Chapter 350
She had always loved the way Lucien's weight had felt over her. Every time she had found herself beneath him, Elain had noticed the way that her thighs had parted, and she had wanted to draw him in. Her heartbeat quickened to meet his, trying to keep pace. She ached to feel him between her thighs, even more now that she had lost his fingers. What he had been doing just moments before had been exactly what she had wanted, until she had begun to want more. Lucien had been right. She had needed more than his fingers, and she knew that he had read that in her. She also knew that he was now prepared to give her exactly that. More.
Wrapping herself around him, she slid a hand up his back and across his shoulder. After that, she pushed it up the back of his neck and into his silken ruby hair. She loved his hair. Even before Elain had been willing to admit it, Lucien's hair had stood out to her. She had thought him handsome before she had known who he was and, as he smiled down at her now, it was even more true as her mate. Her eyes met his, russet and gold, and there was nothing and nobody else in the world but Lucien.
Back arching at her mate's touch, Elain half bit back a soft groan as his hands glided over her sides and then down her legs. She had them wrapped tightly around his waist and she allowed herself to loosen her hold only to help Lucien adjust her position beneath himself. Then, as he settled over her again, positioning himself carefully, Elain turned her head, just a little, to allow his hot lips access to her throat. There was no biting back the groan she made then, eyes closing as Lucien's mouth moved over the sensitive skin of her throat. Her hand tightened in his hair, pulling gently, appreciatively, as his lips moved lower to her collar bones.
Over and over in her mind, the bond sang. Mate. Mate. Mate.
It seemed unthinkable now, that there had ever been any doubt that Lucien would find her, that she would see him again. Of course he would have found her, of course she would have found a way back to him. They were meant to spend the rest of eternity together, and nothing as silly as some disgruntled Courtiers was going to prevent that. The Cauldron had chosen them for one another, and their lives were going to be long and fruitful together. They were going to be so happy it would make other people sick to witness them. Elain knew all of this. She had seen snippets of it, and she had shared some of it with Lucien. She didn't know if a predestined Cauldon-chosen future was something that she could blindly count on to ensure that nothing bad would ever happen to them, but it was comforting enough to consider that she would be safe enough to survive for those exact predestined things she was meant to do…
Lucien had lifted her from that cauldron-drenched floor. He had lifted her from that previous life she had no longer belonged to. He was her present, and he was her future. There was nothing else that would ever be as important as that. Their lives were as entwined as their bodies currently were and, as she felt her mate slide inside of her, hot and smooth, Elain didn't hold back on her appreciative groan. Both of her hands went to Lucien's shoulders and she gripped him firmly, steadily. "Yes…" she murmured, attempting to lift her hips to meet his. "Yes…"
He began to move then, slipping quickly into a constant rhythm. Elain's eyes were closed tightly as she urged him on and on, her hips moving and her hands still gripping him solidly by the shoulders. Tightening her legs around Lucien's waist, she tried to take him deeper, wanting to feel more of him, and Lucien chuckled against her throat. "Still want more, Petal?"
Remembering then that Lucien preferred to be gentle with her, and that he clearly needed this as much as she did as he had been terrified that he wouldn't find her before something terrible had happened, she reminded herself that they were both being pushed by the bond. They were both being driven, and she wasn't going to add to that by pushing at Lucien to do anything he would rather not. If he wanted to be careful and tender with her, then Elain would love that. In fact, as one of her mate's hands glided up her arm to her shoulder and then carefully to her cheek, Elain rather suspected that careful and tender was exactly what she needed after what had happened earlier.
Her mate was powerful, both in his impressively perfect body, and his abilities. Yet, when his hands were on her Elain never felt anything other than safe and loved and treasured. She had nearly died today. Her life could have ended. And with Lucien's gentle hands on her, she felt protected and sure. It seemed to Elain that this was exactly what was to come for them. There would be struggles and hard days and those who would come at them sideways. But, through it all she knew that Lucien would be there to hold her and protect her. As she would for him. After anything and everything that would test them, she knew that they would return to their private spaces and to one another, and that was something that she thoroughly looked forward to.
Turning her face toward her mate's large hand, Elain pressed a soft kiss to his fingertips. She opened her eyes when his hand settled against her cheek and she met those gorgeous russet and gold eyes. Her breath was coming quickly, in short almost harsh gasps, as Lucien continued to move steadily inside of her and, holding his gaze, she smiled at him. "How…" she breathed, not so much as blinking as Lucien caressed her cheek gently, eyes still on hers, "could I ever want anything more than this?"