Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(43)
“Are you coming to bed?” Brayden whispered gruffly in my ear, drawing me away from my thoughts. Brayden had hung one of his paintings in our room, and for the past hour I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. It was a picture of how our court was going to look when we completed the bond. At first, when everything came to light about my destiny, I didn’t even want to complete the bond with him. Now I couldn’t imagine not completing it.
Brayden wrapped his arms around my waist and slid his hands under my silky nightshirt to trace circles on my bare stomach. His touch sent tingles down my spine and it made me shiver. It was hard to imagine a Winter Fae getting chill bumps, but I did. His warm breath grazed across my neck as he chuckled and nipped my earlobe.
“I don’t see how I can refuse with you tormenting me like this,” I teased.
“It’s not tormenting if I plan on doing something about it, angel.”
Brayden kissed along down my neck to my collarbone while smoothing his hands up my bare skin to my breasts, cupping them gently. Tilting my head back, I rested against his chest as he kneaded and massaged them, rolling my nipples with the coldness of his fingers. For the past week we had explored each other’s wants and needs, but tonight that was all over. I knew what he wanted and I knew what I needed.
“I’m ready, Brayden,” I whispered, turning around so I could face him.
He brought his hands up and brushed a strand of hair off my forehead before cupping my cheeks in his hands. “There’s no turning back, Ariella. Are you absolutely certain you’re ready?” he inquired gently.
Smiling, I clutched the hem of my shirt and slowly lifted it over my head, exposing my breasts that ached for more of his touch. His gaze twinkled in the candlelight and his mouth tilted up in a tiny grin. I kissed his lips while pressing my bare chest against his and wrapping my arms around his neck.
“I want you to make love to me, Brayden. I’m ready to bond myself to you for the rest of my life, however long that may be,” I vowed.
Brayden walked us back toward the bed and sat down on the edge with me standing between his legs. He looked up at me, his eyes glistening with unbound love and passion. “I love you, angel,” he murmured wholeheartedly.
“And I love you,” I cried, a lone tear sliding down my cheek.
Never taking his gaze off of mine, Brayden slid his fingers under the waist of my silky bottoms and slowly slid them down my legs, taking my underwear with them. He growled low in his chest and picked me up to set me on the bed. He was shirtless with only a pair of loose linen pants riding low on his hips, and when he untied them and let them fall to the floor, my insides trembled with the need to feel him inside me.
I moved back across the bed and propped myself up on my elbows as he stalked toward me. Starting with my ankles, he kissed his way up my calves to my knees, and then to the tender spot between my thighs. From there he trailed his tongue up my stomach to my breasts where he licked and sucked them generously. I arched off the bed and moaned as my body verged on the edge of climax. Before I could get there, Brayden chuckled and moved up to my neck, where he bit the soft, fleshy part of my shoulder.
“The next time you come it’ll be with me inside you, angel,” he whispered gruffly in my ear.
I groaned in protest, but he closed his lips over mine to cut off my cries. His tongue entangled with mine; he tasted so damn good I couldn’t get enough of him. Pressing his body to mine, he separated my legs with his knee and rubbed the tip of his cock over my tender flesh. We needed to say the sacred words that would bind us together for eternity, but when Brayden opened his mouth to do just that, there was a loud knock on the front door.
It was late in the evening, too late for someone to be making a normal visit, which made us both wonder who it could be. Brayden lowered his forehead to mine and huffed angrily, “Someone better be attacking our palace, because if not then whoever is out there is dead.”
Sighing, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “It could be important, Brayden. There’s no telling what could be going on.” All I know is that it better be important, I thought to myself.
Reluctantly, he slid off of me and grabbed his pants off the floor, sliding them on. He reached over and took my hand, helping me up, and handed me my clothes as well. “I’ll go see who it is,” he grumbled. “And I promise not to kill whoever it is unless it’s the sorcerer.” He kissed me quickly and mumbled angrily the whole time he descended the stairs.
Quickly, I threw on my clothes and snatched my robe from the bathroom before I also headed down the stairs to see who it could be. I didn’t hear any yelling or shouting, so I had no clue what was going on. I rounded the corner and saw Brayden standing there with his arms crossed, staring at Kamden who looked like he wanted to turn around and walk out the door.
“Kamden,” I shrieked, rushing toward him. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you.”
As I approached, he opened his arms to me and gave me a sad smile. I took that as a sign that he wasn’t mad at me, so I embraced him and held him tight. When he released me, his gaze glistened with unshed tears as he replied, “I’m sorry I left the way I did. I just needed some time to myself and time to spend with my family. My mother took it hard, but she’s coming around.”
“Do you blame me?” I whispered, lowering my gaze. I never liked to fail in anything I did, especially when it came to protecting my people. The weight of his death weighed heavily on my soul and it hurt even more knowing he was Kamden’s brother.