Page 66 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
"Not from cold," I managed, my own hands exploring the planes of his chest where golden light danced beneath warm skin. "From this—from us."
The pattern beneath my skin sang where we touched, each point of contact creating cascading waves of silver and goldthat seemed to map our growing connection in luminous detail. Heart's breath caught as my fingers traced the intricate designs flowing across his torso.
"The pattern is... responsive tonight," he noted, wonder coloring his tone as he watched our lights interweave.
"More responsive than usual," I agreed breathlessly, marveling at how our patterns seemed to anticipate each touch, each caress, blooming with light before our skin even made contact. "It's like it knows..."
"What we need," Heart finished, his voice dropping to a husky whisper as his hands mapped the curve of my waist. "What we've both been wanting." The golden bond between us pulsed with shared longing, carrying emotions too complex for words. Through our connection, I felt his centuries of solitude, his careful walls built against hope, all of it crumbling in the face of what we were building together.
"I never expected this," he confessed, his forehead resting against mine as we shared breath. "To find someone who could see past what my mother made me into."
"You're not her," I said firmly, my hands framing his face as I looked him in the eyes. “You are good….and you are wonderful. I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
His ruby eyes darkened at my words, golden patterns flaring with an intensity that almost hurt to look at directly. Instead of responding verbally, Heart pulled me closer, claiming my lips in a kiss that spoke volumes—gratitude, desire, and something deeper that made the pattern beneath my skin pulse with answering joy.
"Alice," he breathed against my lips, his hands sliding down to my hips, guiding me into a gentle rhythm against him that made us both gasp. The friction, even through our remaining clothes, sent waves of pleasure rippling through our bond.
Stars shifted overhead, constellations rearranging themselves in response to our growing connection. The crystal tree behind us hummed with subtle energy, its branches bending slightly inward as if creating a private sanctuary. I shifted my hips again trying to get more friction. Heart gave. low growl, and the next thing I know I was laying on my back with him hovering above me.
The silver grass beneath me was softer than silk, cushioning my back as Heart settled between my legs, his weight supported on his forearms as he gazed down at me. The golden patterns beneath his skin pulsed with barely restrained desire, casting warm light across my face.
"Are you certain?" he asked, his voice rough with need but still carrying that careful concern that made my heart flutter. Through our bond, I felt his willingness to stop, even now, if I showed the slightest hesitation. Instead of answering with words, I reached up to trace the golden spirals flowing across his chest, marveling at how they responded to my touch with eager flares of light. The pattern beneath my own skin answered in kind, silver and gold threads reaching upward to intertwine with his magic.
"Very certain…please?" I whispered, pulling him down for another kiss trying to convey my want and need for him. A low growl came from him as he pushed himself as close as he could to me, his lips going to my neck as his teeth scraped against the hollow of my throat. I arched beneath him at the sensation, my hands fisting in his hair as he found the sensitive spot where my pulse hammered against my throat. The pattern beneath my skin flared brilliantly where his lips touched, creating spiraling designs that seemed to map every nerve ending he awakened.
"Heart," I gasped, his name escaping as both plea and prayer. His hands moved with reverent precision, fingers hooking into the waistband of my remaining clothes. I lifted my hips inanswer, helping him remove the last barriers between us. The night air kissed newly exposed skin, but Heart's warmth quickly enveloped me.
"Perfect," he whispered reverently, his ruby eyes drinking in the sight of me laid bare beneath the shifting stars. The silver and gold light beneath my skin bloomed like a garden awakening to sunrise, responding to his gaze with waves of luminous energy that seemed to reach for him. Heart quickly shed his own remaining clothes, his golden patterns flowing freely across his skin in complex configurations that matched my own.
When he settled back between my legs, the first touch of skin against skin without barriers sent a shock through our bond that made us both gasp.
"I've dreamed of this," Heart confessed, his voice a rough whisper against my ear as his hands explored with gentle reverence. "Not just the physical, but this connection—this sharing."
Through our bond, I felt the truth of his words—centuries of loneliness, of careful distance maintained even with those he trusted, all of it falling away as he continued to touch me.
“Heart.” I whimpered as another growl left him, his eyes darkening even more as he looked at me.
“I want to devour you.” He muttered as he lightly bit the side of my neck, not breaking skin but enough to make me jolt in his arms. The intensity in his voice sent liquid fire coursing through my veins. Through our golden bond, I felt the depth of his restraint—how desperately he wanted to claim me completely while still maintaining the gentle reverence that made my heart race. His patterns pulsed with barely contained hunger that matched my own growing need.
"Then do it," I whispered against his ear, my teeth finding his earlobe and drawing it between my lips. The effect was immediate and overwhelming—Heart's entire body went rigidabove me, a sound somewhere between a growl and a moan escaping his throat.
"Alice," he warned, his voice strained with the effort of maintaining control. "If you keep doing that..."
"What?" I asked innocently, though my hands were anything but innocent as they explored the golden patterns flowing across his shoulders. "This?" I traced a particularly intricate spiral with my fingertip, watching it flare under each move against his skin.
Heart's control snapped. In one fluid motion, he captured both my wrists in one hand, pinning them above my head as his lips crashed against mine with a hunger that stole my breath.
"You're playing with fire," he growled against my lips, his free hand trailing down my side with deliberate slowness that made me arch beneath him.
"Burning doesn’t sound like a bad way to go." I whispered back, meeting his ruby gaze with a boldness that surprised us both.Something primal flashed in his eyes—not dangerous, but wild in a way that made the pattern beneath my skin sing with anticipation. His hand continued its exploration, mapping every curve and hollow while our patterns intertwined in increasingly complex configurations.
“You definitely know what buttons to push.” He laughed as his grip on my wrists tightened as he looked down at me with such hunger that it made a shiver go through my whole body.
"I'm a fast learner," I breathed, testing his grip on my wrists and finding it secure but gentle. The sensation of being held in place sent an unexpected thrill through me, making the pattern beneath my skin pulse with eager anticipation.
Heart's smile turned predatory, his ruby eyes darkening to the color of fresh blood. "Indeed you are. But some lessons require... practical demonstration."
His free hand traced lower, fingers dancing across my stomach with teasing lightness before venturing further. Whenhe finally touched me where I needed him most, I gasped, my body arching into his touch involuntarily.
