by KJ Baker
“You gave him the Orb,” she said. “To save me. Why would you do that?”
I gazed into her eyes and, curse me, if I didn’t want to drown in them, to lose myself forever. “You know why,” I said softly.
She said nothing. Instead, she slowly reached out and pressed her palm against my chest, right above the spot where my heart was thumping. “Because of what you said? Because I’m your mate? What does that mean?”
Asha bit her lip and I could see her struggling to put it all together. Her hand, where it rested on my chest, trembled slightly. “Is that what this is?” she asked. “This...force I’ve felt since the first time I met you? This need for you? This desire that I can’t get rid of?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Every Fae has a mate, the one we are destined to belong to. You are mine. I am yours. I tried to deny it for a long time. I thought keeping you away from me would keep you safe.” I gave a wry smile and indicated the clearing around us and everything that had happened in it. “It seems I was wrong.”
“Is that why you said those things about not wanting me?” Hurt filled her voice and it sliced through me more sharply than any blade ever could.
I placed my hands to either side of her face and gazed deep into her eyes. “I was lying, Asha. I lied to you to try to keep you safe. Fates take me, but I’ve wanted you so badly I can barely think straight. I want to lay you down and make love to you until you scream my name. I want to spend my life by your side, showing you every wonder the universe has to offer. I love you, Asha. I love you with my body and my soul. And I always will.”
Chapter 14
ASHA
I stared at him. Had he just said the words I thought he had? Or was this some delicious dream and I would wake up in a moment?
I love you, Asha.
The words seared right across my soul, burning through me like hot coals. I said nothing. Raven gazed at me and I swear I saw eternity spinning away from me in that purple stare of his. Our eternity, me and Raven. Forever.
I thought of all the moments that had led me here. I thought back to my mad dash through the forest, running so hard and so fast that I had cuts all over from the number of times I’d tripped. I had run recklessly, a burning need to reach him pushing me on. And then, when I’d stepped into the clearing and seen him locked in combat with Dark Hair, I was sure my heart would stop from fear. I’d never been so mortally afraid as I was the moment Dark Hair reared above him, holding the Orb of Tir in his hand, preparing to end Raven’s life. I knew, deep down in my soul, that if Raven was killed, I could not survive it.
So I had acted on instinct, without thinking. I’d swept up Raven’s blade where it was lying in the grass. Neither of them had seen me, they were so engrossed in killing each other. I swung the blade with every ounce of strength I had, cleaving straight through Dark Hair’s arm and sending the Orb spilling across the ground.
Even when Dark Hair had caught me, even when he had his hand around my throat, even when he told Raven that he would kill me, I wasn’t afraid. It was a price worth paying. And I knew—as I think I had known for a long time—that I would give my life for Raven, even as he would give his life for me.
I loved him. It was as simple as that. I loved him more than I’d ever thought it possible to love another.
I could feel his heart beating beneath my hand, the steady pulse of a living, breathing man. Not human, never that, but a man nonetheless. The man who had stolen my own heart. The man who had become my very breath.
My mate.
“I think I loved you from the moment we met,” I said. “I can’t help it. Sometimes it’s so strong I can barely breathe.”
He didn’t move. He stared at me as though unable to work out what I was saying. Then realization dawned in his eyes and they suddenly sparkled, catching the light of the moon.
“Asha,” he breathed. “You have no idea how much I’ve needed to hear you say that.”
He reached out and cupped my face with his strong hands. He was trembling. This man, this strong, powerful, frightening warrior, trembled as he touched me. Slowly, he pressed his lips against mine.
At his touch, all my senses flamed to life. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Goose bumps shivered across my skin. A tingle slid down my spine.
And a deep, hot ache lit in my core.
I responded, moving my lips against his, tasting him. Our kiss deepened and his tongue forced my lips apart, darting inside. I moaned, my eyes sliding closed and shifted closer to him. I wanted no distance between us.
His arms went around me and he jerked me hard against him. That was just fine by me. I loved the sensation of his hard, muscled chest pressing against me. In response, I wrapped my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his thick, silky hair and kissed him ferociously, almost desperately. I wanted him. Oh god, I wanted him.
His fingers swept down my back and then he was pushing me onto my back in the soft grass. He followed me down, not breaking our kiss. I pulled him on top of me, desperate to feel every inch of his body touching every inch of mine.
By the hard bulge pressing against my stomach, I knew he wanted me too and the sensation of it drove my senses wild. I struggled to think straight for the desire burning in my core.
But he broke the kiss abruptly, raising his head and gazing down at me. His eyes were dark with desire.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.
“Yes,” I murmured. “I’m sure. I’ve never wanted anything more.”
But still he hesitated. “You have to understand. If we do this, there is no going back. If I take you, you are mine. Forever. With all that entails. This is your last chance to go home, Asha. Say it. Say it and I’ll leave you alone.” The words were stunted, as though speaking them scraped his throat raw and I knew he teetered on the edge of control, keeping himself in check through sheer force of will.
