Page 81 of Renegade Kingdom
I’d never get tired of hearing those words from her lips. Every time it sounded better than the first. It was a gift I’d never take for granted.
I leaned down and kissed her, soft and sweet and full of promise. “Don’t be scared. I’m not going anywhere. Not ever. You’re stuck with me, Alyssa. For as long as you’ll have me.”
“Forever, then,” she said against my lips.
“Forever,” I agreed.
And then I was inside her, and everything else fell away.
We moved together slowly, finding a rhythm that was all our own. The Spring magic sang between us, golden light that seemed to fill the room, that wrapped around our bodies like a blessing. I could feel her pleasure through the bond, could feel exactly what she needed, and I gave it to her. Everything she needed. Everything I had.
Her nails raked down my back, leaving trails of fire in their wake. Her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me deeper, closer, as close as two people could possibly be. And still it wasn’t enough. Would never be enough. I wanted to crawl inside her skin, to merge with her so completely that no one could ever tell where I ended and she began.
“More,” she gasped against my lips. “Please, Tank. More.”
I gave her more. Harder. Deeper. Watching her face, feeling her pleasure build through the bond, timing my movements to match what she needed. The bear was there at the edge of my consciousness, purring with satisfaction, but I kept him leashed. This wasn’t about the beast. This was about the man. About showing the woman I loved that she was loved.
When she came, it was with my name on her lips. Her whole body arched beneath me, her magic surging in a wave of golden light that washed over us both. I felt it through the bond, felt her pleasure as if it were my own, and it pushed me over the edge with her. I buried my face in her neck as the climax crashed through me, as the Spring magic bound us together in that moment of perfect, overwhelming connection.
For a long moment, we just existed there. Two bodies intertwined, two souls connected, two hearts beating as one. The magic slowly faded back to its normal hum, but the warmth remained. The sense of completeness. The absolute certainty that this was where I belonged.
Afterward, we lay tangled together in the soft sheets, breathing hard, hearts pounding in sync. Her head was on my chest, herfingers tracing idle patterns on my skin. I held her close, never wanting to let go, never wanting this moment to end.
“That was...” she started, then trailed off, apparently unable to find the words.
“Yeah,” I agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “It was.”
She laughed, the sound bubbling up out of her, bright and genuine and so full of joy that I felt it echo through our bond. “Eloquent as always.”
“I try.”
She shifted in my arms, turning to face me, her hand coming up to rest against my cheek. Her eyes were soft, warm, full of a love so pure it made something in my chest crack open. I’d never been looked at like this before. Never had someone see me so completely and love what they saw. It was terrifying and absolutely everything I’d never known I needed.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“For what?”
“For this. For giving me this moment. For reminding me that there’s still beauty in the world. Still love. Still things worth fighting for.” Her thumb traced along my cheekbone. “Sometimes I forget. In all the chaos and the fear and the constant fighting, sometimes I forget what we’re actually fighting for. You help me remember.”
I turned my head to press a kiss to her palm. “You’re what we’re fighting for. You, and the world you’re going to build. The peace you’re going to bring.”
“We’regoing to bring,” she corrected. “I’m not doing any of this alone.”
“No,” I agreed. “You’re not.”
We lay there for a while longer, wrapped up in each other, neither of us willing to break the bubble of peace we’d created. The Spring magic hummed contentedly between us, golden andwarm and alive. I could feel the bond pulsing with it, stronger than ever, a tie that nothing could sever. This kind of bond was forbidden in this realm with creatures like the maiden as a cautionary tale. But it was everything. There was no closer relationship than what we had with each other. Alyssa’s magic flowed through me. I could feel it more keenly now. It was like a circuit that had finally been completed. Because as it flowed to me, it also returned back to her, stronger, glowing with the love I had for her.
Eventually, reality would intrude. Eventually, we’d have to get up, to face whatever came next, to continue the fight that seemed like it would never end. But for now, in this moment, none of that mattered.
For now, there was only this.
And that was enough. It was everything.
“We should probably get up,” she said eventually, though she made no move to actually do so. Her voice was reluctant, heavy with the knowledge that the moment couldn’t last forever.
“Probably,” I agreed, making no move to release her.
Neither of us moved.
