Page 78 of Forgotten Embers
“No, I know you aren’t, it’s only, I just…” Wren was cut off from her ramblings by the ship throwing her.
Wesley was there in an instant, catching her with his arm around her waist. She laughed at her embarrassing lack of balance, but as soon as she looked up at him, her laugh fell from her lips. His eyes held the same need that had broken her weeks ago in his rooms. Heat crawled up her body and she felt her cheeks flush.
“I’m sorry,” She murmured.
“For what?” he replied, his voice husky.
“My poor balance.”
He smiled at that and cupped her cheek in the familiar gesture. His smile faded and by the way his eyes drifted to her lips, she knew where his mind had gone. Anticipation built in her and she was surprised to find how much she wanted this, how much she needed to feel close to him.
“Wren.” His voice was thick with restraint. He made to pull away, and knowing that that need inside her was screaming to be heard, she reached up on her toes and landed a gentle kiss on his lips. He hesitated briefly, his need for her falling behind his need to be chivalrous.
He wrapped his arm around her waist while his other hand cupped the back of her neck. His touch sent shivers through her. He pulled away, smiling at her body’s reaction to him, before whatever he saw in her eyes made him bend down to kiss her fervently.
She fumbled for the clasp on her cloak, the fabric too heavy and thick between them. It came undone and then she was standing before him in a thin white gown. He ran his eyes over her like a caress, eyelids heavy with desire. Running his hands over her arms, he bent to kiss the exposed skin of her neck moving painfully slow, lower and lower.
She let out a moan and then his lips were on hers, and he was picking her up gently in his arms, laying her ever so gently on the bed. Then his body was over hers, and he was looking at her as if she was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen. “Wren, are you sure you want this?”
Wren shouldn’t have hesitated at the question. She should have known right away the answer was yes. Everything she had thought true had been a beautiful lie. The way Wesley saw her, and the comfort of his touch was like a barrier against the tidal wave rushing towards her.
Maybe it was wrong that she didn’t know the answer right away. Maybe it was wrong that she was about to say yes, but her body ached with need for him, to feel his touch all over her.
She nodded once. He released a breath he had been holding and laid gentle kisses over her skin, pushing the strap of her dress out of the way, not missing a single spot to run his lips over.
He carefully undid the laces in the front of her gown, exposing all of her. His hands were over the bare skin in an instant and she arched her back at the touch. Where his hands went, his lips followed. She had never known such divine feelings now moving through her body. More than that was a need growing in her. She fumbled blindly trying to remove any clothes that prevented their skin from touching. Wesley was there in an instant, pulling her dress over her head before removing his own breeches.
She knew she should be nervous, but she also knew that she wanted this and that it was her choice. Her body was hers to give and she chose to give it to the man before her. A man who had chosen her over and over again even at great risk to himself. A man who radiated kindness and swore to protect her.
There was no shame in this act, and as he whispered her name, entering her as she gave herself entirely to him. When the pain came, it felt right that there should be a price. Everything she had ever loved and touched had a price.
He moved rhythmically in her, and her hands clenched in his hair, a strange feeling building in her thighs and belly. A moan escaped her, and she found herself moving with him in time needing more, needing it not to stop as that warm feeling grew and grew until she was calling out his name and waves of pleasure racked her body.
They lay there panting heavily, their bodies weak with pleasure. Wesley regained himself first, and he held himself with one hand above her while the other traced lines on her cheek before he bent down and kissed her gently. “My love,” he murmured.
She startled at the words ever so slightly, but relaxed when she realized they felt right. This is what love felt like. Feeling safe and feeling this happy. She nuzzled up to him and they lay cuddling like that until they fell asleep, the rocking boat perfectly in time with their contented bodies.
Chapter 36
Hergownwasmadeof the stars themselves and her hair was entwined with them. It was always her chosen appearance for she loved the night sky the best of all. She paced across the expanse. She already felt weak, much of her power gone. It had been worth it though and she wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. Such beauty and complexity deserved to thrive, deserved to have a chance to live.
She heard them coming before they appeared and she stilled herself, preparing for whatever they felt the price of her perceived betrayal would be. She would not beg them and she would not apologize for what she had done.
Lucius was beside her then. “That was foolish.” She looked at him, of all of them she had expected gratitude from him. “They will not forgive such a slight, Serephina.”
“I am well aware, brother,” she replied back haughtily.
“You are not like the rest of us. You never have been,” he said quietly.
She knew what he was speaking of. She had always felt different from the rest of her siblings. Never truly enjoying their infiniteness and the power that they wielded. For what was infiniteness without purpose? She knew this is why when her brother presented his creation to them she had been so deeply moved. Here was purpose. Guiding these lives and watching them fail and triumph.
When her siblings had shared their disgust, content to be limitless and simply be, she knew she would do anything to ensure the survival of her brother’s creation.
“For your sacrifice and your goodness, I will do what I can for you, sister.” She looked at him surprised after his earlier words had held such condemnation. “Live well, Serephina.” That was when pain she had never known found her.
Pain wracked Wren’s body and all she could think of was that it was happening again. Flames cascaded over her finding every crevice of every vein and every bone. She had the strange thought that this must be what it was like to burn alive. She cried out, but she was painfully aware that nothing and no one could help her.
She only wished that death would take her quickly so that she might not have to endure the burning and stinging plaguing her. She called out for the gods, but they were painfully silent. Sweat poured from her skin soaking into the sheets. It felt like punishment for the bliss she had just known. Another wave of pain burst in her allowing peaceful darkness to envelop her.