22. Twenty-Two

Twenty-Two

Willow

His words soothe the beautiful beast inside of me and she purrs as she recedes back into the cavern of my chest.

Although her sight is far sharper than my own, nothing could obscure every impeccable feature of Caspian's right now. His wild dirty-blond hair, the perfect amount of stubble that dusts his face, his gorgeous chest piece that doesn't conceal his sculpted abs. There's not a flaw to this man.

My man. My final Nexus member.

His whiskey eyes devour me, and the longer I stare into them, the drunker on him I get.

My dark and damaged protector just laid his soul bare for me to witness and I refused then and now to let it fall to shreds. My soul won't allow it. It cries out for him, desperately needing them to finally merge into one.

"You want…" I can't get the words out.

Fear clogs my throat and I'm positive if that's not what he meant, I'll crumble beneath his hand that's holding me together.

"You've scraped together the broken pieces of me that had lain scattered about and now I want them whole. I want them whole for you. Only you. For eternity."

My breath whooshes out of me and he uses that to his advantage.

Crowding me even further into the wall with his body, his tongue slips past my parted lips and tangles with my own. Even as our bodies go incorporeal through the shadows, our mouths never leave one another's.

It isn't until he lays me back on the bed that he finally breaks away from me. Shadows cling to his eyes, his skin, but I know not out of fear or disgust. It's out of love and desire.

Slowly, he commands those shadows to slither down his arms and around me until I'm sitting up and they draw my nightgown over my head. Where that scrape of fabric goes, I have no clue, but I have a sneaky suspicion that my clothes that don't get destroyed but do disappear, is his doing.

The hunger in his eyes intensifies the longer he watches his shadow circle my body and I grow more feverish by the second. He's seen me naked countless times before. Both from the encounters he's joined in on with the others and from his spying under the cover of darkness. But something about this, all his undivided attention, seeing me completely exposed, only the two of us for the first time is different.

It's intense, intimate, maddening.

The second the chill of his skin caresses my own, I cry out and my back arches into him as he hisses. The complete opposites of my fire and his water create a never-ending sensation that pulses between us. Hot and cold. Burning to freezing. It's overwhelming.

This is only the beginning. He hasn't even touched me.

"You are trouble, Primary. Just the touch of your skin to mine is addicting."

"Caspian," I say, beg, breathe. I'm not sure why I'm saying his name, but that's all I can come up with.

"Do you remember what I said my plan was when I took you, when I gave you my soul?" he asks as he lays kisses down my neck.

"Y-Yes."

"Tell me then. What did I say?"

I force my muddled mind to sift through my memories to pull his words out, but it's nearly impossible as he lays a kiss between the valley of my breasts. I want to shift, turn my body toward him and plead for him to touch my nipples, but I don't because I know that'll stop him.

I can't demand anything from him.

This will go his way, and his way only.

And I'm perfectly fine with that. I just need him. All of him.

"You said…when you take me, bond your soul to mine, you'll have every part of me you want," I say.

"That's right, Primary. There won't be a piece of skin on your body that I leave untouched. My mouth, my fingers, and my shadows will devour you until it's seared into my memory. Then and only then, will my cock map out the inside of what I know is going to be your perfect pussy."

"Oh, Elementra."

I wither and moan beneath him. His words alone have my clit throbbing and my pussy soaked.

I want that. I need that. I crave it.

"No point praying to her now, Primary. She gave you to me."

Those are the last words he speaks as he suddenly strings me up in the air. His shadows crawl down my arms and behind my neck, where they pull my hair in a bun on top of my head, out of his way.

He leaves my body stretched out in the shape of an X, completely exposed from head to toe for him, and he prowls around me like he can't decide where he's going to strike first.

I'm supposed to be the predator between the two of us, but I'm surely not. I'm the sacrificial lamb. I know it, my dragon knows it, my bond knows it.

We're at the mercy of our monster.

Finally, he grows restless in his indecision, and he hits me all at once.

With everything he's got.

His shadows trace up my legs and they caress over every inch of skin, making my toes curl. Never have they felt so much like his own hands. There's barely a difference between the weight of them and the weight of his palm that's wrapped around my throat.

