Page 73 of Summer's Seduction
My breathing hitched as his mouth closed around a nipple. Hands dropping to his waist, I freed the laces of his pants.
“Just us,” I breathed, my legs falling open as he settled between my thighs. The stone was cool against my back, but his body was warm as he notched himself at my entrance, pausing as he drank me in.
“I’ll never stop loving you, Larkspur.” He thrust forward, pulling a gasp from my lips as he stretched me. “You consume me.” His tongue licked over my nipple as he withdrew only to surge forward again. “Every breath I take, each beating of my heart is for you.” I moaned as he rocked, the scrape of stone at my back only adding to the pleasure, taking me higher. “For as long as the fates grant us, little monster, I will love you, in this life and all others.”
LARKSPUR
We spent the next two days scouting out The Glass Palace, noting small paths of escape, as well as possible hiding spots along the mountainside if we were wrong and Hypnos had an army waiting.
The plan was to act like we belonged. Morpheus would pretend that Egerius hadn’t just tried to kill him, presumably on Hypnos’s orders, and I would pretend not to know I was the lost princess to The Nightmare Kingdom.
Gods below, that sounded scary. I wasn’t sure I could be a queen. It was a huge responsibility to care for an entire kingdom, but I damn well knew I’d do a better job than Hypnos.
“I hope my powers kick in,” I said for what felt like the hundredth time as I stretched along the mossy earth alongside the enchanted stream. We’d bathed after worshiping each other only to fall asleep right after. It reminded me of our time in the caverns when I’d only just started to learn who Morpheus was. Now, I couldn’t imagine going through all of this without him.
I could have survived it. I would have found a way, but I was beginning to see that relying on another wasn’t a weakness. Not always.
Memories had been flooding back, the rush of decades all jumbled together, but I remember pieces of my time with Medusa, just enough to prove that if I hadn’t had my memories erased and powers bound, I wouldn’t have had to struggle under Demeter’s thumb.
“Me too, little monster,” Morpheus answered.
“At least we don’t have to feel weird about the age gap,” I smiled. “For all we know, I could be older than you.”
He leaned over and kissed me, taking his time tasting me, studying the way my lips felt against his. “I remember seeing you when you were first found.”
“You do?” I said, sitting up.
“Vaguely. I was a boy, but I still thought you looked younger than me.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” I said, deflecting the tangle of emotions that raged inside me. We’d been so close to each other, even as children. What could have been if we’d been given a chance at life without our parents deciding war was the only option?
Morpheus gave me a soft grin before rolling to the side, reaching for a bundle of clothes before tossing me mine. We’d hardly dressed these last two days, donning clothes only for spying during the night before shedding the garments under the warm sun.
We’d shared in each other’s bodies in every way imaginable, both of us feeding to the point where it felt like I was nearly in tune with his emotions as I was my own. I was sore and a little tired, but in the best way possible.
It felt like another life, a wonderful reprieve from the horrors of reality. But our time was finally up. The moon had started herascent. If everything went well, we’d have my sister safe at our side in just a few hours.
My stomach fluttered at the thought as I slipped into my huntress outfit, not quite believing it, but needing it to be true. We were so close to things finally going right.
“Nothing new from Hecate or Artemis,” Morpheus said, reaching for his boots now that he was fully dressed. “Anything when I was flying over the north side?”
I shook my head. “Hecate said if Artemis didn’t appear with anything new, then we were to proceed as planned. You and I will unseal The Glass Palace, retrieve Psyche, and bring her to these caves where one of Artemis’s huntresses will be to protect her.”
“All while Hades, Artemis, and any others who are aligned with us march on The Nightmare Kingdom,” Morpheus finished, securing his hair back with a leather strap. “I know this is our best option to stop my father, but the misty forest shrouding your kingdom makes it nearly impossible to spot an army.”
My kingdom.I let those words roll off me before they could take hold. “I don’t like it, and I doubt Hades or Hecate do either, but their troops are already moving. Hypnos has already convinced Ares and Hermes to join him. If we don’t do something now, it might be too late to stop him in the future.”
“It’s a shitty option but ouronlyoption,” he sighed with a nod, drawing me into a hug as I finished lacing up a pair of boots Artemis had left for me. Morpheus pressed a kiss to my head, looking out across the horizon. “Maybe everything will work out for us. There have been no guards—day or night—and The Glass Palace feels… different.”
I raised a brow. “Different how?”
“Like an ancient temple that’s been left undisturbed. I can sense a great presence, an impregnable force… and a resounding hollowness.” Morpheus pinched my chin lightly, lifting it untilmy lips met his. “The night is growing late, little monster. Let’s go save your sister.”
Morpheus
Icircled The Glass Palace for a third time, ensuring no soul was around. “It’s clear.”
“As it has been every time we’ve checked,” Larkspur said, but the tension across her shoulders said she was just as worried as I was.