Page 253 of The Spider Queen
“You seemed to need time to work out whatever it was you needed working out.”
“You really understand me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. You’re my mate.”
“I still hate that word.” I smiled to take the sting out of it.
“Care to come up with another title?”
“You’re not a fan of wife.”
“Limiting,” he pointed out.
“Immortal romantic life partner?”
He laughed. “I think we were closer with wife.”
I caressed his jaw. “I don’t think it matters, really. What we call one another.”
Thane turned his head so his mouth grazed my palm. “No. I don’t think it matters at all.” He leaned back against the pillows and peered at me. “You seem different. Lighter.”
“I was able to get to the bridge.”
“Were you, now?” he murmured. “Intriguing.”
“The soul that wouldn’t pass over? It was Hunter.”
Thane removed his hand from my hip to scratch his jaw. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? It didn’t even occur to me, though, to be honest.”
“You’ve been occupied. With all the souls that needed you.” My finger traced across his chest to circle around his heart. “I let him go, Thane. Truly let him go.”
“Ah. So you really are lighter.”
“He said something…something that really resonated with me. I thought all this time I neededhimto absolve me for what I did. For what I’d had to do. And I was hoping he’d be angry with me. I was hoping he’d punish me for it.”
“But now you’ve forgiven yourself?”
I nodded.
His hands slid up my body, pulling the nightgown up and over my head. He stroked my skin, inflaming my desire. I leaned over so my hair brushed his chest. Our mouths met in tangled heat. And when he pulled me under him and slid inside me, I grasped him to me and called out his name.
The torches flickered as our moans echoed off the walls. Time was measured in whispers and touches, in kisses and in rapture. We came together, and then he collapsed on me, refusing to budge, refusing to separate us.
And when he remained hard inside of me, we did it all over again.
He held me in his arms as the moons and starlight above us disappeared and dawn streaked across the sky.
“We earned our happiness. Didn’t we?” I asked, lifting my head off his shoulder.
His golden skin was flushed with pleasure. Thane brushed the hair off my breast and gently drew a hand down my curves. “We did.”
“I wasn’t ready. Before.” I bit my lip. “To celebrate our union, I mean. I was too…”
“I know. It’s why I haven’t pushed it, Poppy. Why I haven’t begged to have a jubilee so that we might show the world that I’ve found my queen.”
His smile was bright, but then it dimmed. “We might be immortal, but if I learned anything, it’s that you can’t count on prosperity and peace. So we must enjoy it while we have it. And share it with others.”
“Later.” My mouth brushed his. “We’ll share it later. I need you again. Now.”
