I’d thought it was all evidence of what I was no longer worthy of.
But she made it worth it. Made me feel like I had the strength.
There was no insecurity in her arms, and when she pressed me against the wall with her lithe body, there was no doubt in my mind, no fear that I would hurt her or that she would call me heavy.
Or a brute.
No, if anything, my mate wanted me hard against her; she wanted her nails scraping down my back as I licked pleasure through her skin, as I laved up the taste of her skin and spread it across my tongue.
My eyes rolled back when she gripped me in her hand, her touch firm, then soft.
I grabbed her wrist and tugged her into my arms, turning her back against the same dirt wall, and we joined together. As we mated in the very castle where years ago I’d been born.
The dirt around us began to shake.
I clung to her body as we broke apart.
Tiny diamond-like pieces of dirt began to break away from the walls. It twirled in the air and then surrounded us in a circle of light and dark.
Warmth spread through my chest as her eyes flashed green like the grass, blue like the sky, then brown like the earth surrounding us.
The very dirt around us reflected in her eyes with wonder.
A music so old, so beautiful filled the room, and she kissed me again.
The pounding on the door didn’t stop us.
The yells only encouraged me to keep claiming her.
And when I could no longer stand the pulsing need clawing at me, ripping me from the inside out, I took her one more time and marked her as mine with one last bite to her neck.
She cried out, while I felt my body surge with power.
And then the dirt fell around us, creating more of a mess than I’d seen in years of being in my room.
“What was that?” Her chest heaved as I dropped her back to her feet.
“The earth approves,” I whispered, kissing her gruffly across the mouth again before stalking naked toward the door.
I jerked it open and eyed my brother, ready to wipe the smirk right off his face.
“So…” He bit down on his lip like he was having trouble not laughing out loud. “…you must be quite the lover if you create earthquakes with your giant co—”
“Enough.” I cut him off, knowing exactly what he’d been about to say.
He took a step back, “Dinner’s ready. I’m sure after that you’re… ravenous.”
I growled.
“Remember to wear pants, brother. Father is niver forgiving.”
I rolled my eyes and slammed the door in his face then turned to see Serenity’s hair. She looked thoroughly loved.
“Is dinner formal?”
She started digging through her bags, her naked ass begging me to grab, to claim again and again until I needed rest, until my eyes closed on themselves as I pulsed inside her body.
“Mason?”