He reaches into a saddlebag and pulls out a package wrapped in silk, the fabric shimmering in the tangerine light.
“I made this for you,” he says, practically beaming with pride as he hands it to me. “It felt only right to give it to you here.”
I unwrap the silk and glide my fingers along the rich, smooth leather satchel nestled inside. “You made this?” I run my hand over the glistening rubies, each meticulously placed to create the perfect pentacle.
“I thought it a bit more befitting of both you and the Empress,” Kane replies, his voice soft and sincere. “It’s to carry the card so you don’t lose it if you should ever want to return home.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes as I remove the card from its resting spot on my heart and slide it into the best gift I’ve ever received.
“This is my home.” I reach for him, my fingers tracing the lines of his face, his neck, the strength of his shoulders. This man—my king, my love—has given me so much more than I ever dared to dream. “You’remy home.”
“And you’re mine, Little Fawn. I love you, Hannah.”
Kane kisses me, his lips soft and tender. His hands move over me, exploring, caressing, igniting every nerve. He removes my clothes with such ease and quickness that they seem to simply fall away, each piece slipping to the ground like autumn leaves. The sun dances warmly against my skin, and I want him to feel it too.
I move to lift his shirt, and he stops me like he has every time, his fingers wrapping around my wrist.
“You don’t have to hide from me, Kane.”
He cautiously releases me, and I pull his shirt off over his head. The fabric slides away, revealing the lines of velvety gold scars that wrap around his body like intricate ancient tattoos. They’re the marks of his life as a warrior, each one evidence of the battles he fought and the magick he was forced to hide.
They shimmer slightly, sunlight caught on glassy water.
I look down at my stomach, running my hand along the scar on my abdomen. We’re a matching set—king and queen.
I glance back up, my eyes drawn to his bare torso. His abs are a work of art, a chiseled masterpiece that flexes as he straightens, the ridges and valleys creating shadows that dance across his skin in the waning sunlight. His chest is broad and sculpted, the contours leading to the thick corded muscles of his shoulders and arms. He’s more beautiful than I could have imagined.
“Like what you see, Fawn?” His voice is a low, teasing growl, but there’s a wavering edge to it that makes me want to hold him close.
I nod, unable to tear my eyes away from him. “You’re…perfect.”
I praise the lines of his scars with my fingers, my lips, tasting the honey-sweet warmth of magick that courses through them. Kane’s body reacts to my caresses, his muscles tensing and relaxing under my touch.
I move to the waistband of his pants and slide them down, revealing inch by inch of his muscular thighs, painted with the same gold magick. The fabric pools around his ankles, and he steps out of them, his body now completely bared to my hungry gaze.
A slow satisfied smile spreads across his lips as he steps closer, his eyes darkening with desire that sends a swell of heat straight to my core. He lowers me down between soft grasses and wildflowers and leans over me, his hands framing my face as he positions himself between my spread thighs. The tip of his cock brushes against my slick entrance, and I gasp, my body arching toward him in a silent plea.
“Kane,” I whisper. “I need you.”
“I’m here, Fawn,” he murmurs. “Always.”
With a slow, deliberate thrust, he pushes inside me. Imoan, and the air sparks with energy. We move together, our bodies in perfect harmony. Every touch, every kiss, is a spell that connects us.
The golden glow from Kane’s scars spreads, casting a warm ethereal light that makes my skin hum.
Gold shimmers in the air, wrapping around our entwined bodies and soaring toward the cracked walls of the Tower. Magick swirls and dances, weaving a tapestry of light and strength that binds us to the very heart of the Tower.
“Let go, Fawn. Let me feel you come apart.”
And I do. I come apart, open myself, free myself. For Kane, for all the days I felt disconnected, cut off from loving who I am.
The Empress flashes behind my closed lids: scarlet dress, lush garden, frame of pomegranates, crown of stars. She is a sacred vessel.Iam a sacred vessel.
Her magickal energy surges within me, filling every corner of my being with power. As I surrender to the waves of pleasure, the magick Kane and I created together releases.
Brilliant light bursts from us, a radiant golden glow that crashes against the Tower. Its ancient stones absorb the surge of magick. The walls shimmer and gleam with an inner light as magick continues to flow around us, through us, from us, joining us to each other and to this place in a way that feels eternal and unbreakable.
We collapse together, breathless and entwined, magick still pulsing.
