Chapter 6
“Ellieth?”
“Over here.” Ellieth lifted her head from the rocks and gave a little sigh of contentment. The water of the hot springs had eased the ache in her muscles, and she had spent the past half hour watching steam curl into the frosty air of E’lessiell.
A splash told her that Savin had joined her in the pool, and a moment later she made out his form. He waded over to her, the opaque water setting off his blue skin perfectly, and gave a groan as he settled down beside her.
“Relaxing?”
“Yes. This place is almost perfect you know. I’ve never been somewhere so peaceful. And the food…”
“Yes. Since they stole our cook, if I want a decent meal, I must come here. I’ll make them sorry for that.” But she heard a laugh in his voice.
“And how are you?” She asked him, opening her eyes to watch as the tension in his shoulders eased, and the water lapped at his skin.
“The messages are sent,” he said, his head tipped back and his eyes closed. She could see grief in the set of his face. “And Dorel’s body,” he added quietly.
“Savin…”
“No.” He opened his eyes. “Do not apologize. He wanted to kill me. He wanted to make you a slave. There is no reason to be sad for what you did.”
“And yet you are sad,” Ellieth whispered.
“He was my brother.” Savin looked away. “I saw what he was becoming, and I… closed my eyes to it. Do you know how many chances I had to confront him? I knew it was him from the start, cursing me. He was always gifted at magic, and he could never resist showing his work. He made sure I knew who it was.”
“Why did you not tell your father what was going on?”
“I am not a child.” He sounded affronted. “I can fight my own battles.”
Ellieth settled back, frowning, and heard a heavy sigh.
“That wasn’t it,” he admitted. “I lied to myself. I told myself it would never get this far.” He turned his head to look out over the mountain peaks. The day was clear, sunlight sparkling on the sharp lines of snow and ice against the crisp blue sky.
Unexpectedly, as Ellieth watched, he gave a chuckle, and his head turned back to her. “What would I have done if you weren’t there, Ellieth?”
“Taken care of yourself,” Ellieth said promptly. She smiled over at him until his lips curved in a response.
“You think so?”
“You could breathe fire at the time,” she pointed out. “So yes, I think so.”
“A good point.”
Silence fell between them, and Ellieth trailed her fingers through the water.
“It was very brave, what you did,” she said at last.
“Oh?”
“Yes. You knew it was a trap, and you knew what he would threaten to tell your father… but you went anyway, because you believed peace was so important.” She raised one eyebrow. “And maybe just a little bit to prove you could beat your brother.”
“Am I that obvious?” He had closed his eyes again, and did not open them now. He sounded aggrieved.
“Yes. You may be centuries old, but brothers will always be brothers. If Allina…” Her throat closed. If Allina had betrayed her so, what would she do?
Savin saw her fear.
“Allina is as likely to turn into a bowl of fruit as she is to betray you,” he assured Ellieth.
“Thank you for that.” She gave a gasp when he took her hand and pulled her through the water to sit on his lap. “I…”
“You’re blushing.”
“It’s the heat of the water.”
“I’m sure it is.” One arm came around her waist and the other rose, dripping, to bring her face close to his. “So, wife. It seems we must start over.”
“Yes.” She could barely make her voice work. She was drowning in his black eyes, lost in the sensation of his skin against her own and the comforting strength of the arm that held her easily in place.
“As I recall, you said it was most important to charm me.” There was a laugh rising up in his voice.
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Not at all.” His voice was a purr now. “Tell me… do all human women go to such lengths to charm their husbands?”
“I, er…” She blushed at the thought of the very extensive instructions she’d received from the ladies of the human court, then giggled. There had been a great deal of advice to lie back and stare at the ceiling, none of which seemed especially necessary when her husband was now trailing his fingers lightly over her throat, brushing along the line of her collarbone, his eyes bright with possibilities that made her breath come short. “No one said anything about flying up mountainsides with dragons. Or fighting off treasonous younger brothers.”
“Are you sure? You seem very good at it.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I was going to recommend that every man in the Elven court find a human woman to marry.”
Ellieth’s laugh rang out over the pools.
