Five Dianna. Two Weeks Later

Plates clattered to the floor, every bit of breakfast I had laid out for us ruined. The table beneath me creaked as I bucked my hips against his mouth, a desperate moan escaping my lips with each swipe of his tongue. My back arched, his tongue running from my center to my clit. He sucked my clit into his mouth, and my skin burned, every nerve sparking. He alternated between sucking and swirling his tongue in that demanding way that made my toes curl, and my eyes fuse to the back of my head.

“Fuck,” I gasped. “You’re supposed to be eating breakfast.”

Another swipe of his tongue had my body bucking with helpless pleasure.

“I am,” he practically purred against my swollen, wet flesh.

I rested my cheek against the table and lifted my knee, giving him more access from where he knelt behind me. His big hands gripped my thighs, spreading me even further, intent on devouring me completely. His tongue slid over my pussy again, and I saw stars. I bit my lip hard, trying my damnedest to be quiet, but it was pointless. I answered every groan he made against my flesh with a low moan of pleasure and need, pushing back against his face just to feel it again. His tongue speared my core and pushed deep. It felt so good, too good. This was bliss, and I was going to die.

Samkiel knew my body better than I did, and he used that knowledge to edge me again and again. It was senseless agony, but he liked to hear me beg, hear me whine as I called his name over and over again.

We hadn’t had sex in six weeks, not since we arrived. The healers had been working to mend the still-healing wound in his abdomen. They had given him the go-ahead yesterday, and as soon as his eyes opened this morning, he had stalked across the bedroom, past our balcony door, and straight to me. He hadn’t even looked at the breakfast I’d made for him before slanting his lips over mine. He’d ripped my sleep pants away and bent me over the breakfast table, cutlery and food be damned.

“Ah, Sami. Right there. Right there,” I whimpered, my fingers clenching at the edges of the table in a desperate attempt to ground myself before I fell off the table. “Please.”

My hips bucked as I pressed harder against his face, the scruff on his cheeks another illicit sensation I practically craved now. The breeze flowed across the outer balcony, swirling and caressing my skin, goosebumps rising everywhere it touched. My back bent, and I knew the needy god between my legs was doing more than just devouring me.

“Come on my tongue, akrai,” Samkiel demanded, his hands gripping my hips tightly, holding me still for his assault.

That was all it took. With one more flick of his tongue, my back bowed, and I came. Wood splintered beneath my hands as my orgasm ripped through me like wildfire, intense and burning.

My body was still rippling with aftershocks when Samkiel stood and pulled me to my feet. My legs wobbled as he turned me and gripped the back of my thighs, lifting me against his body. The cool air teased at my sweat-slicked back before curving around my nipples to pluck at them teasingly. Samkiel walked me to the balcony wall and sat me on the ledge, the cold of the stone doing nothing to alleviate the heat between my legs.

He placed his fingers against the flat of his tongue, wetting them before lowering his hand to grip my pussy. “This is what I need. You. Just you. I want to bury my cock in you balls deep. Then I want to fuck you until you can’t walk. I want you to feel me for days, akrai.”

Samkiel pressed close, and I felt encompassed in him as he slipped his fingers into me. Pulling out, he ran my slickness along his swollen, thick cock. My breath caught watching him stroke himself, knowing he was covered in me. I lifted my leg as he watched me with pure, unadulterated lust and rested my ankle against his collarbone. His eyes blazed molten silver as he looked me over with possessive need. The sound rumbling in his chest nearly sent me over the edge once more.

“You want that too. Wicked, wicked girl.”

“Only for you.” I ran my tongue along my lower lip.

He stepped closer, angling his hips to lock his cock at my entrance. I whimpered and pressed closer, needing him inside me.

Samkiel slapped my thigh, the sting only adding to the aching heat at my core. “Greedy girl.”

I nodded feverishly as I watched him. He spread me with the thick crown of his cock, but he barely pressed in a few inches before pulling back. “I’ve missed how good you feel,” he groaned, and I watched between us, my body trembling at the sight. “You missed it too?”

“Yes,” I whimpered at the teasing, bracing one hand on the balcony behind me and the other on his biceps.

He pushed in a little deeper, then pulled out. His lips brushed mine, and he whispered, “Five hundred.” I growled at his teasing when he thrust in and pulled back out again. I gripped his hair, barely able to grasp the short strands, and pulled him close. He kissed me deeply, my toes curling as our tongues danced. I panted against his lips when he broke the kiss and said, “And four hours is too long to keep us separate.”

