Page 29 of Awakened Destiny
“Good.” The lie tastes bitter. I kick a desk leg, sending a spider skittering.
The shut door muffles any noise from the rest of the school, and it’s quiet enough to hear my own thoughts. I run a finger through the layer of dust on the desk.“Did you ever wish you didn’t have it?”
Marius pushes off the door. His fingers skim my wrist, calloused and warm, and shadow magic sparks between us—a dark thread stitching our veins together. He knows I’m talking about shadow magic.“No.” His thumb traces the jut of my bone.
My throat closes up and I can’t look at him.“And you gave it to me.” I wonder what’s left of his power, what’s left for him.
“Not all of it,” he whispers.“Just enough.”
“You’ve left yourself vulnerable.”
For me. He did that for me.
He chuckles.“I’m far from defenseless, little bird. Let them come for me.”
“I’ll rip their heads off their bodies if they try.”
Something feral glints in his eyes. Approval. He takes three steps forward to cage me against the desk.“There she is.”
He leans his head down towards my neck and his teeth graze my pulse point. I feel her—the Morrigan—responding, but not to Marius, to the king inside him. But it’s my hands that fist in his shirt, my mouth that finds his. He kisses me hard, his tongue relentless. Blood and danger. The shadows slither around us, alive, drinking the moan from my throat.
He breaks away, grips my chin.“Mine,” he rasps.
The word isn’t gentle. It’s ownership. It’s a claim carved deep in my bones.
I am his, and he is mine.
"Yours," I breathe, and the word ignites something primal between us.
Marius lifts me onto the desk, hands gripping my thighs as he steps between them. His mouth crashes back to mine, hungry and demanding. I taste blood—his or mine, I'm not sure. The shadows are agitated, excited, all around us.
I feel the Morrigan stirring inside me, reaching for her king. The Raven King answers, an almost imperceptible emanation of power coming from Marius. Their connection spans ages, transcending time itself. It melds with our own fated connection, amplifying every touch, every emotion. This reunion is theirs as much as ours.
Marius breaks the kiss, trailing his lips down my neck. His kissing down to my collarbone and my breath catches as I arch into him, needing his body to be closer to me than it is. I can feel his heartbeat as if it's my own, feel the heat of his skin even through our clothes.
"I can feel you," I whisper, running my hands up his arms. "Everywhere. Inside me."
He groans against my skin, his hands roaming under my shirt. "I'm always inside you, little bird. In your blood, your bones."
I gasp as his fingers brush the underside of my breast. The Morrigan flutters within me, hungry for more.
"Show me," I demand, tugging at his shirt.
Marius steps back just long enough to yank it over his head, revealing the intricate faded tattoos across his chest and arms. I trace them with my fingertips, and the magic inside of me burns hot.
He captures my wrist, bringing it to his mouth, kissing the inside of it where my veins are close to the surface. "Your turn."
I strip off my top, baring myself to him. His eyes darken as they roam over me, and he crushes his mouth to mine again as his hands work at my bra. It falls away, and he palms my breasts roughly, thumbs circling my nipples. I moan into his mouth, pushing into his touch.
My hands fumble with his belt, desperate to feel more of him. Marius growls low in his throat as I finally get it undone and slip my hand inside. He's hard and hot against my palm. I stroke him slowly, savoring the way his breath hitches.
"Fuck, Brigid," he groans, hips rocking into my touch.
His fingers dig into my hips as he yanks me to the edge of the desk. In one swift motion, he tears my leggings down my legs. The cool air hits my bare skin and I shiver.
Then his hand is between my legs, fingers sliding through my wetness. I cry out as he pushes two fingers inside me, curling them just right. My head falls back and Marius attacks my exposed throat with his mouth. He pumps his fingers in and out, his thumb circling my clit. Pleasure builds rapidly, circling tight in my core.
"That's it, little bird," he murmurs. "Come for me."
