Bastien slid onto the mattress facing her. Thalia moved into him without hesitation, sliding her legs between his and pressing her hand to the back of his neck to bring him in for a kiss.
It was instantly electric with heat and desire. Bastien’s arms went around her, pulled her in tight. His cock hardened and ached.
His heart ached, too, but for Thalia and not himself, because he was convinced this was all he had to give her.
And he needed her to know that.
It may have been crude, but he needed her to understand. If she did, then she could harden her own heart against his insufficiencies.
Taking her hand from the back of his neck, he pushed it between their bodies and forced her hand around his erection. He groaned as she squeezed and stroked without any encouragement, but he gripped tight and held her still.
Thalia leaned her head back and frowned at him.
“This is all I have to give you, Thalia. You need to understand that.”
Bastien expected her to give immediate words of reassurance that she did indeed understand the way of things.
Instead, she shook her head and glared at him. “I refuse to believe that. You just entered this bed because you knew I wanted and needed it. You have much to give.”
Bastien didn’t like her reasoning—it meant that things would remain complicated. He was prepared to argue, but Thalia played dirty. With her magic, she thrust pleasure from her hand straight into him.
Hips thrusting forward from reflex, Bastien growled from the sensation and his hand fell away. Just that easily, he gave up control to the woman who could never be his in any meaningful way to her. He let her stroke him to near madness before he couldn’t stand it anymore and had to retake control.
He rolled over onto her, pressed her into the mattress, and kissed her into submission. It was his hand now that went between her legs, and he found her so incredibly ready for him that he almost lost his mind.
As Bastien pleasured her with his fingers, Thalia squirmed under him, pulled on his arms to cover her, and spread her legs wide to wrap around his back. All the wordless signs of encouragement, which he disregarded right up until she whispered in his ear, “Please.”
And that he couldn’t ignore.
With memories of all their times together flooding his senses, he joined his body to hers with one powerful thrust that had her arching into him.
Sliding one arm under her back and another to hold her leg hitched up over his waist, Bastien plunged over and over again into her. He fucked her as hard as he made love to her, and Thalia kept asking for more.
There was no real magic involved, but as if no time had passed between them at all, they seamlessly fell into each other. Bodies undulated in harmony, breathing synced, and when Thalia tumbled end over end into pleasure, Bastien dove right behind her.
Stars exploded in his eyes as he poured himself into her, and again, he felt something crack inside his chest.
Except this time, he wasn’t painfully reminded of the hollowness there. It didn’t seem as empty.
It left him disconcerted as he gathered Thalia to hold her close. There was still more vast wasteland inside that useless organ in his chest than not, and he was afraid he was beyond full repair.
CHAPTER 23
Thalia
The morning dawns quickly, and the minute I awaken, a smile plays across my lips as I remember Bastien making love to me last night.
I roll over to face him, wanting to know just how much has changed between us. It touched me so deeply, and I’m positive he felt something too.
Instead, the cold emptiness of the bed registers, and I frown as I sit up, scanning the room. Bastien is at the table, elbow propped and longs legs stretched out, crossed at the ankle. He’s fully dressed, watching me with an unreadable expression.
“I don’t suppose I could encourage you to come back to bed for a bit?” I ask, keeping the covers over my chest in an unusual display of modesty. While my words are light, I have no expectation he’ll climb back into bed. He’s in battle mode, so to speak.
“Too much to do and too little time,” he replies, indicating with a nod toward a breakfast tray on the bedside table. “Eat and get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Bastien rises from the chair and grabs his saddle pack.
Glancing at the tray, I pick up a piece of toast. Poised to take a bite, I ask, “You’re actually going to let me out of your sight?”
One corner of his mouth curls, and his eyes actually twinkle with what I think might be amusement. “I expect you to put a ward on this door when I step out, and your magic is strong. Besides, I’m going to wait at the bottom of the stairs, so if someone wants to get to you, they’ll have to go through me first.”