Page 39 of All the Chaos of Constellations
He tightened his hold on her. The tip of his cock was poised at her entrance, nudging her slick folds, tempting her with the promise of release.
“Breaking bonds is dangerous.” Her voice was a harsh whisper.
“So is fucking the one who rejected you.” Asher pushed forward, the barest of movements, gently prying her open. She strained for him, her chest heaving. His stern gaze raked over her, scalding her. “Unless…”
She stared at him, unable to break his smoldering gaze. “Unless what?”
“Unless you marry me.”
Novalise’s breath hitched. There was no humor in his eyes, no mocking ridicule. He was serious. Intent. “You want to marry me?”
“Understand me, my lady. I am incapable of love.” He urged his cock deeper, another inch, and she almost came undone. His touch was torture. “When I say this is all I can give you, I mean it.”
Novalise told herself it would be enough. Whatever he was willing to give her, she would accept. There would be time later to sort through her feelings, to deal with the remorse of her decision, to manage the shame that came with knowing he would never completely choose her, even though their souls were bound to one another. Because she swore to the heavens that if he walked away from her now, she would die.
“Okay.” She bobbed her head, spread her hands over his solid abdomen, then let her nails scrape against his shirt.
Asher groaned. “I don’t love you.”
She swallowed down her cry of regret. His words were a frostfire blade to her heart. “I understand.”
“I don’t love you.” His mouth slashed across hers, his teeth nipping her bottom lip. “Say it, Starlight.”
She trembled in his arms. “I don’t love you.”
Asher shoved himself into her, stretching her, and his name fell from her lips on a startled cry. Another adjustment and he situated himself even deeper inside of her, ensuring she felt every glorious inch of him. With devastating slowness, he slid out, then buried himself into her once more. His hips rocked back and forth, the rhythm sensuous and steady, and Novalise couldn’t look away from the glow of magic pooling in his eyes. Each thrust was timed to leave her dangling on the edge before he filled her again, raising her higher. Letting her soar.
Power erupted around her and Asher in a whirlwind of stardust and midnight fire. Her braid lifted from her shoulder as the melding of their magic intensified, pulsing through the air. It thrummed between them, spurring them, beckoning to them give themselves to one another. Asher groped the back of her thighs, his fingers inching upward with each pump until his hands were molded to her ass.
He squeezed hard and she clenched, wanting more. She clawed at his shirt, needing to feel his skin. But there were too many buttons. Why were there so many buttons?
“Fuck. You’re so wet for me.” He jerked forward, adjusting his grip. In one movement, he lifted her higher against the tree, jolting her into a state of agonizing bliss as his cock teased her into oblivion. “I need more of you.”
He picked up the pace, pumping faster. Harder. She held onto his shoulders while her breasts bounced in his face. He lowered his head and nipped at them before finally catching one with his mouth.
Asher’s teeth sank into her flesh, and their magic exploded. Stars ruptured, whipping into a dazzling storm of light. Icy flames of silver and black licked her heated skin, growing higher, threatening to combust. Their bond magnified, until the rapid beating of their hearts became one, until Asher was the only air Novalise needed to breathe.
But he didn’t love her.
He would never love her.
Her soul shattered. A swelling ache strangled the desire siphoning through her. The agonizing sensation flayed her open, left her raw and bare. Despair rose like a rogue wave out at sea, crashing into her, drowning her.
“Gods. Fuck.” Asher stilled, his jaw locked. A severe line cut across his brow, and just as swiftly as he slammed into her, he withdrew. “I can’t do this.”
Novalise’s body teetered on the edge of devastation. She clutched at him, the loss of him from inside her left her shaking. “What?”
Asher stepped away from her, shoving his still throbbing erection back into his pants. He ran a hand through his mussed hair, then shook his head. He wouldn’t even look at her, the bastard.
“But I agreed. Plenty of people marry for reasons other than love.” Novalise’s heart hammered, her chest rose and fell, but her lungs were too tight. The forest was stifling, the air suddenly too perfumed. Too stagnant. “Reasons like what you were just doing to me, for example.”
Asher’s scowl only deepened. Her attempt at humor failed miserably.
He shook his head. “This was a mistake. It won’t work. I was a fool to ask for your hand. You will always want the one thing I can’t give you. Your mind may think you capable of such a union, but your heart has shown me otherwise.”
There was something in his voice, like an overwhelming sadness he couldn’t form into words. But it made no difference. Once Novalise touched the forest floor, the world came crashing down, and the twisted tree was the only thing left to keep her upright.
“It’s only marriage,” she pleaded, hating the fact that she was begging him to choose her. To want her.
