74. Together

Together

T hough I knew he could have taken us directly back to the Clement Palace, Cass took his time flying. The cold bite of the winter air didn't chill us, so despite his state of nudity, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable to fly, save for the sensation of air sweeping across his bare skin. I didn't have any complaints. Every moment spent in his arms was another moment of reassurance that he was alive, that this was real, that we were balanced soulmates with an eternity of time set before us.

I'd expected Cass to eventually make us an aerial door (or maybe to spend the next fifteen hours flying back to the palace so that he didn't have to put me down), but before too long he banked into a shallow dive, aiming for a wooded region of the mountains. I picked my head up off his shoulder to peer up at him. He merely cocked an ear in my direction, a smile hovering on his lips.

"Where're you taking me?" I asked, burying my face against his neck again.

The rumble of his laughter vibrated against my skin. "On a date."

I snorted, surprised into it. "Seriously?" I looked up at him again. "After all that, it's date time?"

Cass flashed a smile at me, showing his teeth. His canines weren't as sharp as they'd been before he'd—before. Maybe he wasn't a carnivore anymore, either. "I'm feeling inclined to indulge in affection, my Queen, and the moment we set foot in the Clement Palace I suspect it's going to be a shitshow."

I laughed at the mortal slang. "You sure you're not just avoiding everyone finding out you're the resurrected god-King of Mercy?" I asked, giving him a playful tug on his ear.

He flicked it at me. "That's precisely the shitshow I'm anticipating," he said, sounding amused. He dropped a kiss on my forehead, picking up speed. The wind lashed at my hair and stung his bare skin. Cass' arms tightened around me. "Hold on," he said, all the warning I got before he leaned to the side and dropped into a vertical dive.

My ensuing squeal was as much from glee as surprise. His answering chuckle, a warm vibration against my chest, was the best thing I'd ever heard .

Cass pulled up seconds before we splattered on frozen stone, the wind of our passage kicking up snow-devils, then backwinged and landed with precise care. A haze of steam from the pools of the hot springs he'd found mixed with the flurrying snow. He set me down and stretched with the exuberance of a cat, then took a step backwards and flopped ass-first into a deep pool of scorching water, looking extremely pleased with himself.

The ensuing wave of hot water sloshed all over the place, soaking my boots and melting a broad swathe of snow before trickling back into the pools. I gave him a look , which did absolutely nothing to dampen the sunlit joy streaming through me.

"Come join me, dove," he said, ears lifted in high spirits and a broad grin warming his face. That damn dimple of his beckoned. "The water's lovely."

Shaking my head and laughing despite myself, I shucked off my clothing. The casual clothes and down coat had been thoroughly ruined via impalement, and everything was already wet from melted snow. I didn't even bother folding it, dumping it all in a heap.

When I turned back to Cass, he was staring at me with heartache. My shoulders hunched in automatic self-consciousness. He'd never looked at me like that before, as if the sight of me was a sorrow.

His eyes lifted to mine, and his expression softened. "Come here," he said gently, holding out a hand to me.

I did, cautiously, stepping off the frigid snow into the water with him.

Cass took my hand and tugged me down to him, pulling me onto his lap and wrapping himself around me. His thumb stroked along the thick scar marring my side. "I did this, didn't I," he murmured, face buried against my hair. "When we were attacked. When Tarra…" Cass stopped talking, his throat working, all that tension making my ribs ache.

"Scars fade," I said softly, relaxing as I realized the reason for his unhappiness. I ran my hands down along his strong arms. "You would have died, and not in a fixable way."

He huffed a laugh. His thumb ran along the scar again, leaving tingling warmth in its wake. Something popped in my side with a sensation of relief, like cracking a knuckle.

My rib , I realized, eyes widening. It must have been broken—must have healed badly when I'd yanked us through time to save his life.

"Mm-hmm," Cass hummed. The tension in his body eased as he tended the damage left on mine. My breathing got easier, the scarring replaced by healthy tissue as Cass kept stroking his thumb along the injury. The skin stopped pulling with each breath. Sensation went from the distant wrongness of a fresh scar to the pleasurable touch of my soulmate's hand against my smooth skin.

His fingers slid down along my ribs, counting each one and coming to rest over the knob of red scarring where I'd had a tree growing through me. I wasn't even sure when that had gotten healed.

His other hand curled over my right bicep where I'd been cut by a sword, massaging the tight muscles. His touch eased the strain. Piece by piece, he set my body to rights.

Cass nuzzled me as he undid what had been done by necessity. The touch of a command healer left my body whole and healthy, with only faint pale marks to show where I'd taken those brutal wounds. His strong hands moved with such tenderness. I fell into it, melting into his warmth and love, leaning into the sensation of his fingers tracing the curves and hollows of my body.

"You're so beautiful," he said in a low murmur. "A goddess well-worth worshiping." Those big hands stroked down along my sides and onto my thighs, the warm brown of his skin looking exactly right against my paler tones. He traced his fingertips back up, leaving glittery sensation in his wake. Affection radiated into me, like sitting next to a campfire on a chilly night.

