Marie Harte - Aftershocks

“Cadmus,” she moaned.

“Yes, baby, now.”

He stretched her slowly, forcing himself to feel the same painful pleasure she felt while he shared his fiery lust. “Push me out, baby, let me feel those walls tremble around me.”

Her tight muscles clenched him, and by pushing out, she actually made it easier for him to slide deeper. Unable to stop, he continued to slide until he was seated as far inside her as he could go.

He knew she should have felt uncomfortable, but the intensity of their mixed emotions and the steady, elemental thrumming he continued against her clit had Ellie verging on climax.

The beauty of the moment locked into his heart, and Cadmus blinked away an absurd welling of tears as he began moving, gently at first, then with harder thrusts as Ellie exploded, coming hard with a keening cry.

Sweat beaded his brow and the familiar pressure started in his balls, urging him to take what he needed, to fill the woman under him with what only he could give her. When her energy pulled him deeper, he lost it completely.

“Ellie,” he groaned and spurted, his orgasm ripping away all thought as sensation overtook him. The trees and flowers echoed his pleasure, their blooms growing brighter, their leaves greener. The blue moss multiplied, covering three times the area of the small bed upon which they knelt.

Lost in Ellie, he could only wonder how it had taken him so long to see the truth. Her perfection resonated so deeply within him that it was as if they were one. He’d never felt this way about anyone before. Certainly none of the women he’d lain with while in the mundane plane had stirred him to such heights. The paramours he’d courted in Tanselm had never seemed to want Cadmus, the man . They’d been eager to bed a prince. Cadmus was the funny Royal, the lighthearted rogue who would steal kisses but never a heart. And while he’d been more than happy to maintain such a reputation in his youth, as he’d aged, he tired of trying to change minds. Hell, everyone he’d ever known treated him like the court jester. Even his brothers had a tendency to treat him like a younger sibling, despite the fact they’d been born quadruplets.

Yet Ellie, his blonde, magnificent Djinn, took him very seriously. He’d been caught the moment he’d laid eyes on her. But it was more than beauty that kept his attention. Ellie had a natural charm, an intelligence and wit that made everyone around her happy. Even the assholes at the bar constantly coming on to her had received gentle yet firm rejections. While kind, Ellie was also strong. Her only vulnerability seemed to have to do with family, and he knew exactly how family could make a body crazy.

He sighed and squeezed her tight before withdrawing from her body. Even apart, he could feel her inner magic calling out to him, her Darkness beckoning his Light to reach out and touch. He felt too sated to be alarmed, but he thought he might be falling in love with the enchanting woman, who’d turned around to stare up at him with dreamy blue eyes.

A surge of humour took him by surprise. The shit was really going to hit the fan when Arim realised Cadmus had found his affai , and that she was not only Djinn but the daughter of one of the Dark’s most powerful rulers.

If only Ellie were surer about herself, he’d feel better about telling her what he now accepted as the truth. He really had no choice in the matter. His soul had spoken for him. Ellie Markham, Elliara al Ethim il Ruethe, was his affai, his destined mate and soon-to-be his partner in rule over the northlands of Tanselm.

Unfortunately, Cadmus had a feeling that telling her now would only spook the stubborn woman into never accepting her destiny. Damn Ethim and her mother for putting their daughter between them in their painful war of affection. Now, he had to woo a woman resistant to magic and wiles and Light Bringers. Though he had to admit, the sheer challenge of the notion sparked his interest more than a little.

“What has you grinning like that?”

“Like what?” he asked in a husky voice, wondering if she could feel the powerful emotions roiling within his heart.

“Like the cat that ate the canary.”

He propped himself on an elbow on his side and eyed the sated woman, wondering if she knew how close she resembled that remark. Had he not known better, he’d swear she was purring.

“What’s that noise?” Her eyes widened.

“I thought that was you.”

She shook her head. “No. But now that you mention it, I’m surprised you heard it. It’s the same sort of sound I hear before Jonas shows, when he’s courteous enough to give me a little warning.”

“Likes to pop in unannounced, hmm?”

“Sometimes.”

Cadmus planned to put a stop to that. Then recalling what he’d done to Jonas earlier, his good mood promptly vanished.

“Shit.”

“Excuse me?” She leaned up and looked for her clothes. “I’m going to take that as an ‘I wish we had more time to spend together’ shit.”

He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. “I’m a real pain in your ass, aren’t I?”

She flushed at his play on words. “Yes, you are, you pervert.” She let him clean her before she quickly dressed. “I can’t believe I let you do that to me.”

“Come on, Ellie.” He lazily dressed then stepped into his boots, wanting to take her all over again. Something about her called to him on a purely visceral level. “You know you liked it. I guess that makes you the perfect pervert for me.”

Her blue gaze regarded him with laughter, and with a small hint of caution that had him suddenly aware of how he’d hurt her in the past. He had no way to right that wrong, but he could make the present pave way for a joyous future. Rejuvenated, he smiled with all the charm he had in him.

“Holy mother of all that’s Light, but I never feel as good as I do around you, Ellie.” He took her in his arms and kissed the breath out of her. “I’d be a fool not to admit how perfectly we fit. You make my head spin.” He paused. “You are all right, aren’t you? I didn’t hurt you?”

“No.” She blushed and looked down, a becoming shyness so at odds with the strong woman he’d come to know. “As much as I’d like to tell your ego to pound sand, I have to admit I never would have agreed to what we did if I didn’t…”

She trailed off, and he knew it was too soon for her to admit what he prayed she was growing to feel. She needed time— and wooing , his conscience added—to tell him what he suspected she might feel for him.

He looked deeply into her eyes, caught by the fierce yearning in the sky blue irises staring back at him.

She cupped his cheek and brushed her fingers over his whiskers. “It was wonderful, Cadmus. You’re a very giving lover. And you’ve shown me Light in so many new and wonderful ways.”

His heart stuttered under her touch, and he revelled in her praise. He wryly likened himself to a beast brought to heel by a beautiful maiden. She had well and truly snared him, and he knew he’d give his last breath to make sure she had every happiness she deserved.

“Cadmus, I need to tell you something.”

“Anything, Ellie. I’m yours.” He meant that wholeheartedly.

“It’s hard for me to say. You see, I think I—”

He froze as a familiar spread of Darkness enveloped them.

“Hell. Not now.” Cadmus threw up a protective shield around them both and pushed Ellie behind him.

Within moments, he felt oppressive sorcery sucking at his energy.

“Ellie, focus on your father and teleport to him right now.” He gritted his teeth and transferred what power he could still control into Ellie’s shield. Damn, Lexa aggravated the hell out of him. He’d just had utter bliss with Ellie. And now the memory of it would be tainted by Jonas’ Dark Mistress.