . . . ever.
As soon as he’d latched and locked the door, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.
His kiss tasted like the wine they’d shared in the great hall.
Jorrin groaned and yanked her tight to his chest.
Cera melted into him, sinking her hands into his hair, their tongues dancing in their joined mouths.
He tugged at the ties on her jerkin as his kisses covered her face and trailed down her neck. Warmth unfurled in her belly and settled between her legs, leaving her throbbing. Heat consumed her, body on fire for more. A pleasant heaviness settled over her, and Cera had to clutch his tunic to stay upright.
She shrugged out of her jerkin, trying not to stumble when he released her. Panting, she managed to smile as Jorrin slipped his tunic off and threw it down.
His naked chest amazed her as always, and Cera stared.
She needed to touch him.
“I want to touch you, too,” Jorrin whispered, pulling her back into his arms.
Had she spoken aloud, or was he responding to her thought?
She buried her face against his neck, shivering against the warmth of his body, as well as anticipating his words.
Cera smiled as he pushed her upright with gentle hands and reached for her tunic. He helped her out of it, and soon they were both naked from the waist up.
Jorrin stared.
Courage faltering, she started to rush back into his arms.
“No.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Let me look at you. There wasn’t enough
light at the ruins.”
She nodded, her cheeks burning.
“You’re so beautiful.”
He took a step toward her and tilted her face up to meet his gaze, claiming her mouth in a tender kiss that made her quiver all over.
She sank back against his chest, and Jorrin groaned when their skin met. He trembled against her.
So warm and so right.
Better than the first time.
Her breasts pressed into his chest and he held her, standing very still. “I need a minute, love. I want you so much.” They swayed in place as he plastered her to him. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, moving downward after a moment.
Jorrin spread wet warm kisses along her jaw line and down the hollow of her throat on the way to her collar bone.
Moaning, Cera buried her hands in his dark hair, tilting her head back to allow him better access. She absently traced an outline up his tapered ear with her fingertip.
He shivered again, tightening his arms around her. He nipped and kissed across her shoulders. The trail of fire he left in the wake of his lips made her burn.
She leaned into him, crying out softly when he kissed her lower, cupping her breasts gently before enclosing his mouth over a nipple. He added his tongue to the kisses and she melted, legs wobbling. Need threatened to consume her.
Running her hands over his chest and back, Cera crushed her mouth into his when he came back to her face. The kiss was demanding, and she met the thrusts of Jorrin’s tongue with her own, exploring his mouth as he plundered hers. It left them both shaking as their eyes met.
“When you touch me, I can’t think,” he said.
Cera smiled and tugged at his belt.
He gasped as her hand dipped below his waistband, her fingertips brushing his erection. She opened his breeches and started to tug them down. “I want to see you, Jorrin. I didn’t get a good enough look, either.”
“The feeling is mutual, love.” He pushed her breeches off her hips after stepping out of his own.
Undergarments slid to the floor. They were both naked; they stood back, openly staring at each other.
Cera licked her lips, and Jorrin chuckled. Her cheeks blazed.
What’s wrong with me?
She’d already been with him.
Why was her stomach jumping, her heart skipping?
While making love one time didn’t make her an expert, she knew Jorrin loved her, wanted her. They made each other feel good.
The embarrassment was annoying.
Jorrin’s beautiful defined muscles flexed as if they appreciated her scrutiny and her eyes traveled down to the tight bands of muscle covering his stomach.
She ached to trace every line with her fingers, like she had before, to drag her tongue along every muscle like he had done to her.
His proudly jutting erection was gorgeous, like the rest of him.
The room was lit by the pleasant glow of many candles, and Jorrin looked even larger than he had the night by the ruins, but he hadn’t hurt her when she’d given him her innocence.
He wouldn’t hurt her now.
Her eyes landed on his muscular thighs and she shuddered as she remembered their legs entwined.
“Like what you see, love?” he teased. “I know I do.” Jorrin’s blue eyes darkened with passion, and she blushed from head to toe.
****
Jorrin’s heart pounded. He wanted her so badly he shook from desire, and he hadn’t even touched her yet. Just because he’d taken her once didn’t mean she needed him rough and raw. He needed to take it slow until her body was used to making love.
Candles were worth ten times their weight in gold. He’d tasted her, felt her, and seen her, but not like this. Light made him appreciate the woman he’d fallen in love with even more.
Cera was perfect, from the size of her breasts to her slender waist, subtly curved hips and long legs. His gaze fell below her waist and he shivered as he saw the dark red curls at the juncture of her thighs. He wanted to get his hands there. Hell, Jorrin wanted to get his lips and tongue there again. He remembered her taste and craved her.
He opened his arms and she came back to him. Jorrin groaned as her heated skin touched him from head to toe.
Her hips brushed his, breasts flattened against his chest and his arousal pressed into her, cradled flush at her pelvis.
She caressed his back with light gentle touches; he shuddered and could’ve come undone right then and there.