He spares me a punishing kiss that's over far faster than I would've liked, but any grievances I may have had about that go flying out the door when his water element twirls around my nipple right before he sucks it fully into his mouth.

He does just as he promised he would, and I can't tell you the time that passes as he devours every inch of my skin. My pussy and ass are the only areas his mouth, hands, or shadows haven't traveled and I know that's purposeful on his part because I'm not going to last. As soon as he touches me with whatever he decides to touch me with, I'm going to melt.

I'll be a puddle at his feet.

Standing in front of me, he rakes his eyes across me, and I shiver from his stare. He's got me so worked up, my skin feels tight and the pressure building in my lower belly is almost painful.

With a wicked smile, he raises his hand and for a moment, I'm utterly confused until his shadows make my legs rise, bending at my knees, and spreading my thighs completely open for him.

"Look at that beautiful mess, Primary." He hums, running his fingers along the outside of my pussy.

"Caspian, please," I whimper.

"Please what, Primary?" he asks, gripping my jaw gently in his hand.

"Please anything. I just need you to touch me. Please."

"I do love the sound of you begging." He chuckles darkly before dropping to his knees below me. I surely didn't think he could expose me any more than I already was, but he proves me wrong.

With his thumbs, he parts my pussy lips, spreading me out as wide as I can possibly go, and the cool air that hits my hot core has me gasping. Swiftly that sound rolls into a guttural moan when he slowly drags his tongue through the arousal he created. It's fucking electrifying.

And that's all it takes. Just that one swipe and fireworks explode behind my eyes.

I can barely draw air into my lungs. My whole body is so tense from the orgasm ripping through me. I'm shaking more violently than an earthquake, yet Caspian gives me no reprieve.

"Fuck, Primary. That's all it took. I'm addicted to the taste of you."

That's as much of a break he offers me because without another word, he latches onto my thighs and shoves his face back into my pussy. He couldn't care less that I'm dangling in the air, suffocating off the pleasure he's just given me.

He's greedy. Greedy for me.

Rapidly that orgasm rolls right into another as soon as he pushes his finger into me, and I know my heart's going to explode. It's pumping in sync with the pace of his hand and the rest of me just simply can't keep up.

It doesn't matter how tightly I grip him. He doesn't stop. He just keeps giving and giving and giving some more.

"Caspian, wait." I gasp loudly and my body jerks suddenly as his tongue travels to my ass.

"What is it, Primary?" he asks slowly, his fingers now matching the tempo of his tone.

"You can't…no one…I," I stutter. Too flustered to even get the words to come out. It's not that I'm opposed to this. He's already shown me it can be pleasurable. It just took me by surprise and brought forth an insecurity I didn't even know I had.

"It's such a shame my brothers have neglected to introduce you to this before now, Primary. You have four men to pleasure. Four men who want to pleasure you above all else, and only two available holes just isn't going to work. No. Like I told you, I'll be having all of you. You're going to take my fingers, my shadows, and my tongue in your ass. Maybe, just maybe if I can prepare you enough, you'll take my cock there tonight as well," he demands heatedly and before getting any objections from me, he does just that.

Oh. My. Fucks.

None of his dirty, commanding promises could've prepared me for what having my ass eaten out would feel like. It's more than I can explain. And when his shadows replace his tongue, his fingers push back into my pussy, and he latches onto my clit, it's like he's proving his point to me that he'd never do anything to my body that wouldn't bring me the utmost pleasure.

I'm fairly certain with this third orgasm that tears through me, I pass out.

"Good job, Primary. You did so good for me," Caspian murmurs across my lips and my eyes flutter open.

Pinching my chin softly, he pours some of his water into my mouth and I drink it down greedily. You'd think after that, I'd be worn out, ready to sleep the night away, but I'm not. His huge, hard cock presses into my leg. He's now changed my position to where I'm lying on the bed and he's hovering above me.

If his shadows weren't still tying me up, I'd wrap my arms and legs around him and demand he bond to me this instant.

"Naughty little Primary." He smirks, no doubt seeing the rising desire creeping back into my eyes.

