It was perfection.
Made her feel alive.
Provided her with the history she needed to ground her in the present.
She set the knife beside them on the mattress and drew her nails up his thighs instead, needing to mark him and remind the world of her claim.
He cursed and his grip in her hair twisted, his hips pumping upward and forcing her to take him deeper. She hummed in approval at his dominant side coming through, her throat working to accept his thrusts as she continued to swallow around him.
“You’re destroying me, angel.” His words were gruff and riddled with agony, his body trembling violently beneath her, his mind lost to her ministrations.
She loved the warm energy flooding through her veins, the knowledge that while he might have compelled her to pleasure him, she was really the one in charge. Because she controlled the pace. Her mouth decided how hard to work. Her tongue chose how to stroke him. And her teeth dictated how hard she bit into his sensitive skin.
He jolted as she clamped down just a little more, then groaned as she sucked the pain away.
He was close. She could feel it in the way he pulsated in her mouth, and also through their bond. His breathing shallowed, his muscular legs tensed beneath her fingers. “Swallow” was all he said as he exploded onto her tongue.
There was no compulsion in that single word, but she drank him down because she had no other choice. She needed this as much as he craved it, his taste an exquisite flavor that was all Sethios.
Warm. Hot. Male.
Oh, she’d missed the potency of this position, the way he gave in to her entirely with each thrust of his hips. She owned him completely. Just as he owned her. And it was the most amazing power exchange, filling her with renewed vitality and joy.
She drew out the moment, licking Sethios clean, indulging in every drop, until he lay replete beneath her. And then she crawled over him to straddle his hips, her heated center exactly where it belonged.
He grinned lazily up at her. “You look quite pleased with yourself, angel.”
“I am.”
He chuckled, then grabbed her hips and rolled her beneath him on the bed. “I still have more in me,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m thinking another decade will suit us just fine.” He kissed her with an intensity that stole her breath, only to growl as someone knocked on the door. “Fuck off,” he said by way of greeting.
She would have chastised him for the rudeness, except she felt similarly.
“The council knows about Elizabeth’s pregnancy,” Ezekiel replied through the door. “And she’s gone missing.”
Sethios froze on top of Caro, causing her to frown. “Who’s Elizabeth?” A jolt zapped her heart. “And why is she pregnant?” She’d felt Sethios’s pain at what his father had done to him, how he’d attempted to coerce him into performing sexually when his body refused to allow it. But what if—
“She’s our daughter’s best friend,” he said, cutting off her concern. “She’s pregnant with Jedrick’s child, not mine.” Those last two words were growled down at her. “Osiris never succeeded. He couldn’t. I’ve always been—and always will be—yours.” He punctuated that statement with a kiss that left her panting upon completion, his smoldering irises holding an intensity that healed her heart immediately.
Until all of his words processed. “Who’s Jedrick?”
“A Hydraian Elder. He actually goes by Jayson now, but I know him as Jedrick.”
She frowned. “And he’s... procreated?”
“Yes, with a genetically engineered Seraphim. My father created her to help him breed my replacement. Apparently, I’ve disappointed him as a son,” Sethios drawled, rolling off of her to open the door. She quickly pulled the sheets up to cover her breasts, but he stood completely nude and uncaring before Ezekiel. “How long has she been missing?”
“About thirty minutes,” Ezekiel replied, unbothered by Sethios’s nudity. Their friendship transcended millennia. Caro doubted many secrets remained between them. “Stark called Leela as soon as Skye predicted the child’s birth. She said the council intends to kill the child.”
Sethios grimaced. “She saw that?”
“No. But she’s a Fate. So if she prophesied the child’s birth, so did the others. And she knows the council will never allow the baby to survive.”
“Wait, back up.” Sethios narrowed his gaze at the male in the doorway. “Skye’s a Fate?”
Caro frowned. “She’s a Seraphim?” She’d never met the female but knew about her ability to see the future and predict destinies. Ezekiel and Gabriel had never mentioned her being a Seraphim. She’d just assumed the woman was an Ichorian, turned by Osiris.
“Yes. The council removed her wings when she refused to cooperate with their guidelines.” Ezekiel went on to explain her punishment and how she’d used it to escape, which was when Osiris had learned of her existence and tasked Ezekiel with tracking her down.
