And in coming back together, Tanner and I proved that we value love.
He looks over at me, and every time his eyes rest on mine, I can sense relief there that I’m still with him. “I really am sorry about the Bill thing.”
I shrug one shoulder. “He deserved it. But next time—”
“I promise. I’ll tell you.” He sighs. “I just… In talking to my mom, I realized I have a habit of doing everything on my own.” He glances over. “You told me that as well, I think, during the fight.”
“Yes,” I say. “But I had already forgiven you.”
He sits up slightly. “Why?”
“I guess because when we love them, we accept everything about them. You’re stubborn and a bit thoughtless when you’re in ‘justice warrior’ mode. But I wouldn’t change that about you because you’ve been there for me so many times.”
He lets out a relieved breath. “I’m glad, but I really will try to do better.”
I stand up, coming over to straddle his lap, stroking his cheek gently. “You’re perfect as you are. I’m sorry I was so angry and too blind to see that Qualtechnics shouldn’t be my first priority.”
“I understand.”
“No, it’s just I gave up on having connections. A family. But the truth is Qualtechnics is just a corporation like any other, and I can’t fix everything. And I have something real here, an actual family, waiting for me to just see them.”
He nods. “Though, I want what you want, even if it means staying at Qualtechnics.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Now that I’ve tried being a fairy, I can’t imagine just doing HR work. Though, I’d still like to put in my two weeks’ notice and try to do what I can to make sure we hire someone good who will take care of the employees after I’m gone.”
“We can do that,” he says.
“So your kingdom…” I trail off, unsure what to say about it.
“They’re fine,” he says flatly. “I’m not sure what was going on with those letters. I’ll have to figure that out later. But my family is totally fine. In fact, they’re doing even better without me.”
“How?”
“I guess because they love me, and because I trained them, and they wanted to do well so I’m not stressed.”
My heart feels warm at the thought of Tanner having such wonderful people supporting him. I’m sure when I meet them, I’ll definitely form bonds.
“So yes, we should go there when we’re ready. Just so you can see my world and meet my family. But for now, I’m happy here in the human world with you.” He cups my cheek now, stroking one thumb lightly over my skin. “I want to go sit in the park with you. Throw balls for dogs with you. Make love to you. Laugh with you. Protect you forever.”
“Me too,” I say, smiling into his hand because his touch just feels so perfect. “This soul bond thing, it really is powerful, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but we’re also perfect together.”
“The VP and the commander?” I laugh. “I suppose so.” I clear my throat. “Speaking of which, your friends are still trying to find and protect other beacons, right?”
He nods.
“I think it might be fun to help out with that. Or any other way I can use my powers to help in this or any world.”
He grins. “Now you’re talking.” He pulls me in against his chest, keeping me close. “Honestly, as long as we have each other, there’s nothing we can’t do.”
The world seems bright now in a way it didn’t before.
The future is so open, and even though everything I thought mattered is lying in shambles behind me, somehow I know that was never truly my home.
I tried to fit in at Qualtechnics, but the truth is I never could quite get them to see the way I did.
Now my desire to actually help and protect people can be put to good use.
I pull back from him, taking in a big breath, then releasing it. “So what do you want to do now?”
“We’re good?” he asks, dark eyes sparkling.
“More than good,” I say. “We’re perfect.”
He grins. “Then maybe… for our bond…”
I smile, feeling warmth move through me as my bond swirls with his. After our fight, I long to connect with him.
To put all the danger, all the frustration, all of our stubbornness behind us.
And just hold him in my arms.
“Okay, big guy,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck as he stands, picking me up easily. “To the bedroom, commander of darkness!” I say, pointing my finger bossily.
“Aye-aye, princess,” he says as he carries me down the hall.
30
Eva
Tanner kisses me as he lays me back on the bed, and as every nerve in my body comes alive in anticipation, there’s no question in my mind.
He’s the only one for me, and we were always meant to be right here, right now, together.
He kisses along my jaw, making me arch back with a gasp, and nuzzles against me.
There’s something about how this big, powerful man can be so affectionate sometimes and so dangerous at others.
I don’t think I could love him any more if I tried.
“You’re all I want, all I need, Eva.” His voice is husky as he pins me with his gaze.
My entire body is already going hot and languid, and I’m wet and ready for more.
Every day, I know I will hunger for him.
And him for me.
He lowers his head and takes my mouth hungrily, fiercely, possessively, as if there was always a part of him holding back, unsure I would want him, but he’s utterly confident now.
And he should be.
As he kisses me, warming me down to my toes, all fear, worry, or stress that may be in the background of my mind is fading, replaced by a pure sense of need.
To be closer. To feel his love for me. To let my body feel everything.
To show him how much I want him by my side.
His tongue strokes mine, and I open more so he can go deeper. No matter how intensely he kisses, it’s never enough.
It only teases, makes me want him more, which is probably his intent based on the way he smiles against my lips when he pulls back and I let out a mewl of impatience.
