Chapter 231

Lucien's arms were around Elain, and he was holding her firmly to himself. She could hear his heartbeat thundering in her head, and she could feel his worry that he had hurt her. "I love you, Petal…" he breathed, and she could feel that breath against her hair, "I love you more than I have ever loved anything in this world…" Elain nodded, leaning back against his chest, and she settled her own hands over his, still at her waist. Slowly, she began tracing the backs of his hands with her fingers, and she listened to the way that his heartbeat reacted to her touch. She smiled when that steady thump quickened, and an instant later she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. The jealousy that she had been feeling vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and she linked the fingers of one of her hands with his. "You know," he whispered, having bent his head to bring his lips to her ear, "that what I said was true?" Elain leaned further into him, her eyes on the sky through their glass ceiling, "I have never in my life seen anything or anyone as mesmerising as you."

"I do know that." She replied softly, her eyes following the faint green glow that moved across the sky. "I can feel the truth of it through the bond." Lucien squeezed her hand gently, his lips brushing her cheek. She lay her head back against his shoulder, her eyes still on the sky. "I know how you feel every time you look at me."

"Than you know there is no cause for you to ever feel jealous."

"I know that." She said, "But it's not that easy to control."

"Mmm." He kissed her cheek again, and then dipped his head further to her shoulder, "I know. I know how that feels…"

"Look at the sky." She told him, smiling as the aurora burst into full life above them. The entire room filled with the ethereal green light, and Elain decided that whoever had come up with the idea for glass roof igloos was a genius.

"It's stunning…" Lucien said, his voice gentle and appreciative. Elain nodded her head, not taking her eyes off of the colour-play above them. Green and blue danced across the sky, and Elain was fascinated by the tinges of red here and there.

"Wow…"

"Beautiful." Lucien murmured, then tightened his arms around her once more, "But, still not as beautiful as you."

Turning her head, Elain raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled at her in return. "Flattery," she said, "will get you everywhere."

"Everywhere?" he asked, amusement clear in his tone and Elain shuddered as Lucien's fingers stroked her hips slowly.

"Mmm…" She bent her knees, bringing her legs up a little and, with her free hand, she drew the skirts of her dress up to her thighs, freeing her legs. "Why don't we see…?" Her eyes closed for a moment when Lucien's warm lips returned to her throat, and she tilted her head slightly to make it easier for him.

"Why don't we see…" he repeated her words back to her a moment before she felt one of his strong hands sliding from her bent knee, up her thigh and beneath her dress.

"Yes," Elain barely managed to get the word out, and it was followed by a shuddery sigh a moment later. She opened her legs a little more, opening her eyes again to watch the aurora swirling across the sky. Lucien's hand slid up the inside of her thigh, and she gasped a little when his fingers went carefully between her legs. The soft laugh he gave at her reaction pleased her, and she settled back against him, cradled against his chest as that hand worked steadily to draw more gasps and pleasured sounds from her.

"Do you like that, Petal?" Lucien's voice was a growl in her ear, and Elain nodded, one of her hands gripping his knee tightly as his fingers continued to stroke her in exactly the right way. When she began to shudder, Lucien brought his other hand around to hold her left thigh wide, keeping her open and accessible to him. Elain whimpered, pushing herself harder back against him, her feet pointed as she strained to move. She gasped again and again, her hands on Lucien tightening as her hips lifted, wanting more of him. He didn't break his rhythm or change what he was doing in the slightest however, and Elain let out a shriek, trying her best to keep still but unable to do so. Lucien laughed, low and hot in her ear, holding her exactly where he needed her to continue what he had been doing, and then her back arched and she shrieked again, her eyes falling closed as her heart raced and she lost track of everything that was going on.

The green and blue were still dancing across the sky when Elain opened her eyes again, and their ethereal light was still playing around the room. Her heart continued to race, but slightly less than it had been before, and she could hear Lucien's sure and steady in her mind. Drawing and releasing a deep breath, Elain turned her head to find herself still sitting with her back to her mate's chest. He had pulled her dress back down over her thighs, covering her, and his hands were now gently caressing her legs and hips as he pressed a soft kiss to her hair. "How do you feel, Petal?" he asked, voice low and sensual enough that Elain's blood quickened at the sound.

"I feel good." She breathed, sitting up a little so that she could turn to look him in the eyes. "How about you?"

He gave her a twisted smirk then, his golden eye clicking and whirring as he met her gaze, and she smiled back at him when one of his hands moved up her back. "Are you sure you aren't tired?" he asked, hand caressing her carefully, and Elain widened her smile, holding his eyes.

"Not at all… are you?" she asked, "Are you worn out already?"

"I think you know better than that, my love."

"Do I?"

Lucien's eyes narrowed and his smile grew even more twisted as he looked at her. "Do you need me to prove it yet again?"

"You don't have to prove anything." She replied, her heart really beginning to race again now, "I was only asking…"

Lucien's heart was quickening to catch hers, and she couldn't help but lift one of her hands, sliding it up his chest to his shoulder. "I could never be too tired to touch my mate… Even more stunning than the aurora… my mate who should know how I feel because she can feel it herself whenever I look at her…"

"And whenever you touch her…" Elain added, reading for the bond, wanting to feel how much he wanted her as his hand continued to move up and down her back, petting and stroking her. She held his gaze again as she slid her hand from his shoulder, back down over his stomach to the blanket he had draped over his lower half.

"Oh…" he grinned, lifting his chin just a little as her hand slipped beneath the blanket. Elain held her breath, feeling him shudder beneath her touch when she took hold of him. An instant later she realised that his hand on her back had begun loosening her dress and she reluctantly let go of him to help him rid her of the dress. He was already naked, and she saw no reason not to join him immediately.