What Lies Beyond the Veil (Of Flesh & Bone, #1)(102)

“I did, but fucking you two more times in the night was unkind to your poor pussy,” he said, using that thumb to drag my lip to the side. “I can’t seem to get enough of you. Sometimes I forget how new you are to taking my cock, my star.” I swallowed, my mouth opening to speak. The tip of his thumb sank inside, pressing down on my tongue pointedly. “I’ll have to make use of this part of you as well. Will you wrap your lips around my cock for me while I torment your pussy? Will you sit on my face and suck me off when you just can’t take me in your cunt anymore?”

“Gods, the things you say,” I said, pulling my head back from his thumb. He smirked down at me, enjoying the flush that stained my cheeks.

“I want to worship you like you’re my Goddess. I want to spend my days between your legs, making you come so many times you can’t stand up when I’m through with you,” he murmured, that smirk transforming into a full-blown smile as he stared down at me. “But I want to fuck your mouth and shove my cock down your throat, too.” He shrugged, as if the filthy talk was just a part of who he was and I needed to get used to it.

I’d thought he tormented me and teased me before he’d ever touched me, but I was quickly learning that his innuendos had been vague and nothing compared to the things he said while I writhed beneath him on our bed.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Melian said from the doorway, suppressing a smile as she stepped into the space.

Caelum hung his head, muttering as he dropped his hand to his side and his mouth twisted into a pout. “No, you’re not,” he grunted.

“I’m pleased to see you making good use of the books, Estrella. It’s very helpful for future generations,” she said, smiling at me briefly before she turned her attention to Caelum. “But I’m actually looking for you, for once.”

The two of them clearly still disliked each other. I rolled my eyes, turning my attention back to my book.

“What do you need?” Caelum asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Despite my presence in the library, it was the middle of the night. I doubted she would have hunted him down for anything that wasn’t important, and Caelum seemed to reach the same conclusion.

“We received word of a group of Fae Marked hiding in Calfalls. I’m leading a team to retrieve them at first light. We could use your skill with a sword in case we run into trouble,” Melian said, nodding her head at Caelum. The uneasy alliance between them was based entirely on his skill and the abilities he had that might make her team more likely to survive.

“I’ll go,” he said, turning to me. “You will stay here and stay out of trouble.”

“Like fuck I will,” I snapped, standing from the chair. “You promised that we would stay together. You can’t spew those words at me when it’s convenient and then keep me tucked away like a fragile princess when it suits you. We’re either together in all things, or we’re not, Caelum. Which one is it going to be?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You’re safer here. What if the Mist Guard caught you in irons?” Caelum asked, staring down at me as if he could compel me to see reason. To just listen.

Fuck that.

“And what if they catch you? We go together, or we aren’t together at all,” I said, letting the words hang between us.

He didn’t miss the meaning, all too aware of the fact that he’d be leaving me in a bunker full of men. “Fine,” he growled finally, clenching his jaw. “But you do what I say.”

“Good luck with that,” I said, smiling at him as I patted his arm and made for the door. Melian chuckled as I moved past her, her amusement bringing a smile to my face that I didn’t allow Caelum to see.

If we were leaving at first light, I needed to get some sleep.





Melian came for me as promised. The tunnels made it impossible to tell what was morning and what was the dead of night, always bathed in darkness and cloaked in the shadows thrown by the torches twinkling on the wall. The other fighters had swept Caelum off much the same way, taking him to the armory to equip him for the rescue mission I suspected none of us were prepared for.

I’d heard whispers in passing of other missions to rescue Fae Marked, who were in danger of either discovery by the Mist Guard or the Wild Hunt tracking down the mates to bring back to Alfheimr.

She brought me to her private rooms, where I eyed the wooden clothes dresser pressed against the wall, a remnant of a life of luxury I’d never known. I suspected it was probably out of her understanding that I’d only owned two dresses, at most, at any given time. She pulled a pair of black pants from the drawer, tossing them to me.

I caught the bundle against my chest, turning my stare down to the gauzy, light dress they’d given me to wear in the heat of the tunnels. “Have you ever worn pants before?” she asked, smiling at me from across the room, as if I was entertaining. A thick, black tunic followed, and I turned to set the clothing on the bed before I shoved the straps of my dress off my shoulders.

I gave her my back as I dealt with the twinge of discomfort I felt over being naked in front of another person, but after the display Caelum and I had put on the night before, it hardly seemed worthwhile to ask for privacy.

Her sharp intake of breath came the moment she saw my scars, and I glanced over my shoulder at her briefly before I stripped off my boots and shoved my legs into the thick, wool-lined leather pants she’d given me. “I’ve worn leggings beneath my dress,” I said, hurrying to arrange the fabric of the tunic so that I could pull it on over my head.