I met his gaze squarely, ensuring he did not misunderstand me. “I’m already home. You are my home, Raven. Wherever you are, I will go. You are my mate. I’m going with you back to the Summerlands and together we are going to stop Dark Hair. Okay?”
Something flared in his eyes, something wild and feral. A low growl escaped him and I felt the restraint he’d wrapped around himself snap. He dipped his head, kissing me passionately, wildly. I responded in kind, losing all sense of control.
My fingers raked down his back, pulling at his shirt. I wanted it gone. I wanted nothing between us but heat. He obliged by pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it away. My eyes fell to his naked torso. The moonlight rippled over his muscles and his scars stood out like tiny lines of light.
I drank in the sight of him greedily then reached up and pulled him down to kiss me again. His lips brushed across the sensitive skin of my neck to my collarbone, and every time his lips touched my skin I found myself gasping. His touch was electric.
His hand crept under my t-shirt, palm sweeping across my stomach. His palm was rough, his fingers hard and calloused, but to me it felt amazing. He cupped one of my breasts in his large hand and began caressing my nipple. I gasped, arching my back, as my nipple stiffened, becoming painfully erect.
This seemed to inflame him more, and he reached down, grabbed my t-shirt and pulled it unceremoniously over my head. He reached behind me and undid my bra with expert fingers, slinging this onto the growing pile of clothing. I was semi-naked now, my upper-body exposed. The wind was cool as it glided across my skin but I didn’t feel cold. I burned with desire.
Raven rose to his knees, looking down at me, devouring me with his eyes. Then, with a low rumble in the back of his throat, he lowered his head and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking and teasing. I gasped, screwing my eyes tight shut, tangling my fingers in his hair. At the same time, one of his hands traveled lower, sliding down my stomach, across my navel, and beneath the waistband of my jeans. His fingers slid into my panties and down into the burning core of desire between my legs. He found my nub and began
to massage, the pad of his forefinger applying just the right pressure in just the right spot.
A hiss whistled through my teeth and I bucked against him. His touch sent that core of desire into a frenzy. It sizzled along my nerves, burning right through me. God, he was good. Instinctively he knew exactly what to do to set my body ablaze. I was starting to pant, low moans escaping me, as Raven made me experience sensations I’d never knew existed.
But it wasn’t enough.
I needed him. All of him, inside me.
“Raven,” I gasped. His name was the only word I seemed able to form.
It was all I had to say. He knew what I needed. He grabbed the waistband of my jeans and ripped them off with a savage yank. My panties followed, the thin material tearing as he grabbed it forcefully. I fumbled with the belt of his jeans and he took over, tearing them off and tossing them away, along with the boxers that lay underneath.
He was naked. I took in the length of him, his hard, toned, scarred body, his aura of power and strength. His erection standing huge and proud, swollen in its desire for me. My eyes took in every inch. He was mine, this man, this Fae, this king. Mine and only mine.
“Asha,” he murmured and there was a world of promises in that word. A delicious shiver walked across my skin at the sound of my name on his lips.
“Raven,” I gasped.
He leaned over me, placing his hands on either side of my head, his face only inches above my own. Then he nudged my knees apart, lowered his hips to rest on mine. The tip of his erection brushed across my nub, the sensation almost making me lose control. Fire burned along every nerve. My blood felt as though it was liquid flame. I needed him to engulf me utterly.
With one hard thrust of his hips, Raven drove himself inside me. As he filled me, the world seemed to explode. I threw my head back, screwing my eyes closed as almost unbearable sensations ricocheted through me.
So this is what he’d meant. I understood now. I’d never thought the human body capable of feeling such things. I felt alive in a way I never had before. I felt...complete. And I knew that I was his, body and soul. Nothing and nobody would ever be able to make me feel the way he did.
Raven paused for a moment, holding himself deep inside me as he savored our joining. I knew he was feeling the same things I was. His eyes burned with a kind of ecstasy, a wild light dancing in their depths.
Then he began to move. He thrust into me, driving himself deep each time, each movement sending spears of heat shooting through my body. I reacted instinctively, moving my hips to meet every stroke, my body moving in time with him. My hands scraped his back, my nails adding scars of my own to his bronze skin.
I couldn’t help the moans that escaped my lips. I couldn’t help the little gasps of ecstasy that filled the clearing. I was coming apart. As Raven’s tempo increased, driving into me faster and faster, taking me, claiming me, I felt my climax beginning to build.
The burning in my veins became unbearable. The fire in my blood ignited into an inferno. And then suddenly it blew me apart. I arched my back, wrapped my legs around him, flung my head back and screamed his name into the sky as my climax took me, obliterating all thought and filling me with white-hot blinding light.
Raven grunted, jerking spasmodically as he too reached his climax, and in that moment I felt the bond snap into place, sink deep into my blood, my bones, my soul.
Raven was my mate. My heart and soul.
He collapsed on top of me, his heavy weight pinning me to the ground. I lost track of time as we lay there like that but eventually, what might have been hours or only moments later, Raven raised his head and looked at me. His eyes shone, that inner light still there. He bent down and laid a gentle kiss against my forehead.