I shivered, heat pooling in my core and my pulse picking up. "'Goddess,' huh?" I asked. He palmed my breast and I let out a sharp pant, the pleasure of his hand pressing against my stiff nipple sending a shock of need straight to my groin.

"Why not?" he asked. "If I have to get called a god…" Cass let out a sharp breath and pressed his mouth against my pulse. …I might as well get to call you my goddess , he finished silently, all but moaning out the words.

He panted against me, his magic amplifying my want, the desire humming in our blood. Cass tugged my hips back against his. The hot length of his ridged shaft brushed against my ass. It was like throwing gasoline on a fire. Lust flared so hot that we moaned in unison, my pussy clenching down with aching need and his cock throbbing against me.

"Besides," he added in a low groan, "a woman like you ought to have a man on his knees in worship."

"Then what the fuck are you waiting for?" I panted out, mind fixated on exactly that.

His warm hands splayed across my inner thighs. "I'm enjoying having you sitting on my lap," Cass said, wickedness lighting his voice. His hips rocked against mine, sliding his ridged cock against my ass. "Maybe I don't want to give that up."

I let out a panting gasp. "Brat."

"It's possible," he crooned. "What are you going to do about it?"

I shoved myself up off of his thighs to the music of his sharp whine of protest, and pivoted to look down at him.

Cass sprawled back to meet my gaze, wings spreading, taking his weight on his elbows. Raw hunger painted his face and challenge heated his golden gaze.

With great deliberation, I lifted one foot and set my toes on his chest, over his beating heart.

Everything about him, from the challenge in his half-lidded eyes to his languid posture to the thudding of his heart beneath the sole of my foot, screamed "step on me." His desire tightened my ribs and built the heavy tension in my core, a yearning that went far beyond anything sexual, the sort of soul-deep need for being actively wanted that made a man beg to be taken.

Watching him, heat pounding in my veins and making my skin ache, I pressed the ball of my foot against his heartbeat in a slow, deliberate motion.

His whole body obeyed me. Cass let me shove him, following the pressure of my toes like a dancer following his partner's lead. He shifted his wings as he went, and I took the invitation, leaning forward and increasing the pressure.

His lashes fluttered. Desire sank into my bones, hot and swimmy, full of wanton, reckless need.

I put my weight on him, forcing him onto his back, deeper in the water. He went with a low moan, hair fanning out in the hot spring and one hand caressing my calf.

I looked down at him under my lashes. I knew the picture I made for him, the water dripping down my nude body and my skin reddened from the heat, the sun to my back and the supercilious expression on my shadowed face: every inch the dominatrix, and loving every second of it.

"Cassie," I crooned, the sunlight falling over my shoulders like a cloak and the steam of the hot springs caressing my skin. "Are you trying to make me mad?"

Cass panted, every breath shallow. The heavy pulse of his arousal pounded between my legs. Wings sprawled, throat bared, legs splayed… he looked as vulnerable as he felt.

"Answer your Queen." I pressed a little harder on his chest, the power of having the huge, deadly King of Mercy under my foot thrilling through me. "Or do I need to drown you to teach you manners?"

My core tensed, his need pulling at me. "I love the look in your eyes and the feel of your pleasure when you play with me, your majesty," Cass said, his voice rough to the point of hoarseness. "If you want my silence, you may need to teach me those manners, but I don't think I can drown."

Hunger roared into life inside of me, a heated need to take . All my skin went hot, my pulse throbbing over my whole body and every breath shallow.

Cass gasped and dropped his head back, baring his throat like a submissive animal —fuck, please do it, I'll do anything for you, I'm yours forever—

I bared my teeth, my grasping hunger sinking claws into my wanting soulmate, and shoved him underwater.

Cass didn't fight. He simply obeyed, as if there was no other option, letting my weight hold him underwater even though he could have easily escaped. My chest and throat went tight. Hot victory coursed through my veins, a lust for control that made me want to push just a little bit further—hurt him just a little bit more.

He would let me. He was letting me. I slid my toes up to his throat and knew that if I wanted to put my full weight on him he would take it, and hurt, and be grateful for the pain.

I pressed down for one heartbeat, and then took my foot off his neck.

Cass surged up out of the water like a primal god. Big hands grabbed me by the hips. With a snarl of raw need, Cass hauled me back down to the water with him. I barely had time to yelp before he had my weight on his face and his tongue buried inside me.

My whole body arched. Pleasure transfixed me. Need snarled through my core with every demanding stroke, the unyielding pressure flaring higher and higher. The flat of his tongue ran across my clit in short hard laps. His reckless want speared through me, burned in my veins, wound the tension inside of me so tight it felt like I would snap, and he didn't let me break.

Cass didn't come up for air. He didn't need to breathe , could focus everything on pleasure, the physical world bending to his will. He seated me more firmly against his mouth with a pleased growl, the vibration exquisite.

My thighs closed against his face, whole body shaking. "Cass," I gasped. My fingers tangled in his hair; dug against his scalp as I ground myself against his slick mouth. Every stroke of his tongue brought hot water with it, the sensation at once soft and electrifying.

He growled again, a rolling sound of thunder that made the water tremble. His golden eyes flicked up towards mine, all but lost beneath the ripples and steam.