I moaned as he sank into me again, my body welcoming him with a flood of heat. “You counted,” I gasped out.

His lips slanted across mine before he nipped at my lower lip. He gripped the back of my head and met my eyes as he slammed his full length into me and hissed, “Yes.”

I cried out and shuddered at the shock of his entry. The angle with my ankle resting on his shoulder and my other leg barely reaching the floor, the thickness of him, and how he filled me so quickly, it was all almost too much.

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

It was all I could think or say as he moved inside me. Every thrust sent waves of heat through my core and into my entire being. It never felt like this before. My powers had dampened so much, but now it was pure, blinding bliss.

My nails raked across the railing right as he started slamming into me. He pounded into me relentlessly, my moans turning to screams. He was no longer worried about hurting me as he had been when we first were together, and this time, he wasn’t holding back. A small part of my brain whispered that we should be taking this slower. He had been so wounded, so hurt, and we hadn’t fucked for weeks. We had teased, and he had more than once slipped his hand between my thighs or used his mouth on me, but we hadn’t done anything like this. Not until now.

I clenched tightly around him, drawing a string of curses out of him. Pleasure shot through me, and I clung to his arm, feeling that building ache as I chased my release. He gripped my waist, pulling me into his thrusts in a brutal rhythm. I could do nothing but hold on, every stroke carving another wave of pleasure from me. His need and his blistering hunger consumed me.

I felt my heart struggle to match his heartbeat, used to the sensation now. The sound of his rushing blood drew my eyes to the veins across his arms and hands. I licked my lips, and my fangs extended. My mouth gaped, a moan escaping me as he nipped at my throat. I caught my reflection in the window, seeing exactly what I feared. My eyes were burning red, and my fangs fully extended as he thrust into me. I snapped my mouth closed, willing that part of me back under control. I rested my head on his chest, hiding from the realization of my beast.

It felt like when I first turned and was out of control. At that time, I was nearly incapacitated by the overwhelming hunger to fuck and feed and rip. I held on to him harder, focusing on the feel of him, the sounds he made, and how I’d never hurt him like that. Never. Never. Never.

His hand gripped my hair, pulling my head toward him. Samkiel leaned in to kiss me, and I turned, exposing my throat. He didn’t even notice, taking it as a sign of what I wanted him to do. He nipped and sucked on my neck as he continued to slam into me.

“Talk to me,” I gasped. “Tell me filthy, dirty things.”

I didn’t want him to feel my fangs. There was no way I could feed on him, not now while he was still healing. I felt that hunger subside as I focused on how deep his cock drove into me.

“Fuck.” He groaned. “I’m trying to concentrate on not coming too fast.” He groaned once more, pulling my head back to look at me as he slowed, one deep thrust, then another. “That will push me over the edge.”

“Good.” I licked at his kiss-swollen lips. “Fall over the edge with me.”

He growled low in his throat and gripped the base of my neck, his lips fusing over mine.

“Treacherous.”

Thrust

“Filthy.”

Thrust

“Woman.”

Sweat glistened across his skin as he fucked me harder. I loved watching his face contort with absolute ecstasy when I tightened around him.

“And you love every second of it.”

“Yes.” He groaned, nodding frantically. “Every second.”

His eyes bled silver as he gripped the back of my hair so tight I moaned.

“Tell me what makes you come harder. When I call you my Dianna . . .” He flicked his tongue over my pulse before pressing kisses along my jaw to my other ear, his cock slamming so deep my eyes crossed. I ran my tongue over my teeth, finding them smooth and flat. He pulled out almost to the tip before plunging deeply into me again. “Or akrai.”

My back arched, pushing against him, taking him deeper, needing more of his cock, needing him to be a part of me.

“All of it, but my favorite is when I do this, and you say . . .” I clenched around him, strangling his rigid cock.

“Fuuuck,” he groaned out, his eyes rolling back.

I smirked, nipping at his lower lip. “That.”

Samkiel’s head fell to the curve of my neck, his face contorting in an expression somewhere between pleasure and pain. His knees buckled for half a second as he groaned, and I watched the hardened lines of his abs shudder. His head dipped, my eyes closing tightly as his mouth latched on to my breast. He nipped and sucked at the turgid tip, his fingers tormenting my other nipple, pinching and squeezing. I cried out as he licked and sucked and bit.

