Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Serafine POV
I stay tucked against Xander’s side, with Eryx resting warm and soft against my chest. The world outside feels hushed, like it’s not even there right now it may as well be gone because I don’t hear anything or focus on anything outside of the car. All I can think about is what Xander asked.
Not the war, not the pain, or the way that James looked at me when he died. My mind is fixed on Xander, and the way that his voice sounded when He asked me to marry him. He didn’t ask me as some form of power, he didn’t ask because of Gideon, or because it was part of some twisted plan for
revenge.
He asked me because he loves me, and because he wants me. I didn’t realise until the moment he said those words just how badly I needed to hear them. I didn’t realise how deep those words would land if he asked me because he wanted and loved me.
He wants to marry. That’s all I can think about right now.
Yes, we’re already married. But that marriage was shadowed by manipulation and anger. I was sold to him, and Xander… he was vengeful it wasn’t ever about love, not then. It was all about hate, and forced rules, and me having to freedom or say in what happened to me. Now, sitting here with Eryx on me and Xander holding us, the world seems to still be catching it’s breath outside. I knows it’s different, this time, it’s real. It’s ours.
I hear the door and look to see Helena leaning inside the car. Her gaze is soft as it moves between me and Eryx, who is still nestled and asleep against me.
“You should eat something,” she says gently. “You’ve been asleep for nearly a full day. Let me take him for a while.”
I hesitate, and look at her, but only for a second. I tighten my arms slightly around Eryx for a moment. He’s so peaceful now, but giving him up, even for just a little while, feels like I’m letting go of the one steady thing right now that is anchoring me. Still, I know that she’s right. My magic has drained entirely and my body is exhausted. If I don’t begin to take proper care of myself, then I’ll have nothing left to give to Eryx.
I nod, before I carefully adjust him so that Helena can take him. She lifts him easily, holding him close, and murmurs something soft to him as she steps back toward the tent she shares with the maid.
I don’t move, I don’t follow her, or get out of the car. I stay right here on the car bench with my arms wrapped around myself, my eyes staring at the empty space he left behind. The warmth fades too fast. My chest still aches, not from magic this time, but from everything else that won’t stop pressing down on me.
I feel Xander shifting behind me. He doesn’t say anything; he no doubt knows that Eryx was helping to ground me. Xander’s presence fills the space, and it’s reassuring and comforting at the same time. He wraps his arms around me tightly and pulls me even closer to him now. One of his hands rests on my hip, while the other hand lifts to my face. His thumb gently strokes along my cheekbone before he cups my jaw.
“You have no idea how powerful you are,” he whispers. His voice is low and steady, like what he’s saying isn’t big, but to me, it is. “You did it, Serafine. You faced something no one else could have. You fought him, you held your ground, and you came back to us.”
My eyes sting, but I don’t let the tears fall. I’ve cried too much already. Instead, I lean into his touch and let the warmth of his hand and his body ground me deeper into this moment.
“You didn’t see how close I came to losing,” I whisper.
“But you didn’t,” he says. “And that matters more.”
He presses his lips against me gently. The kiss isn’t desperate, not this time, it’s slow, reverent, and it’s like a thank you and a promise wrapped into one. Before I even think about it, or understand what I’m doing, my fingers begin to move and I reach for the edge of his shirt. I pull it up over his ribs, and he breaks the kiss just long enough to let me pull it over his head. I drop it somewhere in the car, not caring where it goes.
His chest is so warm against mine, it’s sold and grounding. I rest my forehead against his for a moment and breath him in. This is what I need, this is what I want, right here. Him, I need him.
“I need you,” I whisper “Not because I’m broken, not because I’m scared. I just need you.”
His hands settle on my waist. “Then I’m yours,” he says. “Every part of me.”
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Chapter 154
I nod, swallowing hard, and lean in to kiss him again, I melt into him more, and cling to his shoulders.
His mouth claims mine, this time it’s firmer, and I meet him with just as much need as he’s giving me. There’s no hesitation now in the way that I kiss him. There’s no doubt left in my hands as I push them up along the warm, bare skin of his chest.
I whimper into his mouth as his tongue tangles along mine. He’s solid beneath my palms, all strength and warmth. When he slides his hands down and grips my hips, pulling me into him more, I don’t resists, I help him by pushing myself into his body more.
Moving, I climb onto him so that I’m straddling his lap. My knees are pressed into the soft cushion of the car seat now. The space in here is fight, the room is low, and the air is thick with heat. The heat isn’t just from the warmth of our bodies now though, it’s from the bond and the magic. His hands grip my thighs and he anchors me as my fingers tangle into his hair. I hold onto him for support, to remind myself of where I am.
When I shift against him, I feel the sharp inhale that he takes. His hands slide beneath the hem of my shirt. His palms are warm against the bare skin of my waist, before he drags his fingers slowly up my sides.
My head falls back at the feel of it, the way his fingers play across my ribs like he;‘s memorizing every single little inch of me.
“Are you sure?” he asks against the skin of my neck, his breath hot and his voice thick.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” I breathe..
His mouth begins to trail lower and he presses kisses across my collarbone. Each of the kisses sends sparks rushing through my nerves. I tug off my shirt, not caring about where it lands, I just need him, now, not later. His eyes meet mine and there’s a hunger in them, yes, but also something almost softly,
and more reverent.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, his voice is barely more than a breath.
My fingers move to the button on his pants now, and I lean in to kiss him again as I work the button open. It’s all slow and building, nothing is rushed but there’s also no hesitant moves either now. We’ve done this before, over and over, but this time… it feels so much different. Rawer maybe? There’s no manipulation behind this, no forced union hovering over us.
This is about claiming each other for real, without the weight of expectations hanging over us.
His mouth is back on mine as he shifts. He helps me pull the rest of our clothes away with practiced, impatient hands. Finally, skin meets skin, and I shiver at the full press of him beneath me. My hands move to his shoulders, and I grip them tighter as I lower myself onto him. We both let out a breath at the same time, and I grasp his shoulders even harder this time.
The way that he fills me, is so overwhelming but it feels so good as well. He’s holding in a way that says he’s scared that I’ll vanish. He groans softly, and his hands run down my back, before he grips my hips to keep me steady.
I move slowly at first, rolling my hips, finding a rhythm that pulls quiet sounds from both of us.
“Serafine,” he groans, his head falling back against the seat.
Leaning forward, I kiss the curve of his throat now, I can taste the salt of his skin, and the lingering tension in his pulse. The car begins to rock raintly with our movement, and the space is too small to hold all this heat, and all the need. I don’t care and Xander doesn’t seem to mind about it either. We’ve stolen moments in worse places, and right now, this feels sacred.
He thrusts up into me, matching my pace, and I lose myself in the feel of him. Every brush of his mouth, every rough grip of his hands, every time he whispers my name like it’s a promise.
“I love you,” he says suddenly, hoarse and raw. “I love you so damn much, Serafine.”
My heart clenches, and I press my forehead to his. “I love you
too. I always have.”
Our movements begin to build, growing more desperate, and consuming. it’s not about chasing release, it’s about reminding each other that we’re still here, still real and still alive. After everything recently, the battles, betrayal’s and death, we still have this.
Our bodies begin moving faster and harder, and I let my head fall backward as I cry out. Xander’s mouth bites against my neck, not deep enough to claim
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Chapter 154
again, just enough to ground himself. Pleasure and heat fill me, along with Xander. His knot swells and locks me to him, and his arms tighten around me. His lips whisper my name, and the love I felt from this is something I will cherish for a long time.
I shudder and fall onto him, letting the pleasure disappear, and his arms hold me tighter again.
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