Page 137 of Prince of the Phantom Sky

“What?” Kora blushed.

“I like seeing my handprints all over you,” he answered roughly. She glanced down, noticing flour-dusted hand marks on her body and legs. “That, and you’re the most stunning female I’ve ever seen.”

Raiden advanced, the deep hunger and desire exuding from him again. It barrelled down the bond and she gasped, her thighs clenching instantly as his emotions mixed with Kora’s. He flipped her around, pinning her front to the worktop, just as he had earlier. Raiden gripped the front of her throat, tipping her head back as he stole her breath away with a kiss. His other hand trailed down her arm, delicious flames following in its wake before he reached down in between her thighs.

“Open,” he ordered and Kora instantly parted her legs as he worked her clit again, his fingers moving steadily in circular motions, dipping to her entrance to gather her dripping wetness before moving back to her clit.

She gasped and Raiden captured it, his fingers tightening around her throat, pulling her closer to him. Her tongue flicked out, and she nipped his bottom lip, causing a growl to echo deep in his chest. His pace increased, her core tightening once again as he brought her to the edge of mindless pleasure that she’d never felt before.

Kora collapsed in his arms, and Raiden steadied her, using his body to pin her upright. She hissed in pleasure, feeling safe and secure as his strength flowed into her. It was so different than before. And she delighted in the strange freedom from offering this kind of control over to Raiden. He smiled against her lips as she climaxed quickly, crying into his mouth as he devoured it with another kiss, his tongue following swiftly.

“How many more times are you going to do that?” Kora quivered as Raiden kissed down the length of her neck, his hands trailing across her stomach before cupping her breasts.

“I’ve got ten years to make up for,” Raiden murmured, before nipping her ear.

Kora worried, wondering whether he meant for Kordelia, her pulse fluttering slightly. Raiden gently raised her chin, tilting her neck back to look at him. “I’ve been waiting for you, Kora. And I’m going to show you how much I’ve wanted you.”

60

Raiden

Droplets of gravy and honey splattered the white shirt Kora had stolen from his chamber. She sprawled in front of the grey, stone fire, her eyes heavy as she nibbled on chocolate-dipped strawberries Raiden had fetched her. He’d feasted on her multiple times in the kitchens before her stomach had growled in return. His groin ached at her laughter when he’d whisked her up here, the meal he’d prepped following behind in floating bowls.

The fire roared, bathing her skin in a golden glow as she leaned back on her elbows, popping another strawberry into her mouth. Raiden tracked every move Kora made, the sight of her in his clothes made him positively feral. His fist curled around the navy and silver bedspread they’d used as a blanket on the hard floor, his restraint from claiming her thinning rapidly. Raiden leaned against the four-poster bed, large windows to their right, and a heavy, arched door to their left.

And his entire world in the middle.

“What are you thinking?” Kora tilted her head.

“That maybe you should wear my shirts all the time.”

She barked a laugh, and his chest lifted at the musicality. His magic roared, demanding the union between them, that Kora was his singularity in this universe, his absolute point of truth and reality.

He attempted to leash it, internally warring with his own beast. He couldn’t scare her away now. Kordelia may have been his first love, but she hadn’t been the love. Somehow, Raiden knew he’d accepted that a long time ago. Kora was something else. A calling.

She sang to the magic in his veins.

She ignited the fire in his soul.

She tasted of the freedom he longed for ten years.

She was the goddess that kept the nightmares at bay.

“Before we . . .” Kora blushed. “Before what happened earlier, I found something in the library. Before you distracted me.” She sat up, scooting closer to Raiden. He smiled at her. She had caused the distraction, demanding an impromptu cooking lesson that’d lasted all of five minutes. And thank the gods it had. He could barely think as his mind drowned in sea salt, vanilla, and something else. Something familiar.

“I found a passage about the dark prophecy, someone here also predicted it, hundreds of years ago. It spoke of finding the true first god, and their heir known as the Dark One.”

Raiden frowned, her words penetrating the passionate fog smothering him. “There are only five gods. Thanos was the first.”

“It mentions another—Thanos’ shadowed mirror. I think maybe he has a brother, and that this god resides in the in-between.” Kora placed a hand on his knee, her fingers splayed. “Our void is the in-between.”

“How do you know this?” Raiden placed his hand on top of hers, his beast humming in pleasure at the contact. “I’ve never come across anything to explain what that space was, and why only we can access it.”

Kora’s stare flickered, casting down as she nibbled her bottom lip. Raiden’s pulse thudded unpleasantly. She was hiding something, and the way emotions crossed her face, fading as quickly as they appeared, he knew she was debating whether to tell him.

To understand whether she trusted him enough.

“When Blake suspended me with his power, my body was desiccated like a corpse. But I was still alive, on the verge of death. My soul, essence, whatever you want to call it, travelled to our void. I think it was looking for sanctuary. I spent over a month there.” Raiden’s breathing stopped as she continued staring away, unable to meet his gaze. “I saw memories of Kord—my life. But they were warped, tainted to have strange outcomes or occurrences. Someone helped me pick through them, stayed with me during my deadly imprisonment.”