Knowing how wild I made him was my favorite thing in the world. There was something so satisfying in seeing my Samkiel lose control and become absolutely unhinged, but there were consequences to driving him to this place. He gripped my hip with one hand, the other slipping between our bodies. His fingers found my clit and circled it once before pinching it, sending a frisson of pleasure mixed with pain through me.

Samkiel bent me back and readjusted his angle before driving into me. With every thrust, he hit that damned spot inside me, forcing a scream from my throat. My head fell back as my belly clenched.

This was payback, and dammit, I loved it. The inhabitants of Jade City probably hated us so much for this, but I couldn’t care less.

His thrusts turned feverish, and I knew he was close. “That’s my girl,” he groaned. “My pretty, pretty girl.”

My hands reached for his arms, desperately squeezing the muscles there, trying to hold on as my body burned with pleasure.

“Look at you, taking every fucking inch of me.”

My toes curled as I closed my eyes and threw my head back. I felt myself clench around him, another orgasm building.

“That’s it. Come for me again. I want to feel it,” Samkiel demanded. “Give me what I want.”

My back bowed as I did just that, drawing a string of curses from him in return. Those filthy fucking words from him sent me over the edge every time, and he knew it. Samkiel knew how easily he could control my pleasure, and a part of me loved that, too.

He buried himself to the hilt as my body combusted around his. My pussy clamped down tight on his cock, and his body jerked as he came inside me. He groaned, low and deep, his hand leaving my clit and gripping my hips, my sides, anything he could reach.

“Gods,” he groaned, lowering his head to the curve of my neck, his cock twitching inside me. “You are divine.”

A breathy laugh escaped me. “Depends on who you ask.”

Samkiel chuckled, lowering my leg and placing me on my feet. His hands ran up and down my thigh as if soothing a sore muscle. We stayed there for a moment, catching our breath and coming down from our high.

Sometimes, I didn’t know where I ended and he began, but I didn’t feel like wondering about it any longer. All I knew was the world faded away when we were together, and I would burn anyone and anything to ashes to keep it. If the afterlife was perfect, I wanted mine to be this with him forever and ever, but this was not paradise. It was reality, and reality, like a cold-hearted bitch, snuck her way between us. I felt the shift when it was no longer about us. The insidious whispers reared their ugly heads, reminding us of exactly what had happened, where we were, and what was ahead.

He leaned back, his hands sweeping across the sides of my head and fisting in my hair. He kissed me once, twice, three times. “Good morning.”

I smiled against his lips. “The best morning.”

He pulled me to him, his arms wrapping around me completely as if having me pressed against his body solved all his problems. Maybe it did help. Gods, I hoped it gave him at least a moment of peace. My hand pressed against his chest, feeling the solid, reassuring thump of his heart. His head rested atop mine, and I could feel the edge of his scar along my abdomen as he held me close. I swallowed, trying to steal a few more moments for us.

I traced the glowing lines on his skin. They pulsed gently, matching the beat of our hearts. I knew they showed up when he used extreme power, but knowing I drew them from him when he was lost and blinded by the pleasure I gave him had a cocky smile playing across my lips. I hoped he only glowed for me.

I didn’t know they had a name, but we had talked a lot over the last six weeks, and Samkiel had told me what the adyin were. They trailed all through his body, swirling thin lines, godly marks that manifested when his power was roused.

The light slowly dimmed, his skin returning to the smooth brown hue. Samkiel didn’t say anything or move as the weight of the world came crashing back down. He clung to me as if I were his only anchor. I knew what shadows lurked near him, what monsters nipped and clawed at him. He still struggled with them at night, new nightmares haunting him now. I hated it and vowed to burn the world in retaliation for what it took from him.

“You know,” I pulled back, looking up at him, “I was just thinking, who knew the terrifying World Ender required cuddles after mindblowing sex?”

His brows lifted, and I saw the shadows retreat to the furthest corners of his mind. “Mind-blowing, huh?”

I shrugged. “Okay, you got me. Mediocre. I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“Hmm.” He nodded, but I caught the slight grin. My laughter died on a squeal as he yanked me off my feet and tossed me over his shoulder before striding away from the mess of our breakfast.

SAMKIEL LEANED AGAINST THE TUB WITH HIS EYES CLOSED AS I USED the bubbles to mold the longest part of his hair into a ridge along the top of his head.