“What about the Elven women?”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead. But I suppose they’ll have to marry the human men. I think it will be popular— they all seemed quite charmed by your kind.”
“We are very charming.” Ellieth’s mouth was twitching.
“You are, indeed.” And he pulled her close for a kiss, his lips moving against hers as his arm tightened around her waist.
Ellieth heard herself gasp. Her arms were around his neck, and she was dizzy with the mix of steam and the cold air, the feel of the rocks and Savin’s skin beneath her fingers. Her lips parted for his tongue, and the kiss deepened until she swore she could not have told up from down, or said if it was night or day. She could see only one thing, feel only one thing.
“Savin.” A prayer. A dream. None of this seemed real.
“Ellieth…” His fingers trailed down her arm and dipped below the water to cup her hip, and slide along her legs.
“Should we…” She lost her train of thought when his lips found the soft skin of her throat. She arched against him as his arm tightened, and his other hand crept up to her breast. “Savin, please, we should go inside—”
“Oh, I don’t think anyone will bother us out here, do you?” His breath brushed against her skin. He was tracing his tongue along her collarbone, and he groaned when she tangled her fingers in his black hair. “After all, the court knows we came here for our honeymoon.”
Her laughter rang out into the clear air, and she brought his face up to hers for a kiss.
“Yes, of course. A very good point, husband.”
“I thought so,” he said smugly. His fingers traced down, around a nipple, and then he lifted her, so she could straddle him, pressing the length of their bodies together. “My God, Ellieth… I have wanted this since the first moment I saw you.”
“I have also—” Ellieth broke off with a cry. She could feel his fingers drifting lower, between her legs. When they slipped inside, she forgot how to breathe. “Savin, what are you…”
“Shhh.” His mouth covered hers, the arm around her waist holding her in place effortlessly as his fingers worked their magic. “Yes. Move your hips.”
“What are you doing?” Ellieth whispered. Her hips were moving, though she swore it was through no volition of her own. Pleasure was heating her blood and she only wanted more. She pressed against Savin’s fingers, whimpering, and bit her lip when they withdrew. But they were back in a moment, parting her, and she felt him press against her.
He waited, only his absolute stillness giving away the strength of his desire. His fingers curled around her hips, and he waited until she nodded before pressing her down along his length.
“Oh, my God.” Ellieth rocked her hips forward against him and gasped with the sensation. She had never felt such a thing. She felt herself clench, tight, around him and he groaned. He wanted more, and she flushed at the thought of it— wanting the same, and not knowing what that meant.
He showed her the way, his hips rising to meet hers so that he drove deep inside her. Ellieth heard herself moaning as her hips moved with his. She could not form her lips to any word other than please, over and over, and from his low laugh, he was more than happy to oblige.
She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth to stifle her cries. That the monks might hear, that other pilgrims might come into the gardens, should have turned her cold— but it was only a goad to her pleasure, making her greedy for more. When Savin’s fingers brushed between her legs once more, finding a place exquisitely sensitive, Ellieth had to bite down on her hand to keep herself from screaming. She was so slick inside, so wet, and as the pleasure built, she could hardly think beyond wanting more.
Something was building inside her, and she did not know what, knew only that she was desperate for it. His pace increased, and she moved her hips with his.
“Savin.”
“Give into it,” he murmured in her ear, his voice sending pleasure down her spine. “Let the pleasure take you. Come for me, Ellieth.”
The command was clear, and she did not even have time to ask what he meant before she tipped over the edge into oblivion, shuddering around him. Her nails scored down his back, and his arms tightened around her, and she felt the answering rush of his own pleasure. He poured into her, buried to the hilt, and she cried his name with her release as the pleasure spiraled out, and she lost herself in him.
When she came back to herself, her head was lying on his shoulder, and his fingers were playing idly over her skin. She shifted her hips and felt pleasure ripple through her once more, and he gave a sound that was half-laugh, half-growl.
“Mine,” he said softly.
“Mine,” Ellieth agreed, laying her palm against his chest.
She gave a startled gasp when his hips moved.
“Ready for more?” He asked her.
“Yes.” Ellieth raised her head and kissed him deeply, writhing her hips against his. “Show me everything.”
The End