Page 93 of Fate Promised
He led her out of the living room, and down a wide corridor. She caught glimpses of more rooms down the hall, but he took her into the first one on the right. “This is your room.”
“My room? What do you mean?” It was a small circular room with a squashy armchair and matching ottoman, a floor lamp, and shelving. On the shelves were several Quarter Obol Dreadfuls, their covers sealed with a special wax. She gasped and ran forward. “Where did you find these?” Gold lined the upper right corner, marking them as rare special editions.
“I traveled a lot. When I found one, I bought it.”
Her heart squeezed. “But you never knew if I’d see them.” She took in the cozy space—a perfect room. “You built all this without knowing if we’d ever be together.”
“I wanted to feel like you were a part of my life. And the rune mark never went away, so deep down … I hoped.”
She smiled and took his hand. “Now, you come with me.” She led him back to the living room and over to the pack he’d left near the front passageway. From the front pocket, she withdrew the sheaf of papers she’d hidden earlier. “I’ve been wanting to show these to you, but every time we’re in my bedroom, we’re doing other things.”
She handed them over. Would he like them? She pointed at the pages. “Those first few I drew when I was younger, wondering what you looked like all grown up. First as a man, then when I learned you were a vulk, I tried to picture you as a vulk.” She pointed to the last one. “This I drew last week when you were out with the pack.”
He’d gone so still his chest didn’t even move to show he breathed. “These are incredible,” he finally said. He stared at the most recent one. She’d drawn him sitting back in a chair in vulk form, his expression relaxed and his eyes … well, they held the special softness around the corners they only got when he looked at her. “This is really how you see me?”
She nodded, and his eyes took on the softness she’d drawn. “I kept you with me all these years, too.” She reached for the pack again. “One more thing.” She drew out his note from all those years ago. At the bottom was the smudge from what he’d erased in his letter to her. The one she’d fretted over for years. “What did you write here?”
Juri set her drawings down on a side table like they were made of glass, then he reached for her. “I wrote some words in Vulk. The same words I’ll say to you when we say our vows under the full moon during our wedding.”
“What are they?”
He wrapped his arms around her and bent his mouth to her ear. “No other will ever own my heart. I am eternally yours, and you are eternally mine.” As his mouth dipped to her neck, she ran her hands up his arm. His ring glistened on her fourth finger, and her mate was touching her. Showing her his—their—den.
She felt so light she might float up to the vaulted ceiling and never come down. “I love you.” He led her a few steps until they stopped in the glow of light created by the fire. His mouth trailed up her neck, and her blood heated. Whenever he touched her, her blood kindled like this. She yanked his vest down his arms, and he tugged her shirt over her head, then unclasped her pants, so they pooled at her feet. She stood only in her underthings.
Juri knelt before her, and his gaze trailed up her body. “Perun-above, look at you.” He leisurely untied the laces of her knickers, leaning forward and tracing his mouth up her inner thigh.
She whined and dug her nails into his shoulders. “You’re teasing.”
A clawed finger dipped down her chest to her bodice, feathering over the top of her breasts. Her head fell back, and she groaned. He slipped her bodice down, and cool air kissed her breasts. His knuckle skimmed the puckered tip back and forth. One, then the other.
“Juri ….” She whimpered, and he purred.
His tongue replaced his fingers, and she jolted. It tore a trail of heat through her, and all she could do was moan again.
“I’ll never get enough of this,” he whispered. “Never get enough of hearing your cries of pleasure.”
She wouldn’t either. His purr was like air for her now. She needed it to live. His touch, the way he sealed himself inside her, it was all she craved day and night. And his love … that was what guided her days, encompassing her in silken happiness.
She’d never thought she’d have Juri like this. “You’re still wearing too much.”
“So are you.” He untied the lacing along her side, and her bodice fell. Another tug and her knickers followed. “Spread your legs.”
She obeyed but whimpered. “I won’t be able to stay standing.”
His hands circled her thighs. “Yes, you will.” He feathered his breath over the most intimate parts of her. She throbbed with need, and dug her fingers into his warm flesh, trying to anchor herself for his onslaught.
At the first stroke of his tongue, she almost fell backward. Only Juri’s grip on her legs kept her up. Fast, slow, each lave a searing torment. When she neared the edge, she pushed at his shoulders. “Wait.” She wanted to drag this out. Have him deep inside her when she finally shattered.
He pulled back and stood. Her hands zoomed immediately to his waistband, where the front of his trousers bulged. Pure temptation. She ran her fingers over him, and he shuddered. In one motion she’d pushed his trousers down his hips.
Everything about him was mouthwatering. The way the muscles strained in his arms, the way black flooded his golden eyes as he lost control. The way his chest heaved as she encircled him and pumped.
In one swoop, he had her on the ground, her back cushioned by the thick rug. He nipped up her neck as his hips lined with hers, as his hand took her wrists and pinned them above her head. She arched against him, but he still held himself back, thick and hot against her thigh.
“Please.”
He rolled his hips, but it was a tease, not what she needed. She whined and tried to angle her hips upward, but he had her properly pinned. “I need you as close as you can get. Until there isn’t any space between us.”