21. Luna

TWENTY-ONE

luna

M y husband looked down at me, those golden eyes shining bright, and I wondered if my entire life had led to this moment. To meeting him.

Everything felt sharper now like someone had applied a filter to the world. My senses were all working in hyper-drive, but all I could see, feel, and hear was him.

"How did I get so lucky to find you?" he murmured against my lips before kissing me again, and I'd forgotten that there were hundreds of people watching us, that we were in the middle of our wedding because the entire world ceased to exist except for him and me.

The entire room exploded into applause, and the cheers finally brought me back to reality. Willow handed me the bouquet, and my free hand slipped into Zain's as we faced the hall, the aisle looking much shorter than it had when I'd walked up it.

I expected us to walk back down the aisle together, but Zain had other plans. He scooped me up into his arms and carried me out of the wedding hall, dress and all.

Heading out, I'd expected us to head into the ballroom, but he went up the large staircase and out onto the balcony. The entire palace courtyard was spread out below us, filled with demons.

"Zain," I blushed, poking at his chest. "You can put me down now."

He lowered me to my feet, keeping hold of one of my hands. My husband brushed a hand over my cheek before pressing his lips to my forehead.

The demons were cheering, screaming our names. I wasn't even sure how anyone outside of the palace knew who I was, considering I'd been behind the palace walls.

"What's going on?" I gasped.

He brushed his knuckles under my jaw. "I'm presenting my queen."

Zain kneeled before me, kissing my knuckles.

"But I'm not the queen yet," I said, swallowing a breath of air. Suddenly, it felt like I couldn't breathe.

"You will be."

I sucked in a breath. It was still hard to believe. Even if I'd just vowed to live an eternity by his side.

Somehow, he projected his voice, and the entire courtyard quieted as he spoke. Still, the moment felt as intimate as it would have alone in our bedroom.

"I vow my never-ending allegiance to you. That you and you alone shall wear my crown. My undying fealty is yours, my queen. There is no other in the worlds who should have it."

"What am I supposed to say?" I whispered back.

His voice was only a murmur. "Accept my vows to you, Moonbeam."

"Okay." I nodded, taking a deep breath before I stood tall. "I accept."

A grin split his handsome face, and he stood, towering over me with his full height. Even the heels I was wearing didn't bring us to the same level, but that didn't matter.

I cupped his face, feeling his freshly shaven jaw. I liked the beard, but I didn't mind this. He looked younger, somehow. Lighter. It also showed off his incredibly sharp jaw and structured cheekbones.

Swoon. He would always be the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Demon or not.

"Thank you." He murmured, bringing his lips down to meet mine.

"For what?" I asked.

But all he said was, " Everything."

We waved to the demons below, and then he scooped me back into his arms again, continuing further into the palace. I knew the floor plan well now—I'd spent the last weeks exploring every nook and cranny. Part of me still couldn't believe a wedding to this scale had been planned in two weeks, but I guessed for demon royalty with magic, anything was possible.

Either way, I knew exactly where he was headed. Our bedrooms.

"Isn't there a reception?" I asked, meeting his stare. "Like… a feast? Or a ball? Some sort of party?"

He smirked, leaning down to nip at my ear. "I don't think they're going to miss us, wife." Zain pressed a kiss to my pulse point. "Besides, the festivities will last for days. We can rejoin the party later. First, I need to take my time with my wife ."

A slight moan slipped from my lips as his lips met my skin again, and then we were in his room, the dark furniture and black sheets making the entire room feel almost… sensual .

He set me down on my feet, slipping an arm around my waist to steady me. His scent filled my lungs, the intoxicating aroma making me burn up with want for him, and my core was already needy.

Dropping my bouquet on the side table, I turned to look at him. With a wave of his hand, Zain lit a handful of candles placed throughout the room, bathing us in a warm, flickering light. He slipped the black and gold overcoat off, draping it over the chest at the foot of his poster bed.

Gods , he was handsome. And he smelled like my personal brand of temptation like someone had mixed everything deliciously musky and spicy and bottled it up. Plus, in that get-up? I was a goner.