"Are you sure, Cas?" I ask softly when I feel him line himself up to my core.

"I'm more sure about this than I've ever been about anything in my life, Willow," he says gently but very seriously.

It's reflected in his burning amber.

He wants to bond. He loves me.

"I love you, Caspian."

He chuckles darkly, bowing and shaking his head slightly. There's a feral glint in his eyes when he drags them back up to meet mine.

"Love is such a mediocre term when it comes to what I feel for you, Primary. It's a force that consumes me, completely, entirely. It's a depth I never knew I was capable of reaching. You've taken the blackened, broken tapestry of my soul that was covered in shadows and scars, each thread composed of pain and hate, and have mended it whole. I've drifted to the darkest parts of myself, and for the longest time, I believed that's where I'd remain. But then you appeared, with your sassy mouth and all-seeing eyes, and like a ray of moonlight, you pierced through the shadows, and everything changed.

"With you, parts of myself that were beginning to rot away have now come back with vigor because you've shown me healing isn't a foolish dream. Standing in your light, Primary, is like standing on the edge of a cliff, staring down into the black abyss below and knowing I can come out of it. There's nothing at the shadowy bottom that could keep me from you. Because I need you. I need you so fiercely. And I love you with a ferocity that both frightens and frees me, but it barely scratches our surface. If you need those words, I'll give them to you a thousand times over every day."

Tears of happiness slide down my face and he watches the vulnerability with a newfound softness. The heat behind his eyes has a touch of tenderness and when he cups my cheeks in his hands, I know he's about to make us one. He knows he's not the only one being made whole tonight. I am as well, and we're going to do it together.

"Every piece of me is yours, Willow Vito. And I'm going to love you for eternity."

His words are solidified as he slams into me with everything he's got and my own shadows explode from my body, dragging his out as well.

The darkness encases us fully, leaving nothing to see in this black abyss. All there is to witness is the sound of our bodies moving together as one and the screams of my pleasure.

My shadows wrap around him, and when they command his shadows to free me, they obey, and my arms and legs are around him in milliseconds. Every part of me needs to touch him as he gloriously stretches not only my pussy but the spot in my soul that is and has always been his.

My hands, my mouth, my shadows roam every single inch of him that I can reach. I need to touch him. I need to map out every scar beneath my fingertips and replace their horrid memories with memories of me. My essence, my being becoming one with his.

Without our sight of one another in this moment, every stroke of whatever he decides to touch me with sends electricity skirting down my spine. It's ten times more…more everything. He's no different. No matter where I caress, he groans, hisses, or breathes my name like he's barely holding himself together.

Every breath I take between my moans, my pants, my lungs fill with the scent of whiskey and books, and it drives me mad. I can taste him on my tongue and my mouth waters, craving more.

"Give me your light, Primary. I need to see you become mine," he commands.

There's no giving him light right now. Our shadows have blacked out the entirety of this room and I'm too close to the edge to even concentrate on anything else other than his cock, his bond, his shadows. Him. I can't focus on anything but him.

My pussy clenches him tightly as his shadows work every part of me. They circle my clit, tease my nipples, slowly pump in and out of my ass, and he, somehow while commanding all of that, captures my mouth in a punishing, hungry kiss as he slams into me with abandon. The pressure of my fourth orgasm builds rapidly, and when he breaks our mouths apart, breathing my name, a plea falling from his lips, time stops.

Everything stops.

Except my bond.

The purest and brightest shade of white I've ever seen slowly trickles from my heart and into his, casting enough light through the shadows for us to see. Shock and surprise cross my face, and it becomes even more pronounced when I look up to see that Caspian sees it too.

He stares at it in fascination and there's nothing but pure, raw devotion in his eyes when he meets mine.

"White means purity, protection, and divine connection," I whisper.

A smile, just as bright as our bond, spreads across his face, and he slowly leans down to lay his lips softly to mine.

"I'd love the rest of it now, Primary."

When he shifts his hips back and slams into me once more, everything explodes.

The remainder of my bond crashes into him, snatching him right over the edge with me, and together, we fall headfirst into our release and our forever.

