32

ADRIAN

IVY’S eyes fluttered as she fell asleep. I was almost tempted to join her, but as someone upstairs stirred and the house creaked, I tensed.

Softness filled her features, washing away the stress that had lined her eyes the last few weeks. As her hair pooled around her like a halo, I couldn’t stop myself from running my fingers through the silky tresses. In sleep, she looked peaceful, safe, and unburdened with the knowledge of her future and everything awaiting her in Avalon.

Her naked body, soft to the touch, was reminiscent of the statues lining the palace dedicated to Nyx. The Goddess of Night, according to our ancestors, had been all soft edges and curves. As I stared down at my mate, I could see why the Goddess had chosen her to be the next Queen.

A gentle smile tipped Ivy’s lips, but she didn’t stir, even as I replaced our clothing. The bond purred in my chest, humming with a warmth that felt like a piece of me had finally returned to my soul. With Ivy so close, it seemed unimaginable to not have this part of me. How had I lived so long without her? How had I gone twenty-five years without this missing part of me?

A door on the second floor opened and closed, and I tensed again. Even though she was dressed, I didn’t want anyone stumbling across this moment or see Ivy like this.

Now I understood Elias better, and why he’d been so overprotective of her when they’d completed their bond. That instinct to protect almost overwhelmed me, but I held it in as I stared down at her serene face.

Nothing mattered now. Only my mate did. My bonded mate.

A smile touched my lips, and I could feel warmth touch my cheeks as I gathered her in my arms. As I held her close, I knew I would never be able to let her go.

Even my magic, which had never felt like a separate entity before the bond, now rose beneath my skin in agreeance. The strength of it should’ve startled me, but I took comfort in knowing I would have the means to protect my mate better now. With the increased power her bond gave me, I could build better wards and stronger charms to keep her safe.

I took the stairs slowly, careful not to wake her. If I knew anything about Ivy now after the last four weeks, it was that she’d be fighting me if she were awake. She’d pressure me to drop her so she could walk to the bedroom, and although I loved watching her stand up for herself, I also hated how she thought she needed to do so with me.

Was there still a part of her that didn’t trust me? I frowned as I glanced down at her, where her face was snuggled into the crook of my neck. After everything that’d happened, I knew there was a possibility of her still having some hesitations. I also had to hope, though, that we were together for the long haul now.

But she’d been hurt badly by one of her mates already. How deeply had that scarred? Ivy hadn’t known they were mates, so it wasn’t her fault. If anything, that mystery mate should have known. He should have been more aware.

And now her hurt was on him. Her distrust. That, I was sure of.

I hated knowing there were likely others out there who’d fed into her insecurities. If I ever found those assholes, they were dead.

I used a burst of magic to open the door to my room, careful not to startle Ivy, and gently lowered her to the bed. As I pulled away, she made a sound of discontent in the back of her throat, which made me smile.

“I’ll be back, Sweetheart,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple.

She made another sound before curling up in the mussed covers. It had been difficult not joining her the last few nights, but I’d needed the time to think over everything, and she’d needed time with her sisters.

We were almost ready to leave for Avalon, and now a part of me didn’t want to take Ivy back. She was mated three times over, and her nightmares and magic should be settling now that she had those anchors. But I also didn’t want to take her home and see her thrown into the arms of other potential mates. She’d be pawed at as the new Queen, and with only Elias and I able to stand at her side, there wasn’t much we could do to guide her through it.

Each step away from Ivy made my heart ache, but I entered the bathroom with only a single backward glance. As she slept, I filled the deep tub in the corner of the room, adding a few salts to the steaming water as I did. Lavender and rose scents circled the deep porcelain and clung to the air as I returned to the bedroom.

Ivy blinked tiredly at me for a moment before pulling herself into a sitting position. “Oh my God, I fell asleep,” she grumbled, rubbing her eyes. “I am so sorry.”

I grinned and took her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “It’s alright, Sweetheart. You’re awake now, and I’ve filled the tub. Why don’t we have a bath?”

I waited anxiously for her response, and when she gave me a soft smile, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’d love to,” she said, smiling up at me. “I, um, am finding myself in need of a quick wash.” Her cheeks bloomed red, and I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling.

I leaned in closer and looked down at her lips. “Having an issue, Sweetheart?”

Ivy grumbled something about sticky cum under her breath before pushing me away. I could barely contain my laugh as she undressed and stalked into the bathroom without looking back. I only managed to glimpse her issue before she disappeared, and I was pretty pleased with it.

“Are you joining me or what?” she called.

