“You will stay still as I worship you, Ailsa. Or I will prolong your suffering.”
“Filthy fae,” she exhaled through her teeth, arching her back as he palmed one breast, pinching the sensitive peak.
“Heathen,” he smiled.
“I will have my revenge later, Vali.” A frustrated breath slipped through her lips as his tongue darted against her cold flesh.
Her soft skin slipped from his teeth with a gentle nip. “And as the god of vengeance, I look forward to it.” Finally,finally, his opposite hand dipped beneath her hips, between her thighs. Vali could not hide his rapturous grin as his fingers slid over that point of tension, where a wet heat was already soaking through her undergarments. With a single swipe, he ripped them to her ankles, flicking them to the side with a flip of his wrist. His gaze glanced at her reaction, assessing her disposition to seek her consent before he pushed her knees to the side and displayed her—all of her—to himself. But Ailsa did not shy away from his inspection, instead she pushed up on her elbows to view him better.
“Vali?” she said when he didn’t move.
His chest was heaving faster than she’d ever seen it race before. A golden haze seemed to burn around his body like a halo as he gradually lowered his head between her legs, as if waiting for her to stop him. His fingers gently probed that small nub, shooting pleasure straight through her core.
“Vali!” she gasped, and she felt the breath of a snide laugh brush the wetness between her legs.
“You are so beautiful, Ailsa,” he said, before kissing the inside of her thigh reverently. Sharp teeth followed tender lips, biting at her skin. He draped a leg over his shoulder, his mouth so close until…
A sprawling pleasure climbed within her as his tongue split her in two. She fisted his hair as she cried out, writhing against his face. Vali sucked and lapped, used his mouth to inspect every line and nerve, pushing her further up a slope and toward the edge of bliss. His thumb replaced his mouth as he used it to dive inside her, fucking her with his tongue, tasting the deepest point of her arousal.
“Sólskin,” she spoke his name, something between a plea and a praise.
He pulled away for a moment, licking the leftover desire from his lips as he stared at her, the wildest look in his eyes. “You taste like starlight and paradise,” he rasped before adding, “fucking delicious.”
Ailsa laughed through her shuddering breaths “What does starlight even taste like?”
His lips tipped into a smirk that made her toes curl. “Do you want to know? Because I can show you.”
He dropped her hips and crawled on top of her, dipping his face to kiss her, so she could taste herself on his tongue. An adoring sigh replaced her exhale, but the heat in her hips was agitated from the loss of him. She returned his attention back to them with an exuberant grind against his hardness, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“I haven’t forgotten, my fierce one,” he said with a wink. “Are you ready for the big finish? Or shall I draw this out a little longer?”
“Vali, please!” Ailsa dragged her nails across the broad muscles of his back so hard he winced, a pain so pleasurable his cock twitched against her.
His merciful fingers returned, rubbed the ache away as she begged with her body. “Well when you ask so pretty,elskan min,how can I say no?”His finger dove inside her, deep and thrusting, stretching her before adding another. Ailsa arched against him as they curled against a spot that sent her thrashing, trembling, tipping over a point of no return. A low sound flew from his chest, echoing her sharp ones, feeling him shake against her as she rode his hand harder.
She cried his name as she fell, tensing around his fingers as she climaxed for moments that felt like lifetimes. And Vali held her against his chest as the last waves rolled through her, washing away the remaining tension and leaving her body peacefully still. When Ailsa’s heart returned to a steady pace, she smoothed a hand over Vali’s chest, slipping behind his neck to pull his cheek to her lips.
“Gods, Vali,” she said. “That was… that was amazing. I’ve never felt like that before.”
He leaned his forehead against hers, a glazed look over his eyes like he was half-drunk. “I feel like I should be thanking you.”
Her brows furrowed. “Why? You didn’t even—” her eyes fell to his waistband, where something opaque glistened across his abdomen. Her gaze circled back to him, wide with astonishment. “You did!”
Vali laughed, rolling to his back to stretch. “That is how much I am attracted to you,sváss.You don’t even have to touch me. Your pleasure is my own foreplay.” She nestled against his side and shut her eyes, listening to the sounds of his breath in the hollow trunk of his chest. “Never underestimate your power over me, Ailsa. There is nothing stronger in all the realms than the way I feel for you.”
His confession pulled her lips into a smile. “For once, fate has been kind to us, bringing us together.” Her fingers memorized the inky lines on his skin. “Was there something you wanted to show me? Before we carved out this little detour.”
He nodded against her head. “Yes, but it can wait a few more minutes. Hold me until then. Please.”
“Okay,” she whispered. Meanwhile, she watched flickers of light fall from the canopy, like snowflakes made of sunshine. The trees were veined with Light again, the leaves on every branch shades of gold and orange. The world around them suddenly bright and gleaming, alive because of the man at her side and what she did to him.
Alive because his Light burned all the brighter. And it burned because of her.
Vali could still taste Ailsa on the back of his palate when they emerged from the woods. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to wash away her scent from his skin, the way she marked him as she came around his fingers, the scratches still felt scarring his back. She had hardly touched him at all and yet his release was powerful enough to illuminate the entire forest with an ethereal light.
He wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside her, to connect with her on a level so deep they would become one in every way that mattered. But something flipped inside him today when she called him her own, a shift beneath his skin when she claimed him in the ancient language. Like the night on her shores when the Tether called him, but a thousand times more intense. A visceral urge so powerful, he felt as if it would tear him apart.
They heard the river before they came across it—the power of rushing water splitting over jagged rocks, the turbulent stream flowing uninterrupted through the earth. A bridge made the only path to the other side. It was a thin walkway, allowing no more than a horse or two to pass at once.