Chapter 21

Paige

I t took two days before I found my way down into the mines.

Kylor was nowhere to be found and I didn’t feel comfortable asking anyone else on the council for help. Draxel kept his distance which I assumed was for Ryan’s benefit, but that left me with no one to trust.

No one who would take me to Varek no matter how much I begged.

Finally, I convinced a young male to lead me underground deeper than I thought possible.

Lyzar, as he told me his name was, points down a tunnel that darkens the farther I look. The shining gemstones of luminite are few and far between and this far down, no skylight illuminated the way.

“It’s just past the hook down there. Once you can’t see, call out his name.”

A sense of dread presses down on my chest. It’s intense, but not as painful as the loneliness I can’t shake. I miss him. I’m worried about him.

“Thank you,” I say to Lyzar as I move forward. I squint as I go deeper, the light slowly fizzling out until I can just barely make out the outline of my feet on the rocky ground.

The place smells thick and musty—no airflow—and every now and then, a drip-drop sound trickles along the right wall. My senses are dulled as I reach out and drag my fingers along the wall for support, slowly patting the ground before each step.

I keep walking until my eyes are wide open and I can’t see my hand in front of my face.

I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my throat.

“Varek?”

A sharp intake of breath and light beams out in the distance.

“Paige?”

All the worry fades away and I take off, running straight for the awkwardly low hole in the wall that is glowing. I know he’s in there. The soft green light leads the way.

When I get there, I duck into the chamber and he’s there, sitting against the rough wall with his chest shining bright.

I throw myself on him, and he catches me like I weigh nothing. Varek pulls me to his chest and sets me between his thighs, tangling our legs together. He breathes in deep, moving his big, rough hands all over my body as if checking for injuries. My heart aches as I melt into him, my body releasing tension I hadn’t even realized was there.

I can finally breathe. I can finally be strong again.

“God, I missed you,” I whimper against his chest. I press a flutter of kisses all over his gray skin, memorizing it and loving the scent of him. Even being down here for days, he smells like fresh rain and heat. Sweet with a spice that I can’t get enough of.

He grunts as I kiss his neck and straddle his legs, desperate to feel his body flush with mine.

“My Paige,” he murmurs into the crook of my neck. His lips drag lazily over my sensitive skin. With a guiding hand on the back of my neck, he holds me close. “You came.”

I let out a breath, feeling like someone just punched me in the stomach. I pull back to look into his amber eyes, nothing but the glows on his chest lighting the chamber around us. “Of course, I came.”

“I didn’t know if you would.”

I drag my thumb across his bottom lip as his gaze darts longingly across my face. He tugs me forward by the back of the neck and our lips touch, the softest of embraces.

Our mouths lazily play, a slow and heady exploration. His fingers drag down the line of my spine as I open for him, welcoming in the taste of him. My mate. My only real connection to this place.

The glowhollows feel like home because he’s my home now. Because my heart is as wrapped up with him as the luminite in this mountain.

I whimper into his mouth and deepen the kiss, desperate to let his warmth sink into me and take away the chill of uncertainty. I straddle him and arch as his cock hardens beneath me and my stomach flutters in response. He’s strong and hard and with him, I don’t have to be. I can be soft and let him hold me, those muscled arms carrying me effortlessly. He grunts as I lick and nip at his full bottom lip, his hips bucking softly.

“Troublemaker,” he whispers.

My eyes flutter shut. I wrap my arms around his neck and speak directly into his ear. “You shouldn’t be down here.”

My voice shakes.

Varek holds me close.

“It isn’t fair. This is all my fault, I should be the one—”

Varek pulls me back just enough to meet my eyes. His gaze flashes with anger and he shakes his head. “Do not say such a thing.”

“But it’s true.”

This was all my doing.

His voice deepens. “It is not. I knew what I was sacrificing when I made that deal with you, Mate.”

I pout and Varek’s lips twitch at the edges as if he’s amused.

“Do not make that face, Paige. I wish to see you smile.”

“But this place is terrible. How can you see anything?”

“I only think of you,” he murmurs. His chest flares a little brighter at the words and my chest constricts. “When you are on my mind, the light never goes out.”