As I threw my own clothes off, I thought about how lucky I was to have found her, to have been given such an exquisite mate by the Goddess.

I found Ivy waiting for me at the edge of the tub; the steam from the water surrounded her sublime body, dancing around her dewy skin, reigniting the fire thrumming through my veins. I wanted to take her again, to do all the things I’d been dreaming of since the moment I stepped foot into that hotel.

Ivy’s smile brought me back to the present, her cheeks a rosy pink as she bit her lip. “I have a pretty decent impression of what you’re thinking, Adrian, and I could be easily convinced of all the things running through your head right now.”

Heat rushed up my neck to my face, and I ducked my head to hide it. “Shit, sorry.”

Her laugh made my heart skip a beat and was music to my ears. “We’ll work on the mind-speak thing later,” she replied, reaching over to take my hand. “This looks great, Adrian.”

“I want to take care of you.” I tugged her into me, relishing the feeling of her soft body pressed against mine. “You’re mine. From now until Nyx takes us, I’ll be yours.” I cupped the side of her face and lowered my head to kiss her lips lightly. “I want to take care of you before we go further. This…this has to be a lot to take in.”

Ivy reciprocated the kiss, and for the first time since the bond snapped into place, I felt her genuine emotions through our bond.

At first, it felt like lightning, striking and blinding, before dimming to give me the barest impression of her feelings. Contentment, happiness, comfort. A hint of shyness was hidden within all the positive emotions running through the bond.

I’ll fuck that out of you, I warned lightly, claiming her lips once more. I never want you to feel shy around me.

She chuckled against my lips. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

“A bad one,” I replied, stealing another kiss. “Let’s get you clean, Sweetheart. Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable with all that cum between your legs.” I took a step back and marvelled at the sight of her bare thighs gleaming with my seed. “On the other hand, I do enjoy looking at you like this.”

Ivy rolled her eyes. “Of course you do. Why does that not surprise me?”

I grinned. “We tend to be primal creatures once we meet our mates. The days following a mate bond happen to be the most…active.”

“Uh-huh. At least you’re not threatening to impregnate me like Elias. Yay, magical birth control.”

My eyes darkened, and I grabbed her hand again, pulling her back into me. “Elias might be onto something,” I murmured, kissing her neck. “But I want you all to myself for now. Maybe in a few months—”

“Years,” she snapped, smacking my arm. “And we are not talking about this right now.”

“It’s a conversation that needs to be had.” I nipped at her earlobe and smiled at her low moan. “But one we can save until you’re crowned.” Well, until she found her other mates. There was no telling how many she’d have, but now, as her bonded, I could feel the strength of her magic. It swelled within her and rushed through me for release.

It worried me. Without her third, she’d be weakened, and I couldn’t help but wonder if three would be enough to compete with her power. I’d felt it when she’d gone through the power surge. Even after Hawk had somehow made her calm down, it had still been a lot for me to take in when Elias had taken her and tried to pull some of that magic through him.

But I didn’t say any of that aloud, and hoped I’d successfully blocked those thoughts from her. “Let’s clean you up,” I said, motioning for the tub. “Come on.”

Ivy climbed in quietly, and I followed, sitting against the edge as she settled in between my legs. With her situated against my chest, I took a moment to breathe in her scent.

“Are you…are you sniffing me?” she asked, peering at me over her shoulder.

I blushed and kissed her temple instead of replying. “How are you feeling?” I asked, reaching for a washcloth and wetting it.

Ivy turned back around and rested her head against my shoulder. “Good. Why?”

“Does your magic feel more stable?”

She shrugged, and I took that moment to drag the cloth over her breasts; the water just covered her voluptuous body, but I had a wonderful view of the peaks of her nipples slicing through the steam, and the valley between her thighs.

I circled the cloth between her breasts and down her chest, leaning into her body as I cleaned the mess between her thighs. “Tell me, Sweetheart. How are you really feeling?”

She sighed, then kissed my jaw as I washed away the remnants of our mingled release. “Calmer than before. I guess with everything going on, I hadn’t really noticed the storm inside me, but now it’s just…there. I don’t think I’ll know the extent until we’re faced with something horrible.”

I leaned back and wound my arms around her. “I’ll protect you—we, your mates—will make sure you never have to go through that again.”

“But I will, won’t I?” she asked, and I felt her fear through the bond. I tightened my hold on her. “They’ll keep coming after me until I’m dead.”

“I won’t let that happen,” I vowed. “There is nothing I won’t do to protect you, Ivy.”

