Page 53 of The Hidden Guardian

RENALL

The absence of the full moon is felt immediately when I wake. My skin no longer prickles and demands attention. My libido has subsided; well, as much as it can when I’m living with the most beautiful woman in nature. Last night was like nothing I’d ever imagined. To start out, watching her want to leave, to being able to explain the true purpose of why we are all here, all to culminate in being able to express ourselves physically. It’s been a whirlwind of emotions and sensations.

The need comes again through the bond, Awe-tum is missing from her spot in bed. That just will not do.

Awe-tum is soaking in the large amethyst tub when I slip behind the curtain. Her face peeks up at me with a satisfied smile still lingering on her perfectly full lips. Her golden hair glistens against the moon rocks embedded in the walls, its length stopping just above her hard nipples. Gods, she’s perfect.

She reaches for my hand. I accept, desperate to hear that sexy voice of hers in my mind.

“Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to join me?”

A mischievous grin slowly spreads across my face as she slides to one side, and I slip into the tub in front of her. The water is soundless as my mate climbs into my lap and runs her pink lips along mine. Things have changed between us. I don’t know when it happened, but sometime in the night our kisses morphed from passionate and raw to soft and gentle and teasingly like we knew we had all the time together in the world. I don’t want to get my hopes too high, but it appears as though she has decided to stay. I haven’t asked because I’m afraid of her answer. Her fingers twine with my hair as the kiss turns desperate, deeper.

Her hands are soft and caressing as they trail down my body. We’d touched each other so much last night, I’m sure that I’d be able to draw a map of each of her curves. And yet, my body reacts to her touch just like the first time. Desperate for some friction, she grinds against me, a moan escaping her lips.

I growl in her mouth.

“Will it always be like this?”she breathlessly asks, grinding against me again.

“Gods, I hope so.”

She arches her back just enough for her breasts to breech the water. I lick my lips, leaning forward when she flips her hair to her other shoulder … baring herneckto me.

Surely, she must know what this indicates. She couldn’t possibly want me to bite her, not when she was just contemplating leaving last night. I know last night was amazing, but could it really change her mind that much? “What? Do you–I mean …”

“Claim me, Renall,”she half whispers, half begs.

I’ve dreamt of this moment for weeks. Maybe I’m going to sound desperate asking her this, but I need to know. “Does this mean that you’re not leaving?”

“Not without you.”Her hands are on my face now, guiding me to her neck.

My fists clench against her back. “A–aare you sure?”

“Yes.”She slides closer, hands slipping into the water gripping my cock.

I lick my lips and struggle once again to restrain myself. Gods, I’m pushing it. But I need to know she understands what she’s asking me to do. To claim her, mark her as mine for all to see. “Do you understand what this means?”

“Yes.”

“That you accept the bond between us,” I continue.

“Yes, Renall, claim me.”She pulls closer, baring her neck to me as she runs the head of my cock up her clit, as she moans my name against my lips.

Without control, I kiss her hard on the lips before I kiss down her neck stopping where her heartbeat pulses against my lips.

One hand tangles in my hair while the other is still gripping my manhood. She strokes me.

My teeth penetrate her skin and she gasps, blind pleasure ripping through me at the sound. She tastes like sweet apples on a crisp autumn equinox. By the grinding she’s doing in my lap and the moaning in my ear, Awe-tum feels the pleasure as well. I tighten my grip around her with one hand and slide my free hand between us to help her. We come instantly together in the loudest, strongest orgasm of my life, and probably hers.

We’re still trembling and panting when I find the strength to pull my teeth out and wrap both arms around her.

“Awe-tum, I …” But words fail me. Love seems like not a strong enough word, and I don’t want to scare her off. Claiming her is one thing, confessing feelings might be something else entirely to her.

“I know,”she says, soft with sleep.“Don’t ever leave me.”

We just had the most intense orgasm ever, and she’s worried I’ll leave her. Isn’t she the one who had packed her bags? But I’m more worried what will happen if she stays. Still, I find myself saying, “Never. I would risk a thousand deaths to find you all over again. I will never leave you.”

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