Chapter 32

After Tristan stuffed himself with more food than I thought possible and flew off to Varitus, Tavion herded me upstairs, back to the sumptuous bedroom that was beginning to feel more and more like a permanent fixture in our lives.

I picked Zor's note off the bed and set it on the nightstand.

"Are you alright?" I glanced at the stiff, swollen fingers he kept flexing.

"Don't worry about me. You're the one who went toe to toe with the Oracle today." He shouldered off his heavy jacket, tossing it over the footstool at the end of the bed.

"Tristan got a fire going, but we didn't have time to arrange for a bath, Anaria," he murmured apologetically, crossing to where a pitcher sat on a dry sink, folded cloths piled to the side. "We'll have to make do. Sit over there and let me take care of my wife."

I sank down on the silk bench in front of a luxurious dressing table, the toiletries and perfumes long dried up, the colorful glass bottles and glossy tabletop coated in a layer of dust. I picked up a brush, Lady Wynter's long, white hairs still clinging to the bristles.

"Get your jacket and shirt off," he ordered gently, rolling back his sleeves. "Let me help get you cleaned up before bed."

"I just put these on," I pointed out, but when Tavion settled those green eyes on me, I knew I'd already lost the battle. "Fine."

I peeled my jacket off, then the shirt while he dragged over a chair and set the pitcher and cloths on the floor beside him, waiting until I was settled again before dipping the cloth into the water and wringing it out, his corded forearms flexing with every move.

The first swipe of the rough rag against my skin was like ice, Tavion gently dragging the wet rag over me in long, soothing strokes, neither of us saying a word, though his heated gaze retraced every inch of wet skin left by the sweep of his fingers.

He massaged my tight shoulders before he laved water over them, paying special attention to the white tree branded on my arm, fingers dancing lightly over the delicate branches. My husband unknotted the base of my neck before lifting my hair and running the rag down the length of my spine, pausing only to rinse the cloth again or trade it for a clean one.

The air in the room heated from the fire—or Tavion's nearness—and I drowsed, letting him smooth aching stiff muscles into loose, relaxed ones until he'd washed every inch of my shoulders and back. I was half asleep when he dropped the rag into the pitcher with a splash, opening my eyes to find him kneeling in front of me.

He pulled my foot into his lap and worked the laces open on my boots. "We need to take better care of you." He spoke so quietly I strained to hear him. "You look tired, love. And we should talk about Ravenswood. I know?—"

"I don't want to talk about that place." Dread curled up inside me, long dormant panic raising its ugly head. "The castle is the only location that makes sense, and what happened there…was a long time ago."

"Anaria." Tavion slipped my boot off and went to work on my other one. "We've never spoken about what happened."

"And we're not starting now." I kept my eyes on the back of his head as he removed my other boot then dug his fingers deep into the arch of my foot, biting my lip because that felt so damn good. He went up to his knees, cupped my face, and forced me to look at him.

To see the guilt in his eyes.

"You can't pretend nothing happened. We want to help you, but we can't, not if we don't know anything." He tipped his head so our foreheads touched. "All I want is to protect you. To keep you safe. Not only your body but your mind."

"Everything that happened at Ravenswood is in the past. Everyone there is dead. None of them can ever hurt me again." I tried to sound nonchalant but damn these tears pricking at my eyelids.

Tavion didn't say anything more, looking disappointed as he skimmed his fingers down my sides and snagged the waistband of my leathers. "Then let's get these off. I'll wash your legs, then I'll tuck you into bed."

My toes curled into the rug, something I sincerely hoped my husband didn't notice.

He totally did, one of those wicked grins creasing his face as his fingers slid around and unbuttoned my leathers, his mouth an inch from mine, our breath tangling together, warm and wanting.

"Keep looking at me like that, wife, and I'm going to forget all about this pitcher of water and clean you with my tongue."

I shoved at his shoulder, my voice high. "Tavion. You can't. Actually…" I glanced toward the bathing room. "I should do this myself. In private."

His soft laugh skated down my spine. "I'm a wolf. A fucking predator, Anaria, and you are my mate. Putting my mouth on you satisfies a very primal part of me, and if you think I'll deprive myself of such a basic pleasure, you should really think again."

Dear gods.

Heat didn't build inside me, it roared, a storm blowing through me like a molten explosion until desire overflowed every crevice as Tavion peeled the leathers down my legs.

He ran his fingers up the lightning strike on my leg, frowning slightly at the darkness of the new tendrils that had formed against the pale cream of my thigh. Then he bowed his head and pressed his lips to that cursed mark.

The one I'd despised, and loved, and now used like some kind of twisted barometer to judge how close we all were to becoming monsters. But when Tavion's lips moved against my skin, my fingers immediately tangled in his hair, and I couldn't take my eyes off him, his hands gripping my thighs, those soft lips nibbling gently.

"Let me in, Anaria." He lifted his head. "Let me taste my mate."

"You've never called me that before tonight. And now—twice—I've heard those words," I said quietly, searching his face.

"No. I haven't."

And maybe it was the desperate need in Tavion's eyes, or how desperately his fingers sank ever so slowly into my thighs, like he didn't even realize what he was doing, but I cupped his face in my palms. "But yes. Anything you want from me is yours."

He blinked, like he was processing what I said, then swept me into his arms and laid me on the bed, the cold-as-ice covers a shock to the heated skin of my back.