My throat is scratchy as he crushes me to his chest again and I let all my emotions out. We should be in our chamber, sprawled out amongst the furs and loving each other. We should be basking in the intensity of our bond, but instead he’s stuck here.

“Let’s just leave,” I whisper.

“Can’t.”

“Not even if they keep you from me?” I ask.

His body tenses.

“Slip out with me. No one is down here stopping you.”

He cups my cheek and I lean into the gentle touch.

“That is because you live here. The council knows I would never abandon my mate, nor would I endanger her by stealing her away to live on our own. You are safer here.”

“This isn’t right,” I whisper.

“It is, Paige.” He rubs his thumb along my jawline and commands my attention, soothing me as he caresses my skin. “I betrayed my people and I must pay for it. I am ready to accept the consequences of my actions.”

I shake my head, wrapping my fingers around his wrists. “You should have told me no. You should have told the council about the others immediately. I’m a fool for asking you to hide them.”

His lips pull into a soft smile, one that crinkles the edges of his gorgeous amber eyes. “I had to. It was the only way you would open yourself up to this.”

My lips tremble and he pulls me in for another passionate, searing kiss. The world seems to tilt as his warmth spreads through me, tickling down my spine. I grip his broad shoulders and anchor myself against the emotions rocking between us. What happens if the council decides to split us apart? If they send him away?

If they send me away?

I want to lose myself in this moment, soak him up, and cherish every part of him. His gentle touch. The way he grips me so possessively like he can’t bear for there to be any space between us. His mouth devours mine and before I know it, even my skimpy leather tunic feels too constricting.

Our lips part just enough for me to speak. “Undress me,” I whisper.

Varek pulls us apart, searching my eyes for something.

I lick my lips as my body burns up, an ache settling between my legs. It’s stupid, to want him so much at a time like this when I feel like I’m going to break down from all the uncertainty, but I can’t help myself. He’s the only thing that takes it all away.

His nostrils flare and his eyes roll back. He must scent my arousal.

“Troublemaker,” he grits.

“I need you,” I groan, rolling my hips forward onto his thickness. We’re separated by too many layers of clothes. “I need you.”

Varek doesn’t wait for me to ask him again. He undoes the ties of my leathers, tugging them down my waist and then lifting me to my feet to pull them off completely. They are gone in a matter of seconds and as I sink back down onto his lap, I’m fumbling with his leathers.

“Glows,” he grunts when I pull him free. His thick cock is burning against my palm, hard as a rock. When I give it a squeeze, the veins light up and glow just like his chest.

A current of heat courses through me and I’m soaking wet as I work him in my palm.

The ridges on the top of his cock pulsate as I run my thumb along each individual bump. His grip on my hips turns painful as he lifts me onto my knees. I take that as an order. He’s ready.

I line up his cock, a slick of his seed beginning to bead at the top. I slide it around his thick head and then line him up.

“Fuck,” I whine as I slide down onto him achingly slow. He’s too damn thick to go anyway but slow, splitting me in half with each delicious inch. My cunt takes him in, sliding down over every bump and ridge, sheathing the glowing veins of him as he holds steady.

His lidded eyes watch me, bouncing from my eyes to the place where our bodies meet.

Pleasure tickles and licks across my skin. He fills me just right, taking away the ache between my legs. My thighs shake as I slow and roll my hips, working him in as best as I can. This angle is…

His grip on me tightens and he spears into me the rest of the way, knocking the breath from my lungs.

“Mate,” he growls as his chest flares like a blinding light. He’s so damn deep. His cock pulsates powerfully through me, somehow settling even deeper and I can barely see straight.

I’m breathless. A bead of sweat trickles down my spine as my body stretches to accommodate him. Varek doesn’t move. Instead, he draws soft circles on my hips and kisses my neck, nipping and licking down to my collarbone until I’m whining for more.

The intensity of our bond is… almost too much.

I roll my hips and suck in a sharp breath. The decadent pressure of his cock inside me caresses in all the right places.

Our bodies move together, slowly at first. I cherish the way we fit together and as he pulls me close to his chest, he hits the perfect angle that stimulates my pulsating clit.

“Oh, God,” I groan. “That feels—”

“So good,” Varek finished the sentence. “Your cunt feels perfect.”

