22. Chapter 22

Ishoved him onto his back so I could straddle him. His black eyes stared at me, taking in my every move. His hand came up and brushed my wild curls away from my face. My vision pulsed with a fiery red haze letting me know my eyes were still the color of fire.

"So, that's how good we are together." I smiled.

He nodded and gave me a sly smile.

"How long has it been since we've done this?" I looked down at him as I traced the T over his heart.

A look of sadness crosses his beautiful features. "Six years. The first year you came to the trials we reconnected, but you didn't know who I was in the slightest and you were eliminated before the second trial."

I saw his wheels turning in his mind like he wanted to ask or say something, but he wasn't sure if he should.

"Just ask whatever you are thinking." My voice wavered, worried it would be something bad.

"Six years is a long time. I wouldn't be upset if there had been others besides me." It wasn't a question, but he wanted an answer.

I shook my head no.

"Up until a few days ago, I assumed I was a virgin."

His laugh filled the air around us. I swatted at his chest, and he smiled up at me with some deep emotion in his eyes.

"There's been no one else for me either."

I wasn't going to ask because I didn't want to know if someone else got this when I wasn't here to give it to him.

"A virgin, huh?" He tried to hide his smirk as his hands gripped my hips softly. "Was it a shock to see those memories of us?"

"Yes." I looked away from his face. He turned my face towards him as I tried to hide the emotions bubbling up. "I don't want to forget this again."

"I don't want you to either."

"How do you do this every year knowing I won't remember you?" I traced the T on his chest again, as if I could burn it into my memory.

"Your mind might not remember me, but your heart does and that is enough for me. Every trial you've come to, you seek me out, ask questions about me, stare at me a little too long, smile at me, and find reasons to be near me," he confessed. "It's like the curse couldn't take your desire to want me away from you and it shows me with every little thing you do."

"But you wanted to stay away from me this time."

"I've never tried to actually stay away from you before and I thought it would help you to not be so distracted by your feelings for me. That it would keep you from doing something so reckless like save me from those men in the forest, but it didn't work."

Something shifted into place in my mind.

"That's why you were so upset that I had come. You didn't want me to get hurt and not compete in the trials."

He nodded and leaned up to rest on his hands behind him before leaning forward and kissing me softly.

"When I heard you were missing, my mind went crazy. Like I didn't have a choice but to go to you. No one could stop me from going." Pausing, I watched his face soften at my words. "Why did you tell me to leave your room?"

"I was still so scared that I would lose you again. I'm sorry for making you feel that way and saying what I did. For making you think that I hated you and wanted you away from me." His eyes looked up to mine. "I thought it was a dream when I woke up to you in bed with me, but then you were actually there. At first, I was confused, but honestly, I needed you to stay away from me because I thought it would make you focus on me instead of the trials. It happened in one of the other trials and I didn't want to chance it again. I figured I could hold off until you were done with the trials and then we'd have a lifetime together."

The rain started falling around us and we hurried to get dressed. Cassius pulled me onto the horse with him and my horse followed closely. He wrapped his arm around me and his other hand held the reins as we darted through the forest. I laughed as the rain soaked through our clothing. His arm holding me squeezed me tightly.

"You did always love the rain," he said from behind me. I turned my face towards him and smiled brightly before crushing my lips to his. The horse slowed down as Cassius's hand dropped the reins so he could pull me closer. He twisted me so I was facing him, my legs straddling his hips. The horse kept walking at a slow pace as Cassius's hands tugged my hips, so I was rubbing against his hard length.

"Home. Let's get home first." He groaned but didn't shift me back around as he grabbed the reins and urged his horse to go faster. I kissed him softly before moving down his jaw and neck. He let out a soft sigh as I moved my hips slowly against him. Teasing him. I smiled when his fingers tangled in my hair and pulled me back so he could find my mouth.

He broke the kiss as soon as the horses walked into the stables. Cassius practically dragged me to the castle doors before stopping.

"Stay with me in our room?"

Our room.

"Yes."

