Page 143 of Storm of Ink and Blood

“Do you trust me, Spitfire?” he asked as he tossed away the last of his clothing.

“Of course,” she breathed instantly, and he couldn’t help but smile.

He filtered out another thread of magic as the vines pinned her to the mattress, leaving her helpless. Then he dragged a finger down the center of her throat and between her breasts as another creeping vine followed the same path.

She watched, her chest heaving in and out as the vine crept lower, tickling her skin down past her ribs and then her navel.

“Ready?” he asked, and she nodded.

“I think so.”

He chuckled as the vine slid lower, the pointed tip touching her swollen clit. She cried out, her entire body seizing against her restraints as she moaned and writhed. He continued directing his magic over that sensitive spot, harder, softer, faster, slower as she begged and pleaded. For more. For release.

His hand smoothed up her thigh before he took himself in his hand, stroking himself with long thrusts as he directed the magical vine directly into her pussy. She gasped as it slid into her, and though he couldn’t feel it, the way she arched into it had every nerve in his body burning with fire.

“You,” Zarya managed to gasp in between her moans, and it took him a moment to understand she was asking for him to touch her. To fill her up.

He grinned and collapsed on all fours as her eyes met his. He directed the vine of magic into her with a few more gentle thrusts as he held her gaze and then pulled it away before pressing his cock to her entrance.

With her limbs still pinned in place, he eased into her, slowly at first, groaning at the exquisite bliss of her tight walls. Her heels scrambled against the bed as she continued urging him on. “Yes,” she whispered. “Rabin, undo me.”

And that finally tore the last shreds of his control. He slammed into her as they both whimpered, her heat enveloping his pulsing cock, making his vision blur. She was pure sensation and passion. He felt everything with her. More than he thought he could feel.

He thrust into her again, watching the spot where she took him, moving in and out.

“I love you,” he rumbled as he filtered out a new vine of magic, dancing it on her sensitive clit and then thrust again as she came around him with a cry. He lost control, fucking her with abandon until he thickened and then spilled into her with a force that nearly turned him inside out.

When they both caught their breath, he pulled his magic away and she reached up to cup his face, bringing him down for a kiss. He would have done anything for her in that moment. Torn apart mountains and worlds. Climbed to the moon if she asked.

She was his purpose. His destiny.

As he took in the flush of her cheeks and the sparkle in her dark eyes that seemed to contain the entire universe in their endless depths, he felt like he finally understood himself for the very first time.

FORTY-NINE

Sunlight warmed Rabin’s skin when he woke up the next morning. He rolled over to find Zarya breathing gently, her face soft in sleep. His wife.

He traced the lines of her face, dragging his finger over the curve of her cheek and the angle of her jaw. Every time with Zarya had been something magical, but after they’d said those vows to one another and promised themselves to each other forever, everything had shifted to another place, and he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life at her side.

A knock at the door and a call of “room service” had her eyelids fluttering open. Miraan had truly thought of everything.

Rabin wasn’t sure what to make of Zarya’s half-brother. He seemed genuine in his desire to help, but Rabin usually had difficulty trusting people, and this prince was no exception.

Yasen certainly saw something in him. Rabin had overheard his conversation with Zarya when he’d claimed it was only casual, but Rabin had always been very good at reading people, and he didn’t buy a word of Yasen’s protests. He’d been around Yasen enough to know this was something special to him, too.

Reading people was one of a soldier’s most underrated and undervalued skills, and that’s what had always made him good at his job.

“Let me get that,” Rabin said, kissing her on the tip of her nose before he found a blanket to wrap around his lower half and opened the door to a member of the hotel staff dressed in a crisp black vest.

“Breakfast?” he asked, gesturing to the golden cart.

Rabin stood aside, and he pushed it into the room before revealing piles of eggs and paratha, along with bowls of fresh fruit yogurt, coconut cream, and pots of coffee and tea. Orange juice and sparkling wine completed the small feast.

“Is it to your liking?” he asked, and Rabin nodded. With a press of his hands at his heart, he tipped at the waist and then left. When the door closed, Rabin tossed the blanket back onto the bed, leaving him entirely nude, and then wheeled the cart closer, piling a plate high and handing it to Zarya.

“What are you thinking about?” Zarya asked after they ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“I’m feeling bad you didn’t get a big fancy wedding,” he said, looking around the suite. “This room is beautiful, but you’re a princess. You should have had something extravagant. Something bigger.”