Page 106 of A Spark So Bright
He grabbed onto her hips, holding her halfway down him. "Hold on," he panted. "Please, please. Slower, Rose."
"Why?" she asked, cheeks burning with desire. "I don't feel any pain."
"I'm going to come," he snarled. "Just give me a minute, woman."
Even that was a gift. She was seated on top of him. She had all the power. He wasn't forcing her to stop, and if she continued, she'd make him come. All of this was in her hands. She was the one in control.
Rose kept her gaze locked on his as she kept moving. Staring into those strange, green eyes, so different from her own. Watching tiny creases appear between his eyes as he tried to hold himself together. Noticing the way his cheeks burned darker green with every second until she was seated fully on him.
She was stuffed full of him, her body, her mind, her sight. This man that her own people would call a monster.
"Move Gunnar," she ordered. "Make me come again."
His hands came down on her hips and he did as he was ordered. He gave her pleasure, sliding in and out of her, whimpering as he bit his tongue.
"Don't come yet," she said. "Not until I tell you to."
She could see him trying so hard. Making sure that he was giving her all the pleasure she demanded, but he was struggling. He loved her. So much so that the mere sensation of being inside her was almost too much. That this moment was bringing him tohis knees and she... Fuck, she loved this feeling. She loved being this powerful, and this adored.
He ground his teeth and his head arched back, his pace stuttering as he fought against his own orgasm. On the edge already herself, she leaned down and bit at his neck.
Then, her voice deep with desire, she said into his ear, "Come for me, Gunnar."
Together, they exploded. She could feel herself clenching so tightly around him, and that metal cross deep inside of her only made it feel that much stronger.
Breathing hard, she spiraled down with him, slowly, breathing hard.
He brushed her hair out of her face and kept staring at her. Together. No one else but them. And then she realized why he was doing it.
Gunnar had kept her in this moment and chased away all the nightmares and bad memories because he knew how different he looked. He knew that the men who had hurt her couldn't come into this place as long as she focused on him and him alone.
"I love you," she breathed.
"You are my heart," he replied, and pressed her hand over the thundering beat in his chest. "And you'll always be safe in here."
Forty-One
Gunnar
Gunnar didn't know how long they stayed in that room. He knew someone kept delivering food to them, and from the scent outside their door he knew it was in equal parts Astrid, Vigdis, and Torbin. But he and Rose never left that small room in the barracks.
Not all of it was sex, although he was surprised by how voracious his wife was. A good amount of the time was just talking. They talked about everything from good to bad. Her time in the labyrinth to the teachings Rhydian had used to keep her mind busy. How she’d always sort of known what was going on, but how she couldn't really feel it.
Her magic had kept her alive. It had kept her mind safe while knowing that her body was enduring the worst kind of treatment. It only made him even more impressed with her, knowing that she had kept herself alive and sane while many people wouldn't have succeeded in doing that.
And he told her about himself. About those he found when he wasn't bound to Trollveggen, how he would like to continue doing that work.
Gunnar would never forget one particular conversation, as she trailed her fingers down his chest, her words marking him as much as her touch.
"What if I asked the dead? I'm sure there are plenty of people here who would help you find them. We could work with them to bring their bodies home."
"And then they could finally rest," he replied, his voice a little thick with emotion.
"Eh."
He'd sat up, looking down at her where she laid on the bed, her hair spread around her like some goddess from another realm. "Eh? What do you mean by eh?"
She shrugged, still naked and not caring in the slightest that she was. "It doesn't seem like the dead think of it like that. They don't need to rest. Obviously there is another realm where they spend a good amount of their time, but they come back here often to check in on people. Their bodies aren't necessary for that. The physical form decays and returns to the earth, while the soul endures."