He gave me a lopsided smile as he dragged me through the castle hallways. We passed the room I had been to before. We walked up a long spiral staircase I had never seen before. When we reached the top of the stairs, I saw separate living quarters from the rest of the castle. A large living area with a nice kitchen and dining room off the side. It was mostly decorated in forest greens. I couldn't admire much about it as Cassius dragged me quickly to the left. When we entered the last door at the end of the hallway I froze. I had been here before. The mirrors I had been standing in front of in my memory were to the left of the giant four-poster bed frame. The bed had beautiful dark green bedding and accents in off-white.

"You like it?" Cassius smiled. "You should. You picked out everything in here," he said, lightly chuckling.

"I had a memory of us here not that long ago," I replied, "I was standing in the mirror, and you had come in being extra flirtatious."

Cassius's eyes shined a bright gold like he was happy to know I remembered something else. The look had my heart racing with deep emotions.

"You told me you thanked the Gods above that you found me."

"I still thank them even if I don't believe in them like I did before," he whispered. Cassius paused before he continued. "I prayed to Gods I don't believe in, and I begged the stars above that they let you choose me to love, Thea. That has been my only prayer since I first laid eyes on you."

I was the one to move first. My strides towards him were swift. As soon as my mouth touched his he had me up in the air so my legs could wrap around him. We fell to the bed in a messy chaotic heap. Clothes flung to the floor like we hadn't touched each other in years, even though it had only been minutes. I had never felt a burning need like this.

Cassius slid to the floor to kneel between my knees. His hands undid my boots, my daggers clanking to the floor. His smile was contagious when he met my eyes. He gripped the waistband of my trousers, and I was naked with one swift pull. His rough hands ran over my thighs before gripping them to spread them, so I was completely exposed to him.

I should feel embarrassed or nervous, but he looked at me like I was a sight to behold. Sitting up on my elbows I watched as his head descended. My legs threatened to close tightly when he ran his soft tongue along my pussy. When he knew I would keep my legs open for him he let go of them and ran his fingers over me before plunging them into me as his mouth licked and devoured me. I moaned loudly into the space of our bedroom as his dark hair bobbed up and down between my legs.

My hands gripped his hair as he wrapped his arms around my thighs and hauled me against his face completely. His tongue shoved into me, hot and demanding.

"Cassius," I warned.

"You wanted me, My Love, so you"ll take everything I give you." That was the only warning he gave before I came with a breath-stealing orgasm. I had fallen back on the bed, but my hands tangled even further into his hair as I held him in place. As my hips moved across his mouth and tongue, I was greedy for more as I came. Cassius was crawling on top of me before my orgasm finished, his lips swollen and glistening from me. His tongue assaulted my mouth in the same fashion as his fingers teased my nipples.

I lifted my hips up to get him to slip into me and he smiled against my mouth as he pulled far enough away that I couldn't. A frustrated sigh left me.

"So eager, my love?"

My heart pounded at the nickname he called me. As if he could hear my heartbeat pick up its pace, he stopped smiling. His hand ran up my stomach until it was over my heart.

"This is my favorite thing. Hearing this, feeling this beat in your chest for me."

I don't know why tears sprang into my eyes as he felt my erratic heart beating in my chest. But it seemed important that he said that.

"I like it when you call me that," I confessed.

"My love?" Cassius smiled when I nodded yes. He leaned down and kissed me softly, his tongue dancing lazily with mine. He wasn't rushed. Cassius was controlled and calculated in every move, every caress of his hands. He pushed his hips into mine and filled me at a deliciously slow pace. I could hardly catch my breath when he finished pushing completely inside of me. His forehead rested on mine as he slowly pulled back and then filled me again. He was savoring this. I wanted to savor this moment, but I wouldn't remember it if I didn't complete the trials. Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought.

Cassius shifted us and rolled so I was sitting on top. His hands gripped my hips tightly as I lifted and sank back down on him. His eyes stared at mine.

"Tell me what you"re thinking," he whispered.

"That I don't want to forget this. That I don't know how I ever could forget any of this when it feels so right." I moaned when he yanked me down hard.

"You look so pretty sliding down my cock, Thea." He groaned when I picked up my pace. His eyes glanced down to where he slid into me. "Fuck." He threw his head back onto the pillows and watched my face.

