She raises that brow again, her mouth soft and questioning. But then she does.
I take in a shaky breath. I’ve… I’ve never done this before. Never with any other lover. But I’ve also never been with someone who sees the world with such joy and positivity; never known anyone who cares for everyone, even those they barely know. I’ve never known someone willing to face the world with the innocent bravery in which she does. Never had anyone seen me that way. I want to be in your world.
Carefully, I grip the edges of my helmet and pull up. The cool air in the arboretum catches my hair. For the first time, I look at her not through the tinted lenses of my visor, but with my own eyes. Stars, she is beautiful.
I am stupid. If she disobeys me and opens her eyes, I will dishonor my house. I will be banished from the Spring Realm, and worst of all, I will betray every commitment I have made to our creed and way of life.
But one moment to look at her like this is worth the risk. I set my helmet down and place my hand over her eyes. She exhales quickly, and I bend to capture her sweet breath. Then I lay the softest kiss upon her mouth.
“Ezryn,” she whispers against my mouth.
The kiss is slow, intimate, tender. A kiss as vulnerable as I am. Aching, I pull away. “Keep your eyes closed.”
I pick up my helmet and ease it over her head. My hands are tender as I lift her by the base of her neck, twisting the helmet so the visor is at the back.
Within the depths of my sacred steel, she is blind.
Her hands tentatively come up to feel the helmet. Yearning tremors through my body; her gorgeous soft skin draped in the inky black fabric, crowned by a helm of the Spring Realm… I can only imagine her drifting through the cherry blossoms outside of Meadowmere dressed in only her own helm and nothing else.
“Wait.” Realization trembles through her voice. She sits up, movements frantic, and reaches for me. Her fingertips dust over my face, across my eyebrows, along the curve of my nose. I sigh against her touch, softly kissing her hands anytime they drift by my lips.
“It’s like I can see you,” she whispers. “I mean, I can’t actually see you. But when I touch your face, I can see you in here.” Her hand hovers over her heart.
A knot forms in the back of my throat, and I need to do something before I’m eaten alive by my thoughts. Her hands tangle in my hair. I push her back to the mossy bed and run my lips all over her throat.
“Now, Petal, I am starving for you.”
Slowly, I work my way down her body, raining kisses and nips on each piece of bare flesh. It’s as if she can’t bear to take her hands from my hair. I have to pull my head free as I lower to the mound between her thighs.
I push aside the ribbons of her skirt, revealing her dripping heat. Stars, she smells good. I nuzzle my face against her, inhaling deeply.
She moans as the cold air hits her skin, and her hips undulate toward me. My mouth waters with need. I am going to devour you.
“Ezryn,” she whimpers. “Please. I need—”
She doesn’t have to finish the sentence; I know what she needs.
I cover her heat with my mouth. Her hands find my hair again, and she pulls hard. I grin against her wetness and tease her with the tip of my tongue, swirling and dipping, before plunging it deep into her warmth.
She bucks against me. The slick heat sends my head spinning, and I savor every moan and cry as I feast upon her. She tastes delightful, salty and sweet all at once. With each lick and suck, she gets wetter and hotter. It’s so delicious, I’m afraid I’ve bespelled myself with an addiction.
I lap at her clit, her thighs squeezing around my head. My cock is stiff against my armor, and I imagine tearing free of it all and taking her now.
Thankfully, I retain some sense within this ecstasy.
But she hasn’t. “Take this off, Ez,” she begs, pounding at my shoulder plates. The backwards helmet muffles her voice. “I want you inside me. Please.”
I tear myself away from her pussy and drift my hands over her breasts. As much as I want to rip off this beautiful dress and suck her beautiful breasts into my mouth, I can’t destroy her fragile outfit. There’s no way I’m walking her out of here naked. “When I take you, it will be among the cherry blossoms and the wildflowers. It will be under the cloud-dusted sky, with only the birds to hear your screams.” I sink my teeth into her collar bone. “Not buried under the dirt like two corpses.”
She lets out a frustrated growl and pulls at the back of my hair. “But—”
“No buts.” I descend back down between her thighs. “You’ll have to be satisfied with this for now, Baby Girl.”
I plunge two fingers deep within her warmth and curl. She releases a desperate, nearly feral cry and arches her back. I bury my face in her again, sucking deeply on her clit. My fingers and mouth work in rhythmic tandem, making her legs tense and untense around me.
“Ez… Ez, oh my god.”
I can’t stop the smile forming as I press harder and she unravels, her sweet nectar dripping over my tongue.
And it’s like her climax sends a rush through me, a tumbling of joy and wonder that blooms from my heart and extends out my fingers.
Her release sends her body quivering, but I don’t stop, eagerly lapping up every drop I can until she’s rigid and panting beneath me.
“Oh, Ez,” she whispers. “This is a heck of a party.”
I laugh and shuffle up beside her. I pull her body against mine, the steel helm resting on my chest. Her hand drifts down between my thighs. “I want to please you.”
I grab her wrist. Though my cock aches, I know we’ve been gone too long. “The others are going to send out a search party if we don’t get back soon. Besides, tonight is for you. Think of it as retribution for Dayton’s foolishness.”
“Okay,” she whispers, but curls tighter against me.
“I should probably take this back.” I knock on the helmet.
“My eyes are closed.”
I pop the helmet off her face, savoring the delicious flush of her cheeks, the mess of her hair. The face of a lady well satisfied. With a new heaviness, I place the helm back over my head. “You can open your eyes now.”
She blinks and looks around. “Ezryn…”
“Hmm?”
“The flowers,” she whispers. “They look healthier.”
I turn and stare around the arboretum. She’s right. The plants, once wilted and dying, now bloom in a way that would rival any meadow of Spring.
I look down at my hands and notice a fading green shimmer. “I… I did something.”
But as I meet Rosalina’s gaze, the thought corrects in my head. We did something.
59
Keldarion
The music envelops me like a lover’s embrace, awakening my senses as I wander through Cryptgarden. My eyes drift to the drink table, every corner filled with brightly colored concoctions promising freedom. I take three bubbly shots before grabbing two more drinks in my hands to take back to the willow tree.
Now, where is that tree? My vision fades in and out. The only thing I can focus on is the twisted thorns and the throne above it where he sits.
“What are you doing out here?” a stern, metallic voice cuts through the din.
I spin. Wavering before me are Rosalina and Ezryn. They’ve got their arms around each other.
The strangest joy blooms in my body at seeing my best friend holding my mate so protectively. I realize I haven’t even been worried about her; I knew she was with him, knew he would protect her as fiercely as I ever could.
A deep desire to get closer to them cuts through everything else. I drop my drinks and stagger toward Ez, clasping his hard shoulders, feeling his solid weight support me.
I’m so happy he’s here. He’s never here. He loves to leave. Because he hates Castletree. Hates me. But he always comes back.
“Ez, I missed you.” I think I might be speaking loudly, but it doesn’t matter. I place a kiss on the front of his metal helm. Still using him as support, I lean down to the woman wrapped around his waist.