He wrapped his left hand around his cock.

I almost came from it, my hips bucking so hard into his mouth that I cut myself on his canine tooth, desperate for it. The taste of blood sang across my tongue for one sharp moment. Cass started stroking himself, long hard jerks of his fisted hand that shot pleasure up my spine and made my pussy clench. Every touch painted itself onto my body. The grip of his hand, the press of his tongue, the way my body begged for him and how my thighs closed against his face—all of it poured into me, Cass holding nothing back, his every sensation and longing mine to claim.

—love you need you have you keep you—yours I'm yours I'm yours—gods, Quyen, you're so perfect, come for me, love—

Ecstasy slashed through me like a sword. I came screaming, my voice piercing the air as Cass groaned against me, my body hammering down against itself and hot come tearing through me in a glory of pleasure. Every clench of my orgasm felt like the end of the world—every wave of bliss crashed through me with the force of a tsunami .

Cass followed me, came with me, stayed with me. I tugged at his hair, my heart full of him, and Cass obeyed that silent plea. He grabbed me by the hips and pushed himself up, setting me back on his lap like I weighed nothing. His mouth found mine. Tongues and teeth and heat met, Cass kissing me like it was our last hour on earth— I'm here I'm yours I love you so much— and me kissing him back with the same relentless fervor.

My hand found the stiff length of his cock and stroked, the pleasure a spear in my gut. Breathing hard, Cass picked me up, water sheeting off of our bodies. He didn't need to ask what I wanted. He could feel it as much as I did; knew my body like his own.

Holding his wings out for balance, Cass slid me onto his cock, letting my hand guide us together. The groan deep in his chest matched the raw desire in mine. There was no denying who he was to me as he slid in and in, hilting himself in me. My healer, my Fury, my King—a man who belonged to me, body and soul, whose blood ran in my veins and whose Court answered to my hand.

Indivisible soulmates.

Something new. Something perfect.

I rocked with him as he started thrusting, falling into that perfection with total trust. Every drive of his cock into me was a vow. Every draw back was an anticipation. Always together. Never apart.

Tension built inside me again, hot and swimmy. I wrapped my legs around his hips and bared my teeth. More , I demanded, staring up into his eyes.

Cass snarled back, the rumble of his voice filling the winter air, and slammed his cock home.

Pleasure sang out from the pressure of his body in mine. Cass fucked me without relief or mercy, holding me like I weighed nothing and rutting up into me. His wings fanned the air, stirring the falling snow and sending the steam into dancing swirls. Every stroke dragged his ridges along me—sent aching pleasure radiating deep into my core—slammed the curved length of him up along my g-spot with white-hot need.

I felt like a dam in the face of floodwaters, barely able to contain the power of the river. Holy fucking black night, it was so fucking good, the grip of my body and the stark pleasure singing in my veins, the tension rising, and rising, and rising—

Cass held it off, holding my gaze, his panting breaths fogging in the icy air. Want, and need, and desperate passion.

I knew what he wanted—what he needed. Like I was casting a spell, I reached up and wrapped my hand around his throat, watching his lashes flutter and the pulse in his throat pound harder. I almost couldn't see through the haze of pleasure, the world falling away all around me, leaving nothing but the perfection of my soulmate's eyes.

"Mine," I told him, holding his breath in my hand .

"Yours," he rasped out. His fingers dug into my sides. His cock drove into me with each repetition—"gods, I'm yours, I'm yours, I'm yours— " and the sky cracked open and poured out radiant light.

Ecstasy slammed into us and Cass' mouth slammed into mine, a kiss of wanton need. I answered him, fell with him, came with his taste on my tongue and his cock buried to the hilt in me. Heat spread deep inside me with each pulse of come, satisfaction settling into my bones as pleasure stole my breath.

Bliss flooded my veins. My hand loosened on his neck, and I slid my fingers into his hair instead, stroking my thumb across his pulse.

"Mine," I said again, breathing the word.

A smile spread across his face, and then Cass was laughing, his voice as bright as the sun. With a look of pure mischief, he tugged my hips flush to his and let himself fall backwards.

I yelped, grabbing onto him. We splashed back into the hot spring with so much force that half the water surged out, driven out of the pool by several hundred pounds of Monarch and a very broad set of wings. My teeth clacked together as we hit. The jolt sent adrenaline skidding through every inch of me.

I shoved myself up, grinning down at him. "You ass !" I said, sunlight in my veins, laughing for the sheer joy of it.

Cass laughed with me, his gorgeous smile undimmed and his golden eyes warm. "You love me," he crooned, ears tilted towards me.

"I do," I said, the words coming easily. My heart. The fulcrum of my universe. Everything I could ever have asked for in a partner, and so much more.

His expression softened. Cass reached up and traced wet fingertips across my cheek, tucking my hair behind my ear and running his fingers along the curve of it. "My resplendent Queen," he said, the sunlight in his smile. "May I try again?"

He still had his cock sheathed in me.

A wicked smile spread across my face, slow and sure. "Splendor," I purred at him, watching the hunger sharpen his hawk's gaze, "you had better."