"What are you thinking about?" My hands splayed over his tattooed chest as I slowly sank down his impressive length.

"How much I love you." He didn"t miss a beat as he spoke, but I stopped moving. "This is one of those firsts that I don't mind having again." He smiled at whatever my face looked like. Cassius sat up so we were face to face and kissed me roughly. My hips moved quicker against him. Cassius's hands squeezed my flesh tightly as I rolled my hips into his at a relentless speed. My orgasm was teetering on the edge of release.

"Quit holding out on me, My Love, let me hear you," he whispered into my ear like a sweet caress. My arms wrapped around his shoulders as I yanked him next to me as my orgasm ripped through me. Cassius gripped me tightly as he roared into my neck and found his release. I could hardly hear myself whimpering as my orgasm died down.

"Fuck." He groaned softly as we both tumbled backward on the bed.

We faced each other, both of us were breathing heavily. I felt so peaceful, so whole. His fingers traced over my face like he wanted to draw me into his mind so he could never forget.

"Was it always like this with us?" I asked.

His eyes sparkled with amusement.

"After you finally admitted your feelings for me, yes." He laughed softly as he continued. "After we stopped trying to kill each other it turned into this." His hand gestured to the bed and us.

"I don't understand how we jumped from trying to kill each other to sleeping together." I smiled at his happiness. "Did I ever come close to killing you?"

"Every time we met in battle you nearly killed me." His hand sat on my hip lazily like he just needed to touch any part of me he could.

"Why didn't I kill you?"

"You wanted to fuck me more." Cassius laughed loudly when I smacked his chest. "I can't tell you why, but someday you'll remember."

"So, you liked me first?" I wanted to know more about our history. Anything he could tell me would never be enough to satisfy this hunger I was feeling for more of him and us.

His eyes flashed black before turning gold again.

"Yes." He smirked like he was remembering fond memories. Gods, I wondered what it was like to remember all of us and our memories. "You used to be so mean and acted so disgusted at the thought of me, but I could see the lingering stares. You could have killed me in those battles, but you didn't. It became like a teasing game, and I was not going to lose it. You consumed my every thought and want. Still consume them."

"Weren't you worried about me being your enemy?"

"Not really," he said with a shrug that was shockingly carefree "I just needed you and that's all I thought about for years after I first saw you."

"Years?" I sat up and stared at him. "How long have we known each other?"

He lifted his hands like he was counting. "A long time," he answered back.

His fingers made small circles on my naked skin as he watched me. My eyes darted around the room at the simple, but tasteful design. It did look like something I would have picked out and decorated.

"The trial is tomorrow," he whispered. "We held it off as long as we could because I wanted you around longer, even if you hated me."

I nodded in understanding at him. The final trial before I was to travel to Cerithia and get the witch"s bloodstone. To break the curse and be able to stay with Cassius. Free everyone in Exile.

"The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can free everyone from Exile."

"What's it like there? You've never said anything about it."

"Horrible," I said. "There are no more animals to hunt. The creek ran dry. It's so hot and eerily silent." My eyes glazed over as I remembered the years of Exile. "I can break free of the boundary and get what I can, but it hurts every time I leave."

A flicker of something crossed his face as he broke eye contact with me. He grabbed my hand and held it tightly.

"We know you can break free. I've sent men into the woods to track you when it gets close to the trials, but I had to stop because you slaughtered them."

"Everyone in Exile believes Crimson is responsible for locking us away."

"Why do they think that?" His eyes flashed black in anger. "Do they not remember either?"

"I'm not sure anymore. They were acting oddly towards me before the trials."

"That"s why you kept saying I was your enemy." His whisper was so quiet that I nearly missed it. "Hopefully you'll never have to go back. And if you do go back, maybe this time we can find you and break you free."

"I doubt you'd ever be able to find Exile, it blends in like it's not even there. There's a large oak tree in the middle of the forbidden wood. You can't miss it, it's the only one in the whole woods and stands taller than any other tree. It's marked with an X. That is the start of the shadow boundary around Exile."

He rolled onto his back and pulled me to his side as the blankets draped over our naked bodies. I wanted to keep asking questions, but exhaustion clouded over me with Cassius holding me against his body heat.