He comes back, parting his lips with mine again, stroking in possessively, claiming me even deeper than ever before, and I kiss him back fiercely, letting him know he has a partner now.
Someone who can give as good as they take. Someone who won’t let anyone hurt him either.
God, it feels good to know I have the power to watch the one I love’s back.
My arms pull him closer, and he props himself up with only one elbow to use his other arm to hold me as well.
With my body pressed to him like this, I can feel every hard muscle, every bit of strength flexing and tensing against my softer body.
When he breaks away, we’re both panting, already so caught up in the moment it’s like I’m swimming in a haze of want.
I reach for his shirt, pulling it over his head to reveal a perfect, ripped abdomen, the hard body of a warrior.
He works on my shirt, gently pulling it over my head and tossing it to the side. Then our hands are hungrily pushing at each other’s pants, then underwear.
It feels like I’ll die if I can’t get him naked.
He easily unhooks and pushes aside my bra, the last thing between us, and moves both of his hands over my breasts, using his thumbs to gently please my already hard nipples.
At the same time, he comes down to softly kiss and nip at my neck, and shocks of pleasure make my legs tense and go rigid, but I slowly relax as I remember that no matter how strong this may feel, with him, it’s safe to just give in.
One hand leaves my breast to move down between my legs, stroking expertly as I writhe and gasp out his name.
He sits up slightly, his eyes intense as he moves harder, faster, pushing my body toward a release I couldn’t stop if I wanted to. And those blac
k eyes are burning me as he watches my every movement.”
“You’ll always be mine,” he says, his voice rough. “From now until forever.”
“Yes,” I reply, my voice almost inaudible above the sound of my heartbeat in my ears, the rising pleasure that’s about to explode in me.
“Eva, you’re so damn beautiful. Come for me, baby.”
His finger strokes just the right way over me, and I orgasm immediately. Tanner sits back, kneeling between my legs, one hand gently caressing my sex and the other cupping my hip as I buck and arch against the mattress.
Everything he does to me is just out of this world.
And when he comes down to take my mouth in a deep kiss again, I can’t help but feel the bright-blue light inside me glowing, connecting and sealing itself to the darkness I can now see swirling in the air around him.
Tanner’s hand is in my hair, angling my head so he can suck down my neck. My nerves, already sensitive from coming once, do backflips from his touch.
I put my hands on his shoulders, needing him more desperately than I ever have before. And when I gently push backward, Tanner can read where I’m going already, and he moves back and helps me switch position with him. Then he moves back against the headboard, sitting upright and smiling as I move onto his lap.
Even though he’s sitting and I’m on my knees over him, I feel so small compared to him.
Immediately, I position myself over his hard shaft, gently teasing him with how wet and ready he has made me.
He just watches me intently, but I see his dark hair grow longer, flowing over his shoulders and down his back, as his ears begin to extend.
So hot, but I don’t have time to think about it because I just want him inside me.
He’s so thick I have to go slowly, relaxing carefully as I lower down, taking him inside inch by painstaking inch.
Then I’m settled, full of a deep, satisfying sensation that is quickly escalating to intense, erotic pleasure.
“Take your time, princess,” he says, brushing some of my hair behind my ear. But even the brush of his hand over me just intensifies the experience.
“Hard to do when you’re… you.” The nonsense words only make him smile harder. But as I rise up, letting him come out of me a little, then sheathe his member inside me again, his face goes tight with arousal.
Seeing him make that face is so much hotter than he’ll ever know.
We begin to find a rhythm, and he holds my waist, caresses my body, leans in to kiss my neck as I continue to ride him, pleasurable pressure building into an intense peak inside.
Beyond my apartment, the night is overtaking the city, casting long shadows and shapes across the walls and ceiling. But to me, they’re not ominous. They’re almost comforting, familiar to my heart.
With my prince at my side, I know I’ll never fear the darkness again.
My body is going faster and faster and Tanner is thrusting up to meet me, so even though this is the most amazing feeling, I know I can’t do this for long.
“I’m close,” I exclaim, though from the way Tanner’s gaze roves over me, I can tell he knows already.
“Good.” As we continue to move, one of his hands moves over my breast, the other supporting my back in case my balance falters.
Which it just might.
By the time my orgasm hits, Tanner is doing most of the moving, pleasuring me senseless with the sight of his taut body and the feel of him deep inside.
“Tanner… oh, Tanner,” I cry out, almost choking on my own words as release claims me. My hands are on his chest, though I know he’s supporting me everywhere as my body swims with pleasure and emotion.
“Perfection,” he whispers into my ear as my body slows to a normal pace once more. “You are perfection, Eva.”
“You are,” I repeat. “That and so much more.” I take a moment to marvel at his hair, his ears. How everything we’re doing feels so beyond this world, regardless of whether we’re both fae or not.
But with Tanner still teasing me from the inside out, it’s hard to not already hunger for the next release with him.