I'd always been attracted to a man in a suit, but in this princely attire, he looked like he'd stepped right out of the pages of one of my favorite historical fantasy romances. A prince ready to bed his wife. That shouldn't have increased the wetness between my legs, but it did.

My teeth dug into my bottom lip as I watched him remove the crown from his hair, and it joined the coat in the same spot. Fuck. I took the veil out of my hair, brushing my fingers through the curls and letting them spill down my back.

A wicked smile spread over his face as he caught me watching him. "You know… a demon marriage ceremony isn't finished until it's consummated." He rolled up his sleeves, revealing those thick forearms I'd daydreamed about.

And then, all six feet and five inches of him towered over me. In my heels, the top of my head was level with his chin. His body was unreal, and now he was mine.

"Oh." My thighs rubbed together, and my body was heating. Like I was growing progressively more aroused by the second.

" Zain ," I whimpered.

"It's okay," he soothed, kissing down my neck. "I'll make it better. "

What was in that wine?

I wasn't sure if I'd asked it out loud or in my head, but Zain responded anyway. "It's an aphrodisiac."

"It's a— what ?" I was achingly aware of how empty I was, and my skin itched. "I need—" I tugged at the dress.

Off. I needed it off.

"I know." Zain spun me around so fast I barely even had time to blink. He brushed my hair off to one side and pressed a kiss to my shoulder before turning his attention to the row of pearl buttons on the back of my dress. His fingers worked at them, pushing them through the loops. Slow. This was torture for both of us. He made a frustrated growl, and I heard little plinks on the ground, and then my dress was loose around my waist.

I blinked. "Did you just… rip the buttons off?" Pushing the dress over my hips, I let it flutter to the floor.

His liquid golden eyes burned into me, full of lust. "You weren't going to wear it again, anyway."

Zain looked like a satisfied predator, the way a cat would when licking his paw. But he was still a beast, and he was on the prowl for me. "I'll buy you another dress. And another. However many you want, as long as you let me take them off of you."

His eyes were fixed on the white lacy corset I was wearing, complete with laces down the back and a set of matching underwear I had absolutely no hope for.

"Wait," I said, placing a hand on his chest to stop him. "What do you mean the wine is an aphrodisiac?"

Zain frowned, a bit of the fog disappearing from his gaze. "It was—" He groaned as I ran my hand down his front, feeling the rippling muscles under his shirt, down lower?—

His hand caught mine, stilling me. I pouted, wanting to cup the bulge in his pants that was painfully clear .

"It assures that the ceremony is completed. It doesn't impact your ability to consent, but it forces you into a heat-like state. You can't stop until it's been satisfied." He turned my hand over and brought it to his lips, kissing my wrist.

"Why?" I let out a little gasp when he ran his teeth—those sharp, pointy canines—over my veins.

"To assure the bond is complete."

He kissed a line up my arm, and I tilted my head to the side, giving him full access to my neck.

"I won't hurt you," he promised. And I believed him. There was nothing he would intentionally do to hurt me.

"I know." And maybe I sensed this was the most important part because I took his face in between my hands. "You never have. I feel safe with you. I need you to know that." I'd give him every piece of me before we were done—willingly. Gladly.

I could feel his fingers tangling with the laces of the corset, and I wondered if he'd rip them just like the buttons, but he worked deftly, those fingers freeing me from the fabric. Facing him, I didn't move to cover myself as he dropped the garment to the floor.

It wasn't like he hadn't already seen all of me.

I wasn't feeling shy anymore.

Zain swallowed roughly before lifting me into his hands and carrying me over to the bed.

My heels fell to the floor in loud clunks, and then I was sprawled out on the bed, my hair spread out around me. The tiara was still pinned in place, and I reached up to take it off, but Zain growled, his hand pinning me down.

"Leave it on. I want to see it when I fuck you. Nothing but my crown." He lifted my hand. "And my ring." The possession in his voice was clear, but it was hot.

Was it weird that I liked it? I wasn't sure there was anything Zain could do that I wouldn't like. He knew my body like the back of his hand—how to turn me on, how to bring me higher and higher.

He kissed the tops of my breasts, his tongue swirling over each of my nipples for just a moment before moving lower—lower. Then he was kneeling at the edge of the bed as his fingers slid into the waistband of my lace panties.