She shuddered in my arms and sunk further into my hold. “I don’t understand how you can be so…sure of this.”

“This?” I asked carefully.

She glanced up at me with those wide, brown eyes, worry warring with what she could feel from me. “This—the bond. Elias is the same, and I don’t get it. You guys barely know me, and you’re ready to just—”

“We grew up knowing the power and the blessing of a mate bond, Ivy.” I pressed a tender kiss against her shoulder and recalled the stories I’d been told. My father used to tell me of the day he met my mother; he’d been part of a group from one of the other academies, spending a semester at the palace in the Hall of Records as part of his degree.

He told me that while logging newly found documents from the old world, he’d looked up, and there she was. He’d called her an Angel, wound in gold, with a halo of stars around her head. At that moment, he said the entire world had shifted, and he knew he’d never be able to leave her side.

“We’re taught from a young age the importance of a mate bond,” I continued, absentmindedly stroking a hand up her body. “I grew up around what it’s like to be mated to the Queen. All the knights, my mother’s mates, are completely and utterly devoted to her. They would die for her, give their body and soul to protect her, and would do anything to make her happy.”

Ivy hummed under her breath. “That sounds romantic,” she murmured, capturing my hand and entwining our fingers. “But is that what you really want, or what you think you want?”

I stiffened at the uncertainty in her voice. “Are you asking me this because of him?”

She swallowed audibly and shrugged, but she didn’t respond right away. Through the bond, she tugged mercilessly at her thoughts as she tried to respond but couldn’t form what she wanted to say.

“He and I—and Elias—aren’t the same,” I said gently, squeezing her hand. “I’ve dreamed of a love as strong as my parents’. To grow up and know that I might never get that…And now, having you right here in my arms where I want you, do you really think I’m going to give you up?”

I don’t know, she whispered down the bond.

I’ve been on my knees begging for you since the moment we met, I replied. Every day I saw you, I wanted nothing but you. I took that coffee date as the Goddess herself telling me we were meant to be.

“We can still take this at a slow pace, right?” she asked aloud. “This doesn’t mean everything has to change right now?”

I pressed another kiss to her head. “We do this at any pace you like. But get used to the sex.”

She snorted and shook her head. “That can be managed.”

“You’re going to need Elias and me more now,” I warned. “We can share the load of your power, but you have to rely on us. Especially without—” I stopped and sighed. “My mother has already warned me of what your power will be like now. So, Elias and I are prepared.”

“Does your mother know about…him?”

“No.” I tightened my grip on Ivy as my magic rose like a beast in my chest at the thought of him. Her first mate, the man who abandoned her. Who only made himself known when he needed something. “We’ll warn her when we get to Avalon, but for now, it’s safer for you and us if no one else is aware of him.”

“Good.” She huffed and sat up, pulling out of my grip. Slowly, she turned so she was almost sitting across from me, but based on the coy smile playing on her lips, there was something else she wanted.

“I don’t want to talk about anything else,” she murmured, climbing into my lap and straddling my thighs. “I want to enjoy the post-bond haze before we have to help with any more planning.”

I grinned and felt her reach beneath the water to palm my cock. I was already hard, ready for her, and when she guided me to her entrance, I held my breath.

She slid down, inch by inch until she was impaled on me. Ivy threw her head back with a moan and rocked her hips, clamping around me with each gentle movement.

I guided each deliberate stroke, each slow rise and fall, keeping my hands on her hips as she controlled the pace. There was something intimate about watching her wield her power over me.

“You are so perfect,” I said, catching the gleam of desire in her eyes as she speared herself on my cock again. “You own me completely, Ivy Wilson.”

Her smile lit up her face. “You make me feel so good,” she moaned, grinding against me. “Adrian, I’m going to come.”

I lifted her and slammed her down, watching the euphoric glow of her magic ignite across her skin. Her core fluttered with the next thrust.

She whispered my name and dug her nails into my shoulders. Her voice flickered down the bond, and with that, I came undone.

When we finished, I cleaned her again and carried her to the bed, losing myself in the feel of her body around mine. I gathered the blanket around our naked bodies and pulled her into my chest, her head resting perfectly against the steady beat of my heart—a heart that belonged to her and only her.

~

A tingle ran over my skin in warning,and my eyes flew open. Something was wrong, very wrong, and my wards were screaming at me from the perimeterof the safe house. Magic crackled along the tips of my fingers in warning, more potent than it ever had been before.

An explosion rocked the house. Glass shattered somewhere on the south side as the protective shield surrounding the estate disintegrated.

They found us.