Chapter 479

Her skin was cool to the touch but, under his hands, heated quickly. Pressing his lips to her throat, Lucien listened to the soft pleasured sound that Elain made. She had told him that he made her feel good, and the desire to do just that for her was flowing freely though him. It felt like it had been so long since he had been able to get his hands on his mate with the time and space to devote to just being alone with her. The Palace had been so hectic lately, and they had been so busy that it felt like an age since they had been able to lose themselves in one another like this.

The soft sound Elain made as he slid one hand up her thigh again to her waist made Lucien decide that he was more than willing to lose himself in his mate right here and now. He had brought her up here hoping that they would have some quiet space away from anyone else, and that was exactly what they had found up here. Nobody from the pools below appeared to be interested in looking their way, and Lucien wasn't about to waste time like this where he had Elain all to himself.

When her hand slid into his hair, and she gripped him tightly, he figured that she had come to the same decision he had and he couldn't help a grin. "Want to see just how good I can make you feel, Petal?" he kept his voice low, and liked that it came out a bit like a purr. He felt the shudder that moved through Elain, and knew that she had appreciated it too.

"Am… curious…" she already sounded a little breathless, and Lucien's heartbeat quickened knowing that just his hands on her could excite her like this.

"Here?" he asked, knowing that neither of them was about to be willing to just stop and go somewhere else.

"You do seem to like…" Elain paused and her dark eyes met his. She smiled at him, a wicked, knowing smile, "… outside."

"Oh, Petal…" Lucien slipped a hand down between them, caressing the inside of one of her thighs, "I think you do too…" He saw the truth of it in her face, knew that she also felt that delicious thrill of excitement that he did. "We are mates…" he breathed, lips caressing her cheek, "Perfectly matched…" He slid his hand straight between her thighs, enjoying the gasp that came from her as he lowered his mouth to her throat again.

Pressing her carefully into the side of the rock pool, Lucien licked slowly at her skin as he skilfully manoeuvred her swimsuit out of his way. He heard the slight hitch in her breathing when his fingers gently pressed and rubbed at just the right place, and Elain's hands tightened on him. He felt her arch a little, wanting more, and he grinned against her throat. "You do like it…" he whispered, and she only gave a soft whimper in reply, "You enjoy the risk of getting caught every bit as much as I do…"

"Mmm…" Her hands clutched tightly at him and her hips shifted, and Lucien knew exactly what she wanted.

Lifting his head to be able to meet her eyes, he smirked at her. "You like it…" he breathed, watching her expression avidly as he pushed two of his fingers inside of her. Elain's mouth opened and she drew a gasping breath, her eyes closed for a moment and her grip on his shoulder tightened. Lucien paused what he was doing for a second, waiting for her eyes to open again before he began to move his fingers. The fire in her gaze when she met his eyes again encouraged him, and he smiled again at her. "You enjoy the fact…" he told her, fingers sliding carefully in and out of her, "that there are dozens of faeries just down there…" Her cheeks were flushed scarlet but she didn't look away from him, and Lucien continued what he had been doing, "You enjoy the fact that, at any moment, anybody could come up here and find us…"

"Uh…I…" her back arched a little, and Lucien shifted his fingers to move in a different way. Elain gave a small cry, pressing her face into his hair as she clutched at him, and Lucien pressed himself to her more firmly, fingers still moving in just the right way.

"You keep making sounds like that and someone will come to find out why…" he grinned as he whispered in her ear, knowing full well that while she might like the excitement of the possibility of being caught, she would be utterly mortified if anybody did happen to catch them. He curled his fingers again, knowing how to draw another sound from her, and he was rewarded with another small cry that she clearly tried to choke back, and he lifted his head enough to meet her eyes again. He could tell that she was close to her edge, and he kissed her, enjoying the delicious warmth of his mate in comparison to the cool water around them. Everything in him wanted to surround himself with that warmth, wanted to sink into her and surrender himself to that gentle comfort and, when he felt Elain go taught, her fingernails pricking at his skin, he swept her mouth thoroughly with his tongue, wanting to drink in every sound she made as she came around his fingers a moment later.

Not stopping what he was doing with his fingers until Elain sagged, Lucien held her to himself. He could feel her pulse, feel her heart beating, hear it in his head, and he could feel her release wash over him down the bond. "Feel good?" he asked, and Elain gave a breathless chuckle, her hands beginning to move across his back. He loosened his hold on her just a little, as she sat higher, lifting her head to meet his eyes and Lucien pressed his lips to hers gently. She smiled at him, one of her hands coming up to his cheek, ghosting over his scar, and Lucien shivered.

"Very good…" She murmured, "Just as you promised…"

Satisfaction moved through Lucien. He'd known that she had liked it, had enjoyed what he had done, but to hear her say it set him flush with pride. "Pleases me to hear it, Petal…" He shivered again as she traced her left hand down his chest, and he couldn't help a grin when that hand sank beneath the water, moving low over his stomach. Anticipation built in him as that hand moved even lower, to the waistband of his pants, and he heard his own breath grow slightly ragged, and then loud voices rang out nearby. Elain's hand retracted quickly and Lucien turned his head to see Cassian strutting up the path toward their pool, the others trailing behind him.