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“Once I was here… why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I whispered, still reeling from all he had revealed. He looked at me, and I was struck again with how tired and sad he looked. I wanted so badly to make that look go away.
“I wasn’t sure you would want to hear it. I watched my father wield the mating bond over my mother like some kind of weapon for years. She had felt trapped. You had just lost your own mother and were grieving. I don’t know if you remember, but when you first came here, you hated me for trapping you with that stupid life debt.
“Lately, I have noticed a shift in how you feel about me. But you still have Jeremy to think about. If we mate, it is permanent and cannot be undone. I didn’t think you would want to be permanently attached to someone like me. Someone who has acted as a monster for so long that sometimes I wonder if there is a difference between pretending to be a monster and actually being one.”
He grew quiet for a moment, then with a wave of his hand, two silver chains with green stone pendants roughly the size of quail eggs appeared on the table between us. One of the chains was thicker and more masculine, the other thin and dainty. I immediately recognized the energy emanating from the gems. These were made from the stone that Frira had gifted me. The one that had split in two when I had given it to Amon.
“There were a few times when I almost told you. Once was the morning after you had fallen asleep in my lap when you had agreed to find another way to infiltrate Ash Nevra’s palace.” I remembered what had come before that and felt my face flush.
“The second time, was when you came out of that volcano, looking like some sort of warrior goddess, and handed me a fucking mating stone.” His voice broke, and he gestured to the stones on the table. “The day Dossidian stayed behind to get our message to Ash Nevra, I also asked him to take the split stone to a jeweler to have these made.”
I stared at the beautifully crafted pieces, one for him, and one for me. Finally, I looked up to meet his gaze, which was as brilliantly green as the mating stones that sat between us.
“I would understand,” he said, softly. “If you didn’t want to be with me. I will not be my father. If you choose to leave now, I will not stop you.” He paused for a breath before continuing, “I suppose that is why it has taken me so long to build up the courage to tell you all of this. This is really the end of the line. Now that you know, you have a decision to make.” He looked up at me, waiting, and I could see him almost physically brace himself for my answer.
I reached across the table, and picked up the thicker of the two chains, rubbing my thumb over the smooth surface of the gem. It warmed at my touch, and suddenly, my nose filled with the scent of cinnamon. I gasped in disbelief. The stone was emanating the scent of my mate. The scent that I associated with Amon. I wondered, if when he held the stones, he experienced a similar sensation. I wondered if I had a scent that reminded him of me. I remembered at Rhyalla’s Yal'duun-kala; I had asked Amon what daemons do when they mate.
“We exchange mating stones,” he had told me. Finally, I stood up and moved to stand before him. He looked up at me, and emotion flickered in his gaze. An emotion that looked an awful lot like hope. Unable to wait even one more second, I placed the chain around his neck and crawled into his lap before resting my forehead against his. His eyes widened, and I placed my hand on his chest, over the stone. I could feel the beat of his heart against my hand, and it felt wonderful.
“There is nothing I would like more, Amon, than to spend the rest of my life loving you.” I said. His eyes welled, and he swallowed, choking on his words slightly before he spoke.
He put his hands on either side of my face, “Then I will spend the rest of my life working to become someone worthy of being loved by you.” He whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb, as he had done for me many times before.
“You already are, Amon,” I told him, before he finally crushed his mouth against mine and pulled me in so close, I thought we might fuse into one.
66
The kisses were not slow. They were hungry, almost desperate. He devoured me as I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. His fingers buried their way deep into my hair, and he pulled my head back, exposing my throat to him. He laid a trail of hot kisses down my neck and collarbone as he stood up and carried me to the bed.
He broke away as he laid me down, almost reverently, resting one knee between my legs as he held himself over me. Gently, he stroked a hand down the side of my face, looking at me like I was the most precious thing in the world. An aching need began to grow deep within me. It was nothing like the manic feeling that had rolled through me the day before. This need was deeper than that, and it rocked through not just my body but my soul. I needed him closer to me, I needed him to be touching me. He suddenly seemed apprehensive.
“We can wait, Raven. We have our whole lives. If you’re not ready, we can take as long as you need.”
“No more waiting,” I growled, tugging at his shirt, “I need you now.” I pulled his shirt out from his pants, and a sly smile curled across his lips. He snatched up my hands and held them both over my head with one hand, grinning down at me like a cat with a mouse.
“So impatient,” he teased before using his free hand to slip beneath my sweater. He smirked as he ran his palm over the expanse of my stomach and up to cup my breast, over my bra. I arched against him, cursing myself for putting on a bra at all. I wanted more.
“I have plans for you, Raven,” he purred before leaning in close. “If you recall, I won a race the other day. Do you remember what my prize was?” I did. I groaned and tugged at my hands.
“And where exactly do you plan on kissing me for as long as you want?” I breathed. His smirk deepened as he pinched my nipple firmly through the pad of my bra. I arched against him again. Fuck, that felt good. He bent over me, placing his mouth against my ear, his breath sending a ripple of goosebumps down my arms, tightening my core.
“I think you already have an idea of where,” he slid his hand away from my breast and hooked a finger into the front of my waistband. My face flooded with heat at the implication. I had never been with anyone before. No one had certainly ever kissed me there. “As for how long, I think I’ll kiss you until I have you screaming my name.” Fucking God.
He finally let go of my hands and tugged my sweater, leaning back enough to allow me to sit up.
“Take this off,” he ordered. I was quick to comply, pulling it over my head swiftly. He reached behind me and unhooked my bra, pulling it away from my body before sitting back again and letting his eyes roam. “Now these,” he said, tugging at the cotton pants. I swallowed and obeyed. I kicked out of the loose pants and sat before him in nothing but my lace thong.
He looked at me so intently that I suddenly felt vulnerable. I remembered my scars and wondered for a moment, if he had meant what he had said that night in Olkuyrbe. As if he knew exactly where my mind had gone, he leaned forward, pressing me back against the bed, before kissing me firmly on the mouth. He gently sucked on my bottom lip before moving down to my throat. His kisses didn’t stop as he whispered in my mind.
‘You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,’ He murmured before pulling my nipple into his mouth and rolling his tongue over the tip. I gasped as his hand went to work on the other one, pulling them both until the heat building between my legs became an undeniable wetness.
He continued to travel lower, layering kisses on my navel. Finally, he was kneeling next to the bed. He grabbed my legs and pulled me towards him, positioning his head directly between my thighs.
“Amon…” I breathed. “No one has ever… no one has ever done this to me before,” I admitted. I could feel his breath on my bare legs. Only one small scrap of lace separated him from the most intimate parts of myself. A lazy smile curled across his lips, and he looked up at me. He gently traced one finger down the center of me, and I nearly blacked out.
“So, I get to be the first to taste you?” His voice was so rough, it was almost a growl.
I couldn’t answer. I just swallowed and nodded.