The sound of fabric ripping filled the air, and he looked up at me with a wicked grin as he tossed the scraps aside. Leaving me bare, spread out in front of him with nothing but his crown on my head. His eyes did a slow perusal of my body, the pure lust in them leaving nothing to the imagination.

Zain pried my thighs apart, positioning his head in between my legs before taking a long, languid lick at my entrance.

"Oh," I squeaked, because no matter how many times we did this, I didn't expect how good it would feel.

He stayed there for a moment, sucking on my clit and driving me wild, but stopped before I could come. A low whine slipped out from the back of my throat, but Zain silenced me with a sloppy kiss, letting me taste myself on his tongue.

"I need to be inside of you," he groaned. "It won't be soft or sweet. I?—"

"You can be rough with me," I said, meaning it. My fingers fumbled with his buttons, helping him push his shirt off, and then his dress pants quickly followed, and he was climbing on top of me on the bed, giving me exactly what I wanted. "Break me. Ruin me ." The words were uttered against his mouth, our faces barely an inch apart.

"You're the one who has ruined me," Zain said, pulling my body to his so he could plunge into my mouth deeper, our tongues tangling.

Gently pushing me onto my back, Zain pushed inside me with no warning, and my eyes practically rolled into the back of my head from the fit of him. My hand splayed over my stomach, feeling the warmth of his cock nestled inside of me.

And everything else faded away. I let myself drown in the sensations of his body thrusting into mine, fast and hard, as he fucked me. It was primal, and my hips couldn't stop rising, moving to meet his as he plunged into me.

"I'm close—" I gasped. When had I been able to come like this?

Maybe it was the aphrodisiac in the wine. He wasn't even touching my clit, but the stretch, the rapid pace, all of it was bringing me right up to the edge quickly. Too quickly.

Gripping the sheets, I shattered, his name on my lips as I came, feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience even as Zain followed behind me a few moments later.

Breathing heavily, he moved off of me carefully as if he was trying not to crush me with his weight, pulling out of me once our erratic heart rates had calmed.

My body should have been sated, but I still wanted more. I turned to face him, but he was already looking at me, an expression of surprise on his face.

"Luna," Zain said, mesmerized . "You're glowing."

"I—" I blinked a few times, but there was an incandescent sheen to my body. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was literally glowing, but it was hard to deny the truth. "This has never happened before."

Removing my hands from the sheets, I looked at my palms. "Is this… my magic?" I worried my lower lip into my mouth. Why had it never manifested this way before? I couldn't help but feel grateful, though. At least no one else had ever seen this. If every orgasm made my skin light up, I would have died of mortification.

"Appears so," he chuckled. "Look at you, so fucking beautiful. You shine so bright. Brighter than the moon. "

His words made me melt. Zain bent down to kiss me, his hips settling inside my still-parted legs. The brush of his cock—already hard again—against my core sent a jolt through my body, and I squirmed against him. I didn't care if it was the spiked wine talking. I'd take everything I could get tonight.

He shifted, resting his back against the headboard, and I straddled his lap, my arms wrapping around his neck. I ran my fingers through the back of his head, combing through his hair as I rocked against his length, enjoying the feeling as it ground against my clit.

"Luna," he murmured, throat swallowing roughly. He brushed a strand of my hair off my shoulder, exposing my shoulders, dotted with little freckles, my collarbones—my neck. "Fuck, you look like…"

"What?" I batted my eyelashes.

"Mine ," he growled, the motion exposing his teeth. Those two extra sharp canines. He ran his tongue over them, and I wondered how it would feel if he used them on me. "You look like mine."

"I am," I agreed. "I'm yours."

He kissed my neck, taking a deep pull of my scent. "Will you let me mark you?"

I pulled away, looking down at him. His eyes raised to meet mine from underneath his gorgeous eyelashes—it was really unfair that men got such nice ones—and his expression didn't waiver.

"Mark me?"

His nose nuzzled against the soft skin between my shoulder and throat, and he hummed, the vibration going straight to my clit. "Mhm. It's what we do to claim our mate. So everyone knows that you're mine."

I froze. Mate?