7. Forever

CHAPTER 7

Forever

E mery's fangs sank into Jelisette's neck with ease. There wasn't even a pinprick of pain. His sharpened teeth slid into her like they'd always belonged there.

She moaned, her fingers curling on the comforter as she inched closer to him. There was no pain or discomfort. Just pure, endless bliss.

Maybe—just maybe—Jelisette could understand why Justus was always talking about his partners. If this was what it would feel like every time Emery drank from her…

Gods. Just the thought sent a thrill of pleasure through her. He drank, pulling deep draws of her blood, and she sank into the bliss he provided her. His arms wrapped around her, and she let him hold her as her body became boneless.

This was everything .

Jelisette let him take as much as he needed. Bound Partners could not take too much from the other—theirs was a relationship created by the goddess herself.

The Binding Mark on Jelisette's arm tingled, and she knew the Isvana-blessed magic that now tied them together would keep them both safe. Their bodies, their blood, and their souls were now Bound.

And she was… happy.

Gods, it felt good to say that. Jelisette hadn't made many rash decisions in her life, but deciding to come with Emery to his home had been the best one she'd ever made.

Eventually, he lifted his fangs from her neck. Red stained his mouth, and Jelisette watched as he licked them clean.

"You taste fucking amazing," Emery growled. The wound on his arm was healed, and his eyes shone a deeper black than before. He moved closer until there was barely an inch between them, and his breath warmed her lips. "Like the darkest night, and I can't get enough of it."

She licked her lips, studying him carefully. "What do you want, Emery?"

His eyes darkened until the night itself seemed to bleed around them. "You," he growled.

The meaning of his words was clear, and they sent a deep flurry of want through Jelisette.

"Do you feel?—"

Before she could finish the question, Emery's mouth had crashed into hers. He kissed her like she was the only thing he needed to live; like he was starving, and kissing her would keep him alive. There was nothing gentle or kind or soft about this embrace, but Jelisette didn't need that.

"I'll take that as a yes," she murmured, lifting her lips off his long enough to talk. "I want you, too, Emery."

The words were an unleashing.

His mouth slammed into hers once more. Jelisette moaned. He groaned. Lips and tongues and teeth danced in a tale as old as time itself. Hands wandered. Clothes disappeared, ending up all over the cave.

It didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered was the man before Jelisette.

Emery's eyes darkened as he stretched her out before him. "You're gods-damned amazing, love," he growled.

He bent, kissing and licking and sucking his way down her body. He lavished her with attention, and her head fell back with a moan.

Love.

Was that what lay between them? She wasn't sure, but maybe… maybe it did.

Her heart certainly felt fuller than it had before they met, her life more complete, and her soul more right.

Maybe this was love.

One thing was certain: their Binding would keep them together forever. If one Bound partner died before the other, it would rip their souls in two.

So they wouldn't die.

Jelisette would protect Emery with everything she had, and vice versa. They would be everything for each other, partners in every way.

Then her thoughts were no more because Emery's marked wrist traveled down, dipping into her wet core.

She gasped, arching her back as he drew her closer and closer to pleasure. He was skilled with his touch, and soon, she was moaning his name.

"Close," she gasped. "So close."

His eyes darkened, and he dragged his fangs over her inner thigh. The pressure of his teeth, the promise of what would one day come, was enough to make her shatter.

Waves of pleasure ran through Jelisette as Emery moved, fitting himself between her thighs. He bent, his mouth claiming hers in a searing kiss as his hard length slid into her.

"You're mine," she murmured against his lips. "Forever."

"Forever," he agreed.

Words were no longer needed between them as they climbed and climbed towards their peak together. They were two, joined as one. Bound and Blessed by Isvana and Ithiar.

Nothing would ever tear them apart.

The End