“I love you, Tanner,” I exclaim, my fingers burning wherever I touch his smooth skin. “I love you so much. I’m sorry we couldn’t be at this point sooner.”
He presses a finger lightly to my lips. “We’re here because things happened the way they were supposed to happen. Now we just get to make each other happy for the rest of our lives.”
“That sounds almost too wonderful.”
Tanner sits up higher on the bed. And before I know it, he gently pulls out of me and lays me beneath him, letting me sink back into the comfy bedding beneath him.
I lift my hips eagerly, and he moves forward, gently teasing my entrance before sliding back into me, the feeling electric now that I’ve already come once with him inside.
He’s propping himself above me as he begins stroking, and every single thrust makes me nearly sob as he brings me closer to release.
I reach up, running my hands over his wide, strong shoulders. Every time I’m with him, he makes me feel so safe.
“I’ll never leave you, Eva. I’ll be with you until the end of time.”
I just nod up at him, too lost for breath now to come up with anything to say.
But like the master of practically everything he is, Tanner continues to move at just the right speed, just the right amount, to keep me riding the very edge of what I can take.
The air seems to stop around us as our breathing intensifies, and Tanner fills me again and again, feeling like he goes a little deeper every time.
The memory of our first meeting flashes through my mind. It feels like so long ago, a different life before the one I have now. Then the printer room. The party. Each moment a snapshot in time where our bond grew stronger and stronger.
Now it’s so unbreakable I can’t imagine how I ever existed without him.
Searing, pleasurable sensation jolts my awareness, and I watch in awe as Tanner continues to move, bringing me so close to the brink I can’t even blink without fear of going over the edge.
He looks at me, his calm, heated expression touching the edges of my soul. Then he reaches a finger down and strokes over my clit just as we meet together one more unimaginably perfect time.
Immediately, my body clenches around him, the overwhelming physical pleasure and emotional satisfaction a storm inside me. And when I reach for Tanner, he’s there, arms wrapped around me as his release claims him too.
The jerking, pulsing motion of his body as his muscles tense and relax only makes me come harder. I scream his name, holding on with everything I have as my body continues to weather the storm of his love.
A storm so pleasurable I hate that it ever has to finish.
When the last aftershocks are ending and I’m relaxed enough to remember which way is up, I let my hands move down from his shoulders, realizing I’ve been holding on far too tightly.
When I look into Tanner’s face again, full of hard, familiar, and beautiful planes, my mind takes a thousand little photographs, knowing I’ll want to remember this moment for ever and ever.
Tanner leans down, kissing me slowly, muttering sweet nothings in my ear. I keep myself wrapped around him for a moment longer because I don’t want it to end.
Then slowly, we pull apart, getting our breath back, and get back to the business of getting ready for bed.
Our first night together, officially fully bonded.
As we finally get under the covers, lights off, holding each other, both still clearly too excited to sleep yet, my mind is racing with thoughts of the future.
Somehow, though I’ve fallen for the commander of darkness, everything finally seems so bright.
Epilogue
Tanner
“So we’re meeting your fae friends for real today, right?” Eva asks, looking up at me expectantly.
We haven’t wanted to leave her place for several days, so busy exploring each other’s bodies.<
br />
I want to fulfill her every fantasy, make sure she can’t even walk or breathe without thinking about something amazing I can do to her.
But for now, I’ll settle for how happy she looks to be getting to know part of my world.
The fae are obviously anxious to meet her.
We made quick introductions the day they came to back us up in the fight with the chaos fae, but then we split into two groups so Eva and I could get some time alone.
But given that Eva wants to help us with the beacons, I know it’s good for her to know even more about my friends.
They can also help teach her about the fae world.
“Anything I should know before we go in there?” Eva asks as I take out my key.
“No,” I say. “Well, Ian can be a little odd sometimes, but his heart is kind. Flynn is easy to get along with but has an easy temper if insulted. Brett… Well, he’ll be over later, probably, when Chadwick brings Isabella.”
“And they still have no idea who wrote those letters?”
I shake my head. “Though Chadwick is looking into it. Let’s not worry about it for now since there’s nothing we can do.”
“I’m just glad your kingdom’s okay.”
I push the door open. “Me too. Now we can just focus on…” I trail off at the sight in front of me, my jaw falling open unintentionally.
“Oh,” Eva says faintly, putting a hand up to her mouth at the scene in front of us.
Near the kitchen, Ian is standing with his back to the wall, and Flynn is standing in front of him, a hand pinned on either side of his head as they stare each other intensely in the face.
It could almost be seen as romantic if it weren’t so sexual, the way Flynn’s ember eyes are blazing, his long, muscled body poised dominantly against Ian, though Ian is the slightly bigger fae.
“I kind of… would have pictured that the other way around,” Eva says, suppressing a giggle as I look down at her, confused.
Flynn quickly steps away, blushing furiously, and waves both hands, shaking his head and making his dark auburn hair fall over his forehead. “It’s not what you think.”
Defended By Darkness: Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds Book 2 Page 19