“You could probably go to sleep here, huh?”

He smirked, his arms hanging off the sides of the tub, his body almost too enormous to fit. “Mm-hmm.”

My hand ran over one eyebrow, chasing away the small line of soap sliding toward his eye.

“Where did you even find bubbles? Their soap here usually turns into that murky cream color.”

“I asked Miska.”

My head reared back, my lip turning up. “Who is Miska?”

His grin widened, and his hand patted my butt. “Calm down. She’s one of the youngest healers here, and I’d say the nicest.”

My lips tugged to the side. Samkiel knew most of them by name since they were with him the majority of the day, trying to heal his side. I only remembered them by their hair. Some had short or long, some wore jewels in the strands, and that one with a ponytail whose eyes lingered far too long on Samkiel. I disliked her the most.

I sat up a fraction in the tub, the soap clinging to me. “Did she give you these because she’s nice or because she has a raging crush on you?”

Samkiel peeled one eye open, that damn smirk still curving his perfect lips. “Relax, akrai. On your home world, she would be no more than fourteen. She is merely a sweet kid.”

My jealousy instantly died, the Ig’Morruthen in me curling up and going back to sleep. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen any kids here.”

“There aren’t any. She’s the youngest, and from just what I’ve seen, she has no friends. So, yes, I asked for bubbles since you hate the other soap, and I was being nice.”

I smiled, leaning back into him, but before I could speak, he hissed and half sat up. I jerked forward, water splashing to the floor as panic outweighed any critical thinking in my head. The memory of that tunnel flashed through my mind when his face crumpled in pain and his skin turned gray, his light dying.

“What is it?” I scanned him wildly.

“Nothing.” He shook his head, failing to convince me with his fake smile. “You pressed . . . I’m just sore, that’s all.”

“Maybe having sex so soon wasn’t a great idea. Maybe we—”

“No!” He sat up straighter, and I snorted.

“A few more days or even a week isn’t going to kill either of us. Besides—”

“No.” He clasped his hand with mine. “It’s another way to spend time with you, and it’s the only time I don’t think. I just feel. If you don’t wish to, that’s fine, but don’t hold back from me because you think I cannot handle it.”

My hand swept across the side of his face, his hair still sticking up in different directions. “Okay.”

“Besides,” he lifted a shoulder, “I’ve fought battles that left me limp and damn near immobile and still had sex afterward. This is nothing.”

My hand dropped hard enough that the water splashed. “With who?”

His laugh echoed off the walls as he wiped a few stray bubbles from his face. “I was just trying to distract you.”

“Distract me?” My nose scrunched. “Oh, so funny. I’ll distract you.”

I leaned toward his laughing mouth, my lips hovering over his as a swirling mass of energy formed in the doorway.

“Roccurem,” Samkiel said, but it was not the playful tone I heard mere seconds ago. Now, he was agitated. “Knocking is a pleasantry I’d like you to adopt.”

I snickered as Samkiel shifted in the tub, trying to hide me behind his massive frame.

“My apologies, my liege. I did knock, however, to no avail. The queen requests you. Her subjects have been persistent in wanting to remove the remaining stitches this morning.”

The muscles along Samkiel’s back flexed at that, and I drew a face in the soap bubbles that slicked the heavy muscles.

“That was to happen at midday.”

“Yes, my liege. It is way past.”

My finger stilled. “Wait, what time is it?”

I pushed at Samkiel’s shoulder, trying to move around him. He whipped his head toward me, a low noise of disagreement rattling in his throat.

I rolled my eyes. “Would you stop? Roccurem has seen both of us naked and together, I might add, probably several times. You know fate and destinies and all.”

Samkiel waved a hand. “It does not matter. Roccurem can wait outside while we get dressed.”

I could have sworn a light smirk touched the fate’s face, but it was gone just as quickly. “As you wish,” Roccurem said, seeming to approve of Samkiel’s protectiveness toward me.

He disappeared, and I stepped out of the tub, Samkiel right behind me. I gave him one of the towels and wrapped one around my body. “So territorial,” I said with a smirk.

He flicked my nose before kissing it. “I don’t share the naked sight of you with fate or otherwise. Now let’s get dressed.”

“Yes, my liege,” I said, lowering my voice like Reggie’s.

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s kinda funny,” I quipped, following him out.