Wave after wave of pleasure comes over us. Unrestrained, unstoppable.

There's no blocking it or us. There's no pause, no water breaks, no sleep as that round rolls into another and then another. There's no part of each other that we don't brand into our minds, hearts, and souls.

We don't stop until we simply can't function anymore.

Then we both enter the darkness.

Protected by each other.

By our bonds.

And by our shadows.

From the dead of sleep, I sit up rapidly, gasping for air.

Or at least I attempt to gasp.

The ambush is sudden and I'm not prepared for it in the least. My lungs expand but become so heavy beneath my rib cage, it feels like they're going to crack every bone in their way. Every breath I attempt to take makes them heavier, fuller. My head's already starting to grow light and my vision is blurring from the lack of oxygen.

What is happening?

"C…" I try to croak out his name. Nothing but a raspy, gurgling noise leaves me, but thank fuck it's enough because Caspian instantly wakes up, on high alert.

"Primary, what's wrong?" he asks frantically.

Over and over, I pat my chest where my lungs lie, my throat, anywhere I can, to try to relay what's happening to me, but it's not working. His hands follow mine, lying against my skin, searching, but he has no clue what's happening either.

"Talk to me, Primary," he commands, but I shake my head and tap my throat again.

"Tell me what's wrong."

His voice echoing in my mind calms my erratic and panicked heartbeat for the moment and if I were in any state to breathe a sigh of relief, I would. This is a monumental thing and I should be sleeping peacefully for a few more hours before waking up and celebrating. Celebrating the fact that my Nexus is complete, I have a new, amazing gift, and a rare, only seen once in a lifetime mind connection that's fully formed, but instead, I'm on the cusp of dying. Literally.

"Can't breathe…Lungs heavy…hurt…"

Immediately, he lays both of his hands against my skin where my lungs sit beneath the surface and I feel him attempting to do something about it, but it's not working. When his eyes widen in pure fear and his own panic, I know something is thoroughly wrong.

"Get to the back lawn right fucking now," he bellows through the link that connects us all.

"You're drowning, Primary. There's water trapped in your body and it's not obeying me. You have to force it out, Willow," he says rapidly before wrapping us in shadows and whisking us away.

Even as we go incorporeal, the pain follows me there. It follows me through the shadows, through the mansion, and out to the back lawn.

The others are already standing there, pacing manically, and when they look at me, their worry intensifies tenfold.

"Corentin, try to see if you can give her some air," Caspian commands as he sets me down gently.

My body sways as my vision swims and suddenly, I'm seeing multiple of my men. There's at least eight of them and when I stick my hand out for someone to grasp, to ground me, I can't tell if I'm reaching for the real one or the duplicate.

"Shit," Corentin hisses as he presses his hand firmly to my chest. "There's no room for any air, Caspian."

"Fuck. Move," Caspian demands and I feel him cup my cheeks in his hands. "Stay with me, Primary, stay with me."

"Cas…"

I don't know if I can. The water isn't obeying me either. The moment he said what was happening, I tried to command it out just as I would all my other elements, but it doesn't respond to me like they do.

It's wilder, more rapid.

"Draw it out of you. Command it up out of your lungs and through your mouth rather than your hands if that's easier. Or make your air suck it out. You can do this, Willow."

Caspian's tone is petrified as his fingers twitch against my cheeks. Through the pain of suffocating, I feel him now more keenly than ever before and a sad, watery smile crosses my face. I've waited quite some time now to feel him pulse through my chest, my heart, and it seems the first time could possibly be my last.

"Don't think like that, little warrior. Fight. Fight it," Tillman gruffly orders through the emotion clogging his throat.

I'm trying to. I'm trying so hard, but it's…

"No, don't fight, little wanderer," Draken says softly as suddenly it's his hands holding my face rather than Caspian's. His warmth circles me in a protective blanket and I want to honker down in it.

"Draken, what the—"

"Don't fight. Let it be free. Water can't be restrained. It flows both broken and whole. Sing your lullaby and let it go, little wanderer," he murmurs against my lips, then backs away from me rapidly like he knows something's about to happen that the rest of us don't.