I let him direct my body, sliding me up and down on his thickness. My mind goes blank and all I can do is hold onto him, my nails digging into his skin as he fucks into me. I meet him every time, savoring the sensations rolling through me.

His eyes never leave mine, the glow of his chest pulsing in time with each roll of my hips. He’s watching every reaction, every gasp that leaves my lips, feeding off the way my body trembles against his.

We’re wrapped in the soft ball of light from his chest–the rest of the world dark around us. My heart swells as I ride him and let myself feel everything.

My thighs quiver with the effort, but I don’t stop. The stretch of him inside me is too intoxicating, the drag of his ridged cock along my inner walls sending bolts of heat to my core. The thick, slick connection between us is electric, and the coil of pleasure tightens deep in my belly.

"More," I whisper, though it comes out more as a whine. My nails rake down his chest, tracing the glowing lines that light up under my touch. Varek growls, the sound rumbling through his chest and into mine, vibrating between our joined bodies.

With a swift motion, he shifts, planting his feet on the floor and rising slightly. The new angle forces him impossibly deeper, and I cry out, the sensation almost overwhelming as he fills every inch of me.

“Varek,” I gasp, clinging to him as his hands lock on my waist, holding me steady while he thrusts up into me. The slow burn becomes a heated frenzy, his hips snapping up to meet mine with a primal intensity.

I can barely breathe, my body igniting with each forceful stroke. Every nerve is alight, the pleasure mounting, and my walls clench around him, pulling him deeper still.

His lips are at my neck again, biting down lightly as he grunts, “You’re mine, mate. Take my bulb.”

I squeak when he thrusts up hard and holds me firm against his body.

His body tenses, his muscles flexing beneath my hands as I hump his body, my clit bumping into his rough skin and sending me into a frenzy.

Then, I feel it—his bulb swelling at the base of his cock, thickening rapidly as his grip on me turns painful. The bulb begins to inflate, stretching me further as my body tries to accommodate him. My eyes widen, my breath hitching as he fills me to the absolute limit.

“Oh my God,” I gasp, clinging to him tighter as the pressure from his knot locks us together. My walls pulse around him, squeezing him as his cock swells inside me. I’m shaking, barely holding on, and the pleasure threatens to break me apart.

I roll my hips once more and his bulb sends me into a new dimension. I arch my back, pushing down onto him as my body clenches around him and then explodes into sparks of euphoric intensity.

Varek lets out a primal roar as he comes, his bulb pulsing inside me. His seed coats my insides as I chase my orgasm, collapsing onto his chest. His hips buck with every pulse, his bulb trapping every drop of his hot seed deep within.

I gasp for breath, absolutely wrecked. My muscles are sore and exhausted like I just finished a hard workout at the gym. My eyes are plastered shut as I tremble in my mate’s arms, whimpering at every move he makes.

Varek pets my hair and hums a soft melody, our bodies locked together impossibly tight. All I can do is cling to him and pretend like my life isn’t spiraling out of control. Pretend I’m not terrified about what happens when the council gives their final decision.

After what feels like an hour of soaking up the calm, Varek whispers to me. “Mate.”

“Mmhm?”

“It’s time for you to go,” he says softly.

I shake my head, hugging him tighter. His bulb is deflating, his wet seed slipping out of me and pooling between our bodies. I can’t be bothered to move. I’m too comfortable and he takes away all my fear.

“You shouldn’t stay down here,” he says, pushing my hair behind my ear. His fingers tickle down my bare back and chills pop up along my arms. “It’s no place for a female.”

“It’s no place for you either.”

He huffs. “Paige. I won’t stand for you spending the night here.”

“I don’t care what you’ll stand for,” I whisper, unwilling to break apart from his warmth. I don’t want to lay anywhere if it isn’t in his arms and I can’t stand another night in my friends’ chamber, overanalyzing every look and wondering if they all hate me.

They should.

“I’m staying,” I say, pretending to sound firm. “Hold me?”

Varek’s arms around me tighten and he lays flat on the ground, holding me steady on his chest. “Until the very end, troublemaker.”

A smile tugs at my lips before I focus on the soft beat of his heart. The glows on his chest dim as we both relax. I drift off, safe in the arms of my mate, but terrified about what tomorrow will bring.