Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(52)

“You are the one that’s beautiful, angel,” he claimed wholeheartedly. “I can’t wait to make you mine forever.” He lifted the hand with his ring adorning my finger and kissed it lightly. “Forever,” he repeated.

Silently, he led me over to the fireplace and the bed of blankets on the floor. His heated gaze made me shiver as he pulled me closer and took my face in his hands. “I love you, Ariella. I know I may not be the kind of man who can tell you how I feel all the time, but with us being bonded the way we are, you will always be able to feel it. I have never let myself feel anything other than loyalty and duty for my court, but you have shown me a different way … a way to love.”

He kissed me gently, but then deepened it by opening my lips with his tongue. I ran my hands through his hair and tugged him closer, tasting the sweet taste of Winter on his tongue and breathing in his heady scent of pure, fresh snow.

“Brayden,” I murmured silently.

He gazed at me with his sensual brown eyes, filled with love and longing, and smiled down at me. The twinge in my heart grew deeper because I knew that in the next day or so I would be leaving him. Bonding with him and the memory of it would be the only thing getting me through what I had to do. I was ready.

Smiling up at him, I decided to begin the first part of our bonding. It had to be said in the Old Fae language for it to be binding, and even though I didn’t know much of that language I still knew what I needed to say.

“Brayden, no matter where I am or what happens in our world, you will always be with me … in here,” I said, placing a hand over my heart. “I will be honored to be your mate, your queen, and … your wife. Amin mela lle ilyamemie ar’ ten’ oio. These words bond me to you, for always and forever.”

I could feel the power of those words linking me to him in a stronger connection than the guardian bond. It was like an invisible chord that weaved its way around my heart and soul and connected me to his. My life was tethered to his now whether he completed his part of the bond or not.

Brayden smiled down at me and sighed, rubbing his thumb over my swollen lips from his kisses. “You will be my mate, my queen, and my wife and there’s nothing in this realm that I want more than that. I bond myself to you, angel, and from here on out you will always be mine … forever and always. Freely and with no reservations, I give you my body, my soul, and most importantly my heart. Amin mela lle ilyamemie ar’ ten’ oio.”

The magic of our bond swirled between us like an invisible force tethering us together, bonding us. Brayden smoothed his fingers underneath the top of my dress and slowly lowered the white, silky fabric off my shoulders. He kept his gaze on mine as my dress slid down my arms, over my breasts, and the rest of the way to the floor.

Slowly, I unbuttoned each single button of his black shirt, exposing the smooth plains of his chest one inch at a time. He closed his eyes and groaned as I trailed my fingers teasingly over his pale, muscled skin. He grabbed my hand, stopping me, and brought my palm up to his lips. “I think we’ve had enough foreplay over the last few days to last us a lifetime, don’t you think, angel?” he murmured huskily.

“Are you saying you didn’t enjoy it?” I retorted.

Chuckling, he grabbed my hips and pressed me firmly against the hardness between his legs. “Oh, I have enjoyed every second of it, but I’m ready to make love to you. I’ve needed you too much to take things slow.”

With hooded eyes, I lifted up on my toes and traced my tongue across his lips and whispered, “Then what are you waiting for?”

He didn’t need to be told twice because in the next second we were both unclothed and wrapped in each other’s arms on the soft bed of blankets on the floor. Brayden’s face glowed in the firelight as he pushed my legs apart with his knee and brought his hands up to my breasts. He massaged them gently before lowering his lips to tease my nipples with his tongue.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and squeezed, bringing my hips up higher to his groin. Reaching my hand down between our legs, I stroked him gently at first, earning a strangled moan from his lips. He moved his hips along with my strokes, and the harder he sucked on my nipples the harder I squeezed along his cock.

“I thought you didn’t want foreplay?” I teased in his mind.

He licked my nipple one last time and smirked down at me. Taking the hand that was wrapped around his erection, he pinned it above my head and replied gruffly, “You’re right, I don’t.”

He teased me for a few more seconds by rubbing his hardness back and forth between my legs, and then entered me gently, thrusting in small strokes so I could get used to his fullness inside of me. I moaned and raked my fingernails down his back as he pushed in deep, as far as he could go. I could feel the magic of our bond growing and swirling around us as we made love, fueling our never ending need for each other. It reminded me of silver glitter the way it sparkled and shimmered in the room.

Taking my face in his hands, Brayden thrust harder between my legs and crushed his lips against mine, teasing and tasting greedily. I could feel my core tighten around him as my orgasm slowly began to build and build. With my breath coming out in pants, I dug my nails harder in his back and squeezed my legs tighter around his waist.

“Brayden,” I cried out.

“Let it go, angel,” he commanded. His brown eyes bore into mine, and I could tell he too was on the verge of losing control.