hazy with need.
“And I am yours,” he said.
Then he was guiding himself against her, as rigid and impossibly huge as the first time.
She braced herself and was relieved when her body accepted him with only the tiniest stretching pain.
“Piper,” he groaned against her neck, threading the fingers of one hand through hers.
He thrust and she thought she would faint with the pleasure of it.
She moved her body in rhythm with his, faster and faster, as if neither of them could get enough.
Killian slid a big hand between them to toy with her.
Piper cried out as the pleasure lifted her out of herself.
She felt him stiffen and jet inside her just as her own climax crushed her back down to him in waves of hot ecstasy.
When the pleasure eased its hold, he rolled them over, pulling her on top of his chest as he panted.
“Killian,” she murmured, looking at their hands, threaded together.
Inky black vines had appeared on their skin, twirling around their ring fingers and crawling up to wrap around their wrists, as if they were bound together physically.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
She nodded wordlessly, watching as he separated his hand from hers and they looked down at the markings.
“It means we belong to each other,” he told her. “Our fates are entwined. Forever.”
She snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes, listening to the beat of his heart.
“Sleep now, my love,” he told her.
And this time, she knew he would be there when she awoke.
28
Killian
Killian waited at the edge of the forest as twilight bathed the meadow in sweet pink light.
Kieran rested on his hip, his little face tucked into the crook of his daddy’s neck.
The little one was feeling shy, and Killian couldn’t blame him. He was feeling more than a bit nervous himself.
After all, he didn’t get married to the love of his life every day.
Though it was soon to be wartime, the castle had still gone all out for the ceremony. Magic lanterns led the way from the courtyard to the edge of the forest, their golden flames dancing behind glass.
Flowers had been strewn along the path that would lead Piper to him - camellia blossoms for longing, chrysanthemum for love, crocuses for gladness, edelweiss for devotion, violets for faith and salvia for eternity.
Members of his court stood quietly in the moonlight, each holding a single taper, so that the whole meadow seemed to flicker with candlelight.
The sight was enough to bring tears to his eyes, though all the court was watching.
“Brother,” Heath said from his place of honor beside him. “It’s lovely, is it not?”
Killian nodded, unable to speak. He felt a rush of longing for Piper, as though she couldn’t come soon enough. They had not spent this much time apart since the day she had saved them all.
“She will be here soon,” Heath murmured, as if reading his mind. “In the meantime, I need your help.”
“With what, brother?” Killian asked, surprised.
“The Autumn Court does not want war. The daughter of Winter will bring peace to both kingdoms,” he said, quoting the prophecy.
“We already kind of debunked that prophecy,” Killian pointed out.
“Did we?” Heath asked. “The Winter Court has more than one daughter.”
“Ashe has no magic,” Killian pointed out. It was a sad fact that was supposed to be secret. Like most secrets in Faerie, it was known to all.
“She is still a daughter of Winter,” Heath said.
“Even if that were true, she wasn’t in her room earlier when I sent my men to check on her,” Killian said. “I fear she has fled our hospitality.”
“I don’t blame her,” Heath remarked. “Given the circumstances. I should bring her back.”
He wasn’t wrong. With the looming threat of war, it wasn’t a great idea to remain behind what would soon be enemy lines. Lesser courts might choose to exploit that and use her for leverage, even though Killian would never stoop to that.
But if there was any truth to the prophecy…
“How would you even find her?” Killian asked.
“She was spotted near the gates not more than an hour ago,” Heath told him. “I have it on good authority that she is headed for the mortal realm.”
Killian paused, considering his words.
“Ashe was not involved in her sister’s plot,” Heath said. “I will find her, and I will marry her. If we can forge that bond, then the Autumn Court will not be torn by war after all.”
“But you do not love her,” Killian heard himself say.
Heath chuckled.
“It wasn’t going to stop you from marrying her sister.”
“I