“Asha,” he breathed. “My Asha. By the Fates, that was worth waiting for.” He grinned and the delight in his expression brought a stupid grin to my own face.
“Sure was.”
He laughed lightly, a sound of pure joy, then rolled onto his back and pulled me close. I snuggled against him, fitting my body alongside his. Heat radiated from him, keeping me warm, and I could sense him acutely. I could feel the contentment that was spreading through him, feel the release of pressure, the sense of completeness that filled him. But most of all I could feel his love for me, burning deep inside him, like a bonfire.
I had made my choice, but I was under no illusions how difficult it would be. He was Fae, I was mortal. We came from different worlds, worlds that were about to collide. And yet I wasn’t frightened. With Raven by my side, I knew I could accomplish anything.
“You know we have to go after Dark Hair, right?” I said. I had promised myself justice for Gracie. I intended to keep that promise.
His expression darkened, anger flickering in his eyes like the embers of a campfire. “We will.” He raised himself up onto one elbow and gazed down at me then reached out and lazily trailed the tip of one finger around my navel. “But that is for the morning. Tonight is ours and I intend to make the most of it.”
He bent down and kissed me and desire roared to life in my veins once more. As I wrapped my arms around his neck, I knew I would not be getting much sleep tonight.
When I awoke in the morning, he was gone. I felt his absence, like a cold ache deep in my bones. But I also knew, through the bond we shared, that he wasn’t far away. I sensed him somewhere close by and so I wasn’t worried. I opened my eyes and found myself looking up at a bright blue sky. A blanket covered me. Where Raven had gotten it from I had no idea but I was glad of it hiding my nakedness.
I stretched my arms over my head, working out the kinks in my muscles. I ached all over, but it was a delicious kind of ache, caused by what Raven and I had been doing for most of the night. My toes curled as I thought of the night just past, a shiver gliding across my skin. I would have been happy if last night had lasted forever.
But the sun was insistent and it shone into my face, chasing away the last traces of sleep. I pushed myself into a sitting position and yawned hugely. Wrapping the blanket around myself, I picked up my clothes from where they’d been hastily tossed last night and quickly dressed.
It was a bright morning, promising a hot day ahead, and I found myself examining the clearing more thoroughly. Last night, in the heat of all that had happened, I hadn’t had time to examine it closely. Now I saw it was constructed of five burned tree stumps set in an almost perfect circle. It spoke of age and power.
Through the bond, I sensed Raven drawing closer. Smiling, I turned as he emerged from the trees. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to sneak up on me anymore now that I was so aware of his every movement. He broke into a smile when he saw me. Stripped to the waist, water was dripping down his torso and from his hair. Two fish hung from a stick over his shoulder.
He dropped the stick, grabbed me round the waist and pulled me close. His mouth descended on mine and he kissed me hard enough to set my pulse pounding.
“Good morning,” he breathed.
“Morning,” I replied, a little breathlessly. “Been fishing?”
He bent to retrieve the fish and then gave me a flourishing bow. “Breakfast awaits, my lady. Or it will just as soon as I’ve cooked it.”
He mumbled a word under his breath and a small campfire sprang to life in the center of the clearing. Raven knelt and rigged a spit over it, setting the speared fish on it to cook.
I watched him a little wistfully. He did magic as easily as breathing. There was still so much I didn’t know about my mate. So much to learn.
We ate in silence but I couldn’t seem to stop looking at Raven. Whenever I did, I found him looking right back at me. A stupid smile kept trying to creep over my face. So this is what being in love felt like.
We finished our breakfast and Raven put the fire out with a wave of his hand. He glanced at the sun and his expression turned serious.
“Time is getting on,” he said. “We can’t delay much longer.”
My stomach clenched. I’d known this mome
nt would arrive and I felt suddenly nervous.
He clambered to his feet and held out his hand to me. I clasped it and allowed him to pull me up. Together, hand in hand, we crossed to the center of the clearing, to the spot where the portal had opened. There was nothing there now except empty space but, maybe because of my bond with Raven, I felt...something. Some kind of residual energy filled the air.
“This won’t be easy, Asha,” Raven said, turning to me. “There will be many in the Summerlands who will not accept a mortal queen.”
Queen? The thought made me feel dizzy. I was most definitely not queen material. But I raised my chin, fixed him with as firm a gaze as I could manage. “I know that. But I won’t stay behind.”
He smiled. “And I would not leave you behind. I will never leave you, Asha. Never.” His fingers tightened possessively around mine. “It is still the day of the summer solstice so the portal can still be opened.”
He closed his eyes, murmured words in a strange language, and a hole suddenly ripped in the air before us. Through it, I could see a green land under a bright summer sun.
Raven looked at me. “Ready?”
I gripped his hand tightly. “Ready.”
Together we stepped through the portal.
THE END
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Asha and Raven’s story continues in Mark of the Fae. Click here to grab the rest of the books in the series.
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