Tavion smoothed my hair back. "I didn't want to frighten you, Anaria. Wife and husband…those are bland, simple words. Vows made; rings exchanged. A marriage of convenience made to save you from a terrible fate…that you understood."

"I never got a ring," I felt obligated to say, and I was rewarded by a small smile.

"I knew…" He blew out a shaky breath. "It was when I found you in the dungeon, after Solok. I knew then you were my mate. But I was too blinded by hate and vengeance and male pride, too convinced we were enemies to recognize the bond for what it was."

He looked more vulnerable than I'd ever seen him, weighed down with guilt and memories he still hasn't come to terms with.

"But that day when you taunted me about being with Raz and Zor…" He swallowed. "That's when I knew for sure. Both that you were my mate and how badly I'd fucked everything up between us. I vowed right then I'd grovel until I won you back."

"That was months ago. And you still didn't say anything until tonight."

"When I touched that knife, I saw something." His voice shook, every word hitching. "I watched you die, Anaria. It was like I was there, holding you, and I couldn't bring you back. I couldn't…I couldn't…" He sucked in air, trying to gather himself back together.

"And I realized time is only an illusion. That I'd never told you we were mates because I was waiting for the perfect moment. Well, this is that moment. You are my mate. And becoming a wolf's mate can be…intense."

"More intense than things already are between us?"

His lip curled up. "Oh, princess, you haven't seen anything yet."

Tavion loomed above me, a shadow pierced by two glowing, green eyes. My entire body softened beneath that fierce predator's stare, filled with dominance and hunger as he parted my legs, that ravenous gaze dropping from my face to my swollen, drenched pussy.

Chest heaving, he stared until I squirmed against his unyielding hold, embarrassed, aching, empty.

He moved so fast that one moment he was above me, the next his tongue lashed across my clit in a storm of sensation that sent my hips bucking into his devouring mouth. He shoved me back down on the bed and held me there as I dissolved beneath a raging storm of lips and tongue and teeth.

The gentle fire Tavion had ignited with his tenderness exploded into slashing, carnal hunger.

I was a bundle of exposed nerves and aching need, nothing in between except shaking muscles and panting breaths as I writhed against the mattress, fighting the hands clamped around my thighs holding me with such powerful mastery.

I tried to rock against that wicked mouth, but his grip was too firm, keeping me open and helpless for him to taste and fondle and plunge a finger in deep, then two, licking my juices off, before fastening his teeth over my tight, swollen clit.

My hands yanked at his hair, twisted the sheets, clawed at his shoulders, trying to gain some leverage to ease this coiling tightness, a mix of grinding pain and soaring pleasure that seemed to have no end. Tavion's feral growls rumbled through my swollen, sensitive flesh as he feasted, my fingers winding into the long, silky hair of the male between my legs.

My husband. My wolf. My mate.

Heat spread through me in ripples of liquid fire, consuming, feeding this violent pleasure before I erupted, his long tongue pumping into me, lapping up every drop he could reach as I rode that cresting wave.

I floated down into his strong hands, stroking up and down the insides of my thighs, his soft lips kissing and nipping in their wake.

Then he was gone, I half opened my eyes and watched him strip in front of the fire, power made flesh, his hair loose, covering his face except for his glowing eyes, pinning me down to the bed every bit as effectively as his hands had moments ago.

I was vaguely aware of a door opening, the hum of voices, Tavion's possessive, answering snarl before he was nudging my knees apart, one hand landing on the pillow beside my head. Then nothing mattered except the head of his cock sinking into me, slow and deep, my core contracting, weeping around his girth as he worked himself inside.

"Mine." Edged with a feral growl, the word come out in a rough hiss, his teeth scraping down my throat, two sharp points pressing into the tendon along the side of my neck. I rocked my hips, gasping at the delicious, heated friction before he gripped my hip to hold me still.

Another growl vibrated through me, another roll of his hips, and I was unraveling around his thick length, half drunk on this brimming pressure that filled me so perfectly. He pulled out then slammed back in, my hips arching up to meet him halfway.

My fingers twisted tighter in his hair, and I pulled him closer, exploring his mouth, his canines—long and sharp—tracing them with my tongue, teasing another low, growl from him before I pulled away.

"My mate," I breathed, and his pupils dilated, surrounded by the thinnest rim of green as he panted, his cock dragging up and down my channel with sharp spikes of pleasure. "Mine." I grinned, wild joy building as he thrust again, again. Again.

Tavion didn't take his eyes off me, didn't even blink as he rode me, our hips slapping together, my spine curling with every deep, claiming stroke, sweat trickling down my neck, beads glistening on his brow.

That tightening twist below my heart sent a bolt of ecstasy spearing through me, ripples of pleasure surging and ebbing with every strong, brutal stroke. Tavion groaned the same time I did, our hearts beating in tandem, hips moving together.

I lost myself in the sensation of him moving inside me so powerfully, the lines between us disappearing. Lost myself to his commanding dominance, his gentle kisses, and the tender brush of his lips along my jaw. In his pine-swept winter scent that always reminded me of home.

"Come for me, Anaria. Let me watch you fall apart." His words reached down deep into that secret place beneath my heart, and I unraveled one more time, not a shattering but a slow, utter surrender of self.

I gave myself to Tavion completely, my body locked around his cock, milking him as he roared out my name, over and over, hanging on to his shoulders for dear life as he wrung every last bit of pleasure from my boneless body.

He rolled onto his back, bringing me with him. Then I was laying across his chest, our legs tangled together, every muscle melted butter, every thought fuzzy and far away.