Regardless, I listen to him, his instructions, because my chest swells just a smidge with his words.

Air, Earth, Water, Fire so bright,

Four Elements pure and right.

Air we breathe, wise and sweet,

Earth stands strong, soil beneath our feet.

Water flows, broken and whole,

Fire's warmth feeds the soul.

Remember these with joy and cheer,

The elements become one, the world becomes clear.

As if my body is a poorly constructed dam, water crashes through me with the ferocity of a flood. It flows out of me with no restraint, no direction, and circles me in a globe that continues to grow.

The more that pours out of me, the easier it becomes to breathe, to see, and finally, I stand on shaking legs. With my arms outstretched, the wild rapids continue to shoot from my palms, adding to the massive water ball I'm encapsulated in, and the desperate breaths I take seem to only strengthen them. All I can do is ground myself in the soil and let it be free. Let it surround me.

All the other times I had an element break free, I never had to completely deplete it for it to listen to me. But this element is so, so different than the others. It's like it's stretching itself out from being so restrained for so long. As the last drop slips through my finger, I finally feel its connection snap in place. It's instantaneous and I know now, it'll listen to me.

This little element here is deadly but also beautiful.

Turning around inside the globe, I drag my fingers through the cool liquid, smiling, mesmerized. If it decided to just burst, I'd be done for. I don't believe I could get myself out of this much water in time or with the help of all my other elements.

As if my elements took that thought as an opportunity to show me different, with no warning, and no command from me, all four of them burst free together.

Suddenly, I'm shot through the top of the globe on a pillar of stone and my air blows around me, drying me off. Purple and red flames surround me in the warmth of a fireplace while my water slithers around my body.

The four of them work together as one, taking complete control of this situation, raising me higher and higher into the sky. The more into the air I climb, the more power they build, the more forceful they become. Just like the moment at my tree when my Memoria stone touched my skin, I feel like they're hitting me at once, but instead of it being painful, it's freeing.

Taking a deep breath, I raise my arms out beside me and command them to let go. Be free.

And they do just that.

Winds of a category five hurricane blow from my fingers, taking dunes and dunes of sand with it. Both my flame and element shoot out of my body like my dragon breathing fire into the sky and my waters swirl around it all, keeping it contained in a vortex around me.

As they continue to drain out of me, I realize how calm, how balanced, how free, and how full I feel. Up here in the sky, parts of myself finally click into place. In this explosion of power, I've never felt more myself, more alive.

Looking around me, there's no doubt, if this were to occur on the ground, the mansion, the forest, everything around me would be destroyed. I've been blessed with a dangerous level of power, and I refuse to follow the generational curse bestowed on me by my father's side. I'll follow the path of Elementra, my men, my mom, my brother, my real family. And we'll use this power to make this realm what it should be.

"Come back to me." I command my elements.

Slowly, they retreat back into my chest as I'm lowered back to the ground where my men wait, both enchanted and panicked. With one small grin from me, they all break out into breathtaking smiles and surround me, passing me around and showering me in love and praise.

"You okay, little wanderer?" Draken asks as he nuzzles into my neck.

"A little tired, but other than that, I've never felt better." I feel him smile against the side of my neck and I close my eyes to relish his warmth. If it hadn't been for him, who knows if I would've figured out what to do in time.

"You scared me, princess," Corentin murmurs across my lips before stealing a kiss.

"I was scared. I've never had an element just completely ignore me, but we've got it under control now," I reassure him and smooth my hand under his worried gaze.

"Well, you were remarkable, Will. Aside from the almost dying part, you handled it all perfectly," Tillman says with a huge grin that lights my heart aflame. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of his pride.

Bone-deep exhaustion hits me as soon as he sets me back on my feet and I sway between them. Shadows swirl around me, steadying me easily, and I'm dragged back into Caspian's cool chest.

"Bed for us, Primary. Tell the others we'll see them when we wake up," he orders.

With a quick kiss from each of them, Caspian whisks us away through the shadows and deposits us into my bed. He lays a gentle kiss to my forehead and murmurs for me to sleep.

My body is obviously still his to command because I close my eyes, and together we sink into darkness.