A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(72)

I lifted onto my knees and moved to the edge of the bed until my chest pressed against his. He was still working his cock, the head pressed against my bare stomach, and his hand wrapped in my hair.

He pulled me to him, his mouth pressing against mine, and he kissed me so roughly, so desperately, that I felt like I would fall apart from that alone.

“I love you, princess,” he mumbled against my mouth.

“I love you too,” I whimpered and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

The hand in my hair moved down, gripping behind my back, and he lifted me higher in the bed until my head hit the pillow. He came down over me, only a few inches separating our bodies, and he ran his cock up and down my wetness as he watched where his body met mine.

I arched my back off the bed, desperate for him to get inside me, and he wasted no time. He coated himself in my want before he slid inside me, and I closed my eyes as he stretched me so deliciously.

“Gods, I’ve never needed anything more.” He pulled almost all the way out before pushing himself back in. He shifted his hips and ground down against my nub, and I gasped for breath as every part of me felt like I was dying for him, for his touch. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

I clawed at his shoulders, holding on to him as I felt like I was falling, and he wrapped my legs around his waist. “More.”

His breathing picked up, and he groaned as he shifted his grip on me. He pinned my wrists above my head, and he started fucking me with so much force I worried that everyone in the kingdom might hear us.

But I couldn’t bring myself to care.

I rolled my hips, matching his thrusts with my own, and I cried out his name.

I was so close to release, and I couldn’t control it as it raced through my body. Every part of me wanted him, my body, my magic, my soul.

We craved him and every moment of his touch, and we chased the high he was giving us with desperation.

“You are mine,” he growled. His words were like a drug, a reminder of how much I belonged to him. It was a reminder that I would give up everything for this life with him. I would go through every bit of suffering again as long as it led me to this.

“I’m yours,” I moaned. He was mine, and I was his. And I never wanted to know a world where that wasn’t the truth.

“Come with me,” he roared and pushed himself into me roughly, his hips grinding down against my nub, and I cried out his name as pleasure shot through me.

He slammed into me again and again, and I felt him release inside me. Waves of pleasure coursed through my body, and he drew every ounce of it out of me until I felt myself shudder and shake, my body so sensitive that it felt like I was going to break.

Only then did Evren press his weight into me. He laid his head against my chest as he nestled himself between my thighs, and I combed my fingers gently through his hair as I tried to catch my breath.

We stayed just like that for a long moment until my body relaxed and I felt him do the same above me. His breathing evened out, slowly drifting, and even though I knew that we still had much to face, every part of me found comfort in the knowledge that we would face it together.

Come what may, Evren was my home, and I would do everything in my power to protect it as I knew he would.

My eyes drifted closed, and I was almost asleep when his whispered words drifted over me like a prayer.

“The stars chose you, Adara Achlys. It was always you.”





THE END





EPILOGUE





EVREN





E vren



I stared ahead at my mother even though I wanted nothing more than to get back to Adara. My desperation for her had only increased after the battle, and I never wanted her out of my sight.

"I think we both know that's it's time." My mother rubbed her hand over her face slowly, as if trying to will away the fatigue. The crease on her forehead was more pronounced and dark circles had taken up residence beneath her eyes. "The people of this kingdom love you. They trust you, and they need you."

My chest ached as I listened to her words. "They need you as well."

She nodded her head, but her gaze softened as she looked over my face. "And they will still have me, but I'll be standing behind you as their ruler. You and Adara."

I couldn't stop the pride from swelling in my chest that she believed in me to rule this kingdom that she loved. That she was willing to step down and lay it before me.

"We are safe because of you." She swallowed roughly. "It is due to your sacrifice, and there isn't a person in this kingdom who doesn't realize that, who doesn't have the upmost respect for you."

I nodded once as words escaped me.

"If word of your father is to come, it is you that will continue to protect our people."

There had been little talk of my father. It was assumed that he was back in Citlali, but everything had been quiet and that made me uneasy.

Though there hadn't even been whispers of him, my dreams had been plagued with the man I both hated and somehow missed the memory of. He had become my enemy, but he had once been nothing more than my father.

I hadn't told anyone of my dreams. Not even Adara. I couldn't burden her with that when the fear had just started to dissipate from her eyes.

We already heard rumors of unrest in the old country, the land under King Drystan’s rule and beyond, and the unknown was agonizing.