Sweeping her up into his arms, Jorrin laid her on the large bed. He kissed her deeply as he followed her down, hands roaming her body.
Cera opened her thighs when his fingertips brushed her sex, playing in the soft curls there. After few gentle caresses, she whimpered, lifting her hips with a demand for more.
He slipped a finger inside, biting back a groan.
She was already wet for him.
It fired his blood to know no one else had ever touched her like this.
No one else ever will, either.
Her hand brushed his erection, and he moaned.
She yanked it back. “Did I hurt you?”
“Not at all, love.” Jorrin lay on his side next to her. “But if you do that again, I won’t last without you much longer.”
“Then don’t.” Cera boldly encircled him with her hand, her gray eyes enticing.
He groaned, pushing her down into the bed, kissing her hard. She was right there with him, their tongues dueling.
Jorrin knocked her legs apart and Cera lifted her hips, begging for his touch.
He trailed kisses down her neck, heading to her breasts. Paying special attention to them, Jorrin encircled each nipple with his tongue before suckling.
The pleasure he made her feel rolled over his magic, threatening to blow the top off his erection.
She was bolder than their first time, moving into his mouth and fingers, letting her body tell him where she wanted to be touched. Jorrin followed her every wish, his blood singing.
When he kissed her inner thighs, she writhed, screaming his name. He brought her close with his mouth, sucking her most sensitive spot and laving it with his tongue.
Burying her hands in his hair, she arched her back and tugged, but he didn’t care if she yanked it out by the root.
Cera was gorgeous with her head thrown back in passion, her skin flushed pink and her gray eyes heavy-lidded. Her red curls were spread wide, covering the entire pillow.
His manhood throbbed even more, and he swallowed hard.
When her thighs shook and her hips lifted of their own accord, he pulled away. His love cried out in frustration and glared, but Jorrin impeded her orgasm because he needed to feel her clench around him when she came.
He shot up her body and took her mouth, filling her sex with a full stroke that made her whimper against his kiss.
She gasped, panting into his chest, as her pleasure broke, rolling over his magic with his first thrust.
Jorrin paused as her contractions squeezed his arousal. She was wet, hot and tight, and if he moved, it’d be over.
Cera met his eyes, shifting her hips. Tilting up, she took him deeper, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“I need a minute, love,” he breathed.
Nodding, she pulled his face down, spreading tender kisses all over his mouth.
“Did I hurt you?” Jorrin asked, his chest brushing her dusky peaked nipples. “I joined us roughly.”
“No, but I need you to move.” Cera pushed against him for effect.
Claiming her mouth, he groaned her name into their kiss, pulling back to propel forward hard. They fell into a frantic rhythm.
He tried to go slow, but Cera wasn’t having it.
Nails sinking into his lower back and rear end, she urged him even faster.
Jorrin gave her what she wanted, taking them higher and higher.
Sweat covered them both as they moved together, and his spine tingled. He wa
s close, but he wanted her to fall over the edge with him.
He didn’t have to wait long. He pulled back and shoved forward, Cera gripping his arms and throwing her head back on a moan. She stiffened, crying his name.
Jorrin held her, watching her shatter completely, a wave of pleasure washing over them both that he felt, both physically and magically.
Overwhelming in its intensity, it was different than before.
He felt Cera absolutely.
Her whole body contracted.
Pleasure assailed him.
Cera’s thighs shook around his waist and he held her close as he thrust forward one last time. Jorrin’s body jolted, her name fell from his lips. Squeezing her against him, he buried his face in her neck as his erection jerked inside her, spurting his release.
She trembled in his arms as the aftershock of passion slid over them both.
He collapsed in her arms, pressing a tender kiss to her lips. “I love you.”
Jorrin wanted to explain what had happened with his magic. Making love had never been so intense . . . more than just the love they shared, but no words would form to explain properly. Rolling onto his back, he pulled her into his arms. He needed her as close as he could get her.
“I love you, too, Jorrin.” Cera snuggled into his side, resting her head on his chest.
Letting his eyes slip closed, he reveled in the thrumming of her heartbeat as it slowed from its frantic pace. He absently caressed her back and tucked his other arm behind his head.
“Jorrin?”
“Hmmm?” he returned, not opening his eyes.
“It is always like this?” Cera blushed prettily when he finally met her gaze.
“What, love?”
“You know, making love . . . is it always . . .”
“Always what, love?” he asked, amused.
“So wonderful . . .”
Smiling, his heartbeat quickened. “No one has ever made me feel like you do, Cera. The night at the ruins, as well as this time.”
“Have there been . . . a lot of . . . others?” Her brows drawn tight, a frown marring her beautiful face.
Jorrin chuckled and she glared. “No, love. A few.”
No one but her mattered.
Cera harrumphed.
Cupping her face, he looked deep into her eyes. “I’ve never told another woman I loved her, Cera. Just you. Only you. Always. And I tell you truly that I’ve been with others, but you and I made love in the true sense of it.”