Chapter 74

Ellery

The discomfortof Ryker entering me was brief and fleeting. When his body encompassed mine I finally understood what I'd been seeking when I was desperate to be closer to him earlier… this.

This joining, this becoming one with each other, and this connection I never wanted to end.

I, of course, knew what was supposed to happen between us. I'd grown up on a farm, heard talk amongst the workers, and seen animals breed, but I'd assumed it was something fast and furious that culminated in ecstasy.

I hadn't expected this slow taking that started with his mouth and moved on to this. When he fucked me with his tongue, he unleashed something inside me deeper than anything I'd ever felt before.

I knew about the pleasure sex could bring oneself. I may not have discovered it with other men, but I'd figured it out myself.

None of that compared to experiencing the ecstasy he brought as he held me, kissed me, and enveloped me in a blanket of security and awe while he moved inside me.

I may not have done this before, but instinct guided me as I wrapped my legs around his waist. In doing so, I brought us closer together and gasped at the sensation.

What he'd done with his tongue had been bliss; what he did with his body should be illegal. I was willing to pay the price for it.

Once this ended, reality would return, and nothing good could come of that. But here, in this small space we'd carved out for ourselves, there was only us, and it was perfect.

When he started moving faster, I sensed his growing urgency for release and greedily matched his rhythm. Not only did my body crave more, but I wanted to bring him the joy he'd brought me.

"You're mine, Ellery," he whispered in my ear. "No one else's. Mine."

My heart raced at his words; I didn't know what to make of them and was too far gone to care. He gripped my hips, drawing me closer to him as one of his hands slid down to where our bodies joined.

When his fingers slid between us and he rubbed my clit, the building tension inside me exploded, and I came apart with a loud cry that his kiss muffled. He groaned and thrust forward again; deep within me, I felt the pulse of his shaft as he found his release.

Joy radiated through me as my fingers tangled in his hair. I couldn't stop kissing him, and he didn't stop either as he began moving within me again.

Ellery

I wasn'tsure what time it was when we finally parted, but I was exhausted, and a pleasant soreness lingered between my legs. Because I was immortal and healed fast, it would be gone by morning, but for now, it was a reminder of everything that transpired between us.

I didn't know if he would get up to sleep on the floor or roll over and fall asleep after, but my heart soared when his arms enveloped me and he pulled me close so my back nestled securely against his chest.

He kissed my shoulder as he settled in behind me. I was drifting off to sleep when reality returned, and my eyes flew open.

"Ryker," I breathed.

"Hmm?" he murmured as he kissed my shoulder again.

"I'm not on birth control."

His arms constricted around me. "I am."

I relaxed against him. "Okay, good. This realm…."

My voice trailed off. This realm wasn't a place to bring children into, but it was more than that. I wasn't ready to be a single mother who had to take care of a child while everything fell apart around us.

I didn't think Ryker was the kind of man who would walk away from a child; he certainly wasn't someone who shirked his responsibilities, but he was the son of a duke, and his father wouldn't be happy if his son impregnated someone so far beneath him in our society.

I'd only met the duke a couple of times, but I could still recall his scathing, disdainful look at the coronation. He'd probably kill any child of ours or take it from me; I'd die before I ever let either of those things happen.

"I'm going to keep you safe, Ellery. I promise you that."

I wanted to believe him, but I had no idea how he could ensure that while we remained trapped in the prison his father helped create.