Page 71 of A Sword of Ice
And a sense of rightness washed over her again, even as he pulled his teeth from her and trailed his tongue across the new wound on her neck and she did the same. His hips jerked against hers one last time and his body slumped a moment before he rolled them to the side.
He was still hard inside of her, and he pulled her closer, brushing aside the curls from her cheeks. His smile was radiant, and she could feel their bond solidified by everything that just transpired between them. She answered with a smile of her own and they didn’t speak. They didn’t need words. Just this. Just each other.
Julius pulled her into the crook of his arms and that’s how they fell asleep.
Mated.
Bonded.
To the sound of each other’s steady heartbeats.
33
The Price of Love is Agony
The next morning, Iona slipped off to the deck to check on her familiar. Even though the air was chilly and bit against her skin, she left the cloak off. The crescent marks on her neck burned in the best of ways, and she wanted to show them off. For the first time in a long time, she felt giddy with excitement. Hope was an awning thing, something she’d only ever thought about in her daily prayers and now felt more tangible.
She smoothed her hands down against her familiar, checking and redressing his wounds and talking to him about little nothings. He paid attention, but he didn’t speak into her mind again. Not that she’d expected him to. She was just glad his eyes were a bit brighter today and that he seemed to be feeling better, despite the raw wounds still on his body.
An hour into talking, and she felt the air on the deck shift. It charged with electrifying energy that bolted through her nervous system like a strike of lightning. She knew it was Julius before she turned and saw him strut across the deck, his chest puffed and a smile pulling widely at his mouth as he preened.
He turned and their eyes caught, though she was sure that he didn’t know for a moment where she was. He changed course and walked right over to her, not stopping until their chests brushed. Then his hands twined behind her, hands grasping her ass as he picked her up, aligning them like they’d been last night.
“Morning,” he growled.
Iona’s hands slid up his shoulders, her thumb grazing across the crescent marks on his own neck. The action made a low growl emit from his throat, a sound that brought her satisfaction.
“You were gone this morning. I didn’t get to give you this.” Then he kissed her, devouring her so thoroughly like he had last night. She couldn’t help the groan that came out of her throat. He whirled with her still in his arms and walked across the deck.
She broke away. “Put me down, brute. I have things to do.”
He feigned a hurt groan but did as she asked and when they turned all eyes were on the both of them.
Iona especially felt Shula’s burning like the magic of her fire.
“What?” she cocked her head in the fire Fae’s direction.
Shula’s face reddened and she stammered, “N-nothing it’s just that…” Her eyes lingered on their matching crescent marks, the evidence of their mating bond. “So soon?”
Iona’s brows raised. “Why would I wait?”
The Fae tugged at the ends of her hair, pushing them over her ears. “It’s just… you’ve known each other for so little time…”
Iona waved her off. “We’re Fae. We have plenty of time to know one another. We live long life spans and are all but immortal.”
“But what if you regret it?”
Iona’s eyes narrowed onto the other woman’s shoulder, right where her own bond mark should be but was hidden beneath her clothes. It felt like she was asking more for her own benefit rather than Iona’s. Still, she answered.
“I won’t regret it.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because I trust Mana, and Mana would not have gifted me with a mate I did not want. Mana is an all-knowing force that sees hearts and destinies, and it works in mysterious ways. I trust that this is a gift, a bond I’m meant to cherish for the rest of my life. Time doesn’t matter here, only magic and that his soul matches mine.”
Shula looked away, her eyes going straight to Ryker’s, only to find him staring back at her. Her face reddened even further, and she stood abruptly and walked in short, quick steps towards the door that led her below deck. She went down and didn’t emerge.
Iona couldn’t help but feel like she’d said something to upset her.
