Page 97 of Sun, Moon & Shadow

“You’ve physically saved my life at least three times by my count.” The humor quickly faded from his eyes. “Truly, I’ve never felt more alive than when I’m with you.”

A quiet moment passed, their bodies relaxing into one another as the last remnants of fear and anxiety waned, leaving a growing warmth between them.

“You told me I never have to hide from you,” Callan said. “The same is true for you. If you feel you can’t exist in this world without your walls, then brick me up inside them with you. Because there is nothing for me out here without you. All of you. Not just the smooth, shiny pieces you’re growing to like, or the ones you feel comfortable holding up to the light. The raw, jagged bits, too.”

He stared up at her, his gaze a dark mirror reflecting how he saw her: an uncut gem, imperfect and yet infinitely precious.

“With you, I feel safe enough to let those walls down. I know I can fall apart, and you’ll still be there to help me put myself back together.”

Callan tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, before letting his hand fall to her throat. He brushed his thumb over the thrum of her pulse. Nova inhaled sharply as desire bloomed between her legs, pooling where their bodies joined in his lap. Callan pulled her face toward his, claiming her mouth with a kiss that was at first tender but quickly turned demanding and possessive. Nova moaned against his mouth and pressed her body into his as the need between them intensified.

Suddenly desperate, Nova rose onto her knees, hiking up the bothersome fabric bunching around her hips. Reaching down between them, Callan nimbly untied the laces of his breeches and lifted his hips off the sofa to shove the waistband down to his mid-thigh. He gripped her by the hips and guided her down on top of him, his cock filling her completely. Nova’s muscles melted like warm honey at the satisfying fullness. The return of something she forgot she lacked.

Both ceased to breathe for an instant, eyes locked as she ground her hips in a slow circle around the hard length of him. Nova rose slowly before crashing back down, relishing the feeling of him, her mate, deep inside her. This male who saw her. Who knew her darkness, her pain, and still chose her.

“Gods, you were made for me,” Callan groaned, dark eyes flashing as he drank in the sight of her. “So wet and sweet. And mine.” His claim skittered like a lightning bolt along her limbs, tingling in the tips of her fingers and toes.

Callan slipped the thin straps of her nightdress from her shoulders, exposing her breasts. She gasped when he laid his hands on her, his palms coated with frost. He dipped his head, drawing a nipple into the heat of his mouth. Nova dug her fingertips into his muscled back as he took one breast, then the other, teasing her with his icy touch and warm tongue and driving her mad with want.

Callan leaned back, kneading her ass as she rode him. His gaze fell to where they came together, and he tipped his head back, his throat bobbing as he stifled a moan. Bringing his thumb to his mouth, he licked it languidly before skimming it along the softness of her stomach and swirling it in slow circles around her clit. Nova bent forward, pressing her forehead against his, their ragged breaths mixing together as she rocked her hips in his lap.

“Must you go home?” she panted against his mouth.

Callan gripped her hips and stopped her before she could take him fully again. She whimpered at the absence of him.

“Nova, this is home,” he ground out as he drove his cock inside her, making her cry out. “Wherever I am. Wherever I go. In this Realm. And whatever comes after. This—you—will always be my home.”

His words, punctuated by a steady cadence of deep thrusts, left her breathless and carried her to climax. Nova came intensely with heavy, shuddering breaths. She wrapped her arms around Callan’s shoulders and pulled him close, clinging to him with every fiber of her being. Callan twined his arms around her back, holding her firmly in place and thrusting into her twice more before she felt his release pulsing inside her, his hushed moan muffled against the curve of her neck. They remained that way for a time, hearts beating in tandem.

The odd impulse to laugh rose within her. She had thought she’d made a life for herself in the Human Realm, but she hadn’t been living. She’d been waiting to die. And what a long, slow, lonely death it would have been. Here, with Callan, even plagued by the lingering threat of death, Nova knew she was truly alive.

Laughter greeted Callan when he entered the library. He proceeded stealthily toward the sitting area, not wishing to impose. Lucan lounged on the sofa, his long legs sprawled across the cushions, purposefully poking Nova’s thigh with the toe of his boot. Sighing dramatically, Nova shoved his foot off the sofa, nearly overturning a decanter of wine sitting on the low glass table.

Lucan sprang forward, steadying the vessel of red liquid with both hands as Nova sputtered, breaking into a fit of laughter. Callan’s chest swelled at the sound, so lovely and still so foreign to him.

“Honestly,” Nox chided. “The two of you behave like a pair of younglings.”

Callan smiled to himself. The thought of leaving Nova pained him like an open wound, but it reassured him to know he wouldn’t be leaving her alone.

Nova had a family.

He made his presence known then, lowering himself onto the sofa beside her. Their hands found each other’s immediately, fingers lacing together on top of his knee.

“It seems I’m in your debt, Callan,” the Noble Lord said, taking a seat in a nearby armchair. “Lucan told me how faithfully you led the charge against General Idrian’s forces.”

Callan shook his head dismissively.

“I was only one of many with a part to play.” He brushed his thumb over the back of Nova’s hand, hoping she understood the silent apology.

“Don’t be so modest,” Lucan said. “If not for you, we wouldn’t have had those towering Nivalian warriors or the fire wielder on our side.”

“What will happen to Idrian’s forces now?” Callan asked, eager to deflect the attention.

“They have been given something they never had before: a choice. Most were conscripted into service at a young age without any alternative. Some will choose to remain soldiers while others will pursue education or another profession. Some may choose to do something else most of their days but will answer if Silvergard calls for aid.”

“Could someone with a view similar to Idrian’s take hold again in Stargrave?” Callan asked.

“You remember Zara and Oren—two of the archers who came with us?” Lucan asked. “They’ve agreed to return to Stargrave with those who choose to remain soldiers. They’ll oversee operations there and keep us informed of the overall sentiment as things change.”