Chapter 68

Clutching at Lucien's broad back, Elain gasped. Her hands slid across his smooth skin, feeling the heat of him through her palms as well as where he was pinning her beneath himself. When he ghosted his lips across hers, she smiled, gasping again when he thrust into her in the same way he had moments before.

"Ah!" she bit her lip to hold in any further cry and Lucien held her gaze. His arms slid under her, holding her close as he continued to move, and she gave another soft sound. "Oh…"

"Is that good…?" Lucien's eyes, both russet and gold held her gaze as he looked down at her. Elain nodded, gasping again as she could feel him moving inside of her. His hands were still holding her gently, caressing her, and Elain lifted one of her own hands to Luicen's face. She met his constant gaze, looking up at him as she traced her fingers down his scarred cheek. Elain had never imagined she would ever have a faerie lover, yet here was this beautiful male who loved her, and was completely enamoured with her. He had suffered so much in his expansive lifetime, and still sought to be kind. Her fingers traced his scar to his jaw. She loved him. It was fact now, there was nothing she could do about that and, Elain realised, there was nothing that she wanted to do about it. She wanted to love him.

Still, he hadn't looked away from her face, his eyes seemingly locked on her, and Elain didn't think she had expected that anything could feel this right. "Lucien…" she murmured, her fingers sliding into his hair as her breath hitched at his movement, "I love you…"

Lucien's fingers caressed her skin and he nodded, panting slightly. "I can feel that…" he breathed, his lips moving across her cheek, "Can you feel how much I love you…?"

Elain groaned, her hand tightening on Lucien's upper arm. She could. The bond was sending her everything he was feeling and thinking, and her eyes welled at the intensity of it all. "Ye-yes…" she nodded her own head, "I can…"

He kissed a tear from the corner of her eye, his lips hot against her skin before he shifted to her ear, his movement stilling. "Am I hurting you?"

"No… I'm okay…" Elain ran her fingers through his hair, giving him a reassuring smile when he lifted his head to look at her.

"Good…" His eyes moved over her again and Elain held more tightly to his arm, her foot still hooked behind Lucien's knee as he began to move steadily over her, inside of her, once again. She listened to his breathing grow heavier as he pushed harder over and over, and Elain couldn't help a low growl building in her own throat. "Mmm… that right…?" Lucien panted in her ear, and Elain clutched at him, one of her knees coming higher, hooking around him. This seemed to encourage him further as he lengthened his smooth thrusting, his breath ragged in her ear and his arms tight around her.

"AH!" Giving a cry, Elain flung an arm of her own out to the side, her hand missed the edge of the blanket and instead grabbed at a handful of grass. Her fingers dug into the soft earth as she clenched at the grass, and she felt the warm dirt cake beneath her nails, but she didn't care, she was used to that. Lucien didn't stop and Elain gave another cry when his hands slid down to take a hold of her hips as he moved his to meet her, his movements still gentle but decisive. She could feel his need matching her own, and knew that he wanted to push further. It was also clear to her that he was holding himself in check, still trying to be careful with her, wanting to be tender. "It… it's okay…" she murmured, sliding a hand to his cheek. "Ah… it's okay…"

Lucien met her eyes, smiling at her before pressing a kiss to her lips. His arms slid from beneath her, one hand lifting to her cheek and the other bracing himself over her as he deepened the kiss. "No need to rush…" he breathed, rolling his hips and earning another gasp from Elain. He grinned at her again, licking at her when he kissed her slowly once more. "We have… ah…" he pushed slowly into her and Elain's eyes closed as her hand tightened in his hair, "We have so much time…" It was true, Elain thought, they had all of eternity. "Ohh… Cauldron help me…"

Elain simply wrapped herself tightly around Lucien as he worked in her. He was murmuring endlessly in her ear now, telling her how good she felt and how he didn't know how he had ever survived without her, and how he never wanted this to end. Holding him tightly, Elain listened to him, closing her eyes again when she began whimpering and gasping at every thrust he made. She could feel herself building toward her end, and she could feel something similar trickling down the bond from Lucien. They both hit her at once and Elain was unable to contain a shriek, releasing Lucien's hair so that she didn't pull on it too hard, and instead clutching tightly at his broad shoulders. Her back arched as she shook and she was vaguely aware of the sounds Lucien was making before he went still, his weight pressing down on her as he panted heavily in her ear.

Unable to move, she lay still, listening to the sounds of the glade, the wind moving through the trees, rustling the leaves pleasantly, and the soft birdsong from somewhere nearby. Gradually, Elain found herself able to move slightly and she began tracing gentle circles into Lucien's back with her fingers.

"Are you okay, Petal?"

Nodding, Elain turned her head to press her lips to Lucien's cheek, right over his scar. "Perfect." She replied softly. He gave a soft huff, releasing a breath he'd held, and then Elain felt him pull himself from her, and she bit her lip. It took her a moment to adjust to the loss of him, and she just watched as he pushed himself into a sitting position before he reached for her dress and his shirt.

"Not that I want you to cover up…" he said, a smirk forming on his lips as he looked at her, "but I don't want you to get cold…"

Elain took her dress as she sat up as well, slipping it easily over her head before beginning to fasten it around her. When she had it on, she looked again to Lucien who was pulling his pants on. "I… I hadn't intended…" he began, casting a quick glance at her. "We had planned…"

She could feel his apprehension and reached a hand out to him. "Lucien…" she got to her knees and crawled toward him, lifting her hand to his cheek. "I wouldn't change anything." The uncertainty in his russet eye cleared, and his metallic eye clicked and whirred as he looked at her. "All I wanted was you."

He smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her waist to draw her to himself. "This is where I first kissed you." He said, and his smile turned into a grin, "It does seem appropriate…"

Elain nodded. "Yes." She breathed, holding his gaze when he brought one of his own hands to her face, his fingers tracing her skin before tucking loose locks of hair back from her face.

"Did you like it?" he asked, and Elain could hear that although he tried to sound nonchalant, there was nervousness beneath the light tone. His heartbeat quickened as he waited for her response and she smiled at him before she answered.

"I did…" she told him. "Couldn't you feel that?"

Tilting his head, Lucien nodded, and Elain could see him thinking. "I wasn't sure that wasn't just me…"

"Not just you." She pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. "Not just you."