Chapter 566
Though her heart still raced within her chest, Elain still burned. Lucien's touch was like fire, and she felt herself responding to him with every brush of his fingertips, with every move he made. He had moved up over her, bringing that heat with him and, when he had wrapped her once more in his arms, Elain had been unable to keep her hands off of his hot skin. Lucien had pulled her firmly against himself, and Elain had instantly wrapped her legs around his waist. She had opened herself to him, and she ached with each breath, waiting for him to fill her. Lucien seemed in no hurry though, and Elain knew that he was once again practicing that immeasurable self-control he possessed. She could feel him, clearly, down the bond. She could feel how much he wanted her, and she could feel him hard against her. Elain knew that Lucien wanted nothing more than to sink into her. She could feel that need rolling off of him and crashing down the bond toward her. Yet still, he caressed her gently, his lips moving slowly along her cheek and down her jaw.
He had become good at this, she knew. He had had to. When the bond had been driving him toward her, making him want her, for so long, and she had not yet accepted the bond or even the idea of being with Lucien, he had needed to get a firm grip on himself. Lucien had been forced to leash this desire for months, and Elain did not know how he had managed it. She remembered wrapping herself around him in Rhysand's kitchen, she remembered crawling into Lucien's own bed in the Spring Court and telling him that she didn't want sex. Lucien had held her, wanting her as he did now, yet he had done nothing more than touch her, comfort her. Elain knew that that had been hard, and yet he had done it for her. She had always trusted him, since the moment he had picked her up off the floor when she had been dumped out of the Cauldron. She had never trusted anyone the way she had trusted Lucien.
"What are you thinking, Petal?" his words were breathed against Elain's ear, and she shivered in pleasure at the sensations that rippled through her.
"That I love you." She replied, slightly breathless, "I trust you. I always have. Even before I knew you…"
"I know." He told her, lips brushing against her throat lightly, "I could feel that." One of his hands ghosted down the side of her ribs to her waist, and Elain tried to somehow move closer to him despite the fact that they were already firmly against one another, "When I would come to sit with you…" And Elain knew that he was talking about the weeks after she had been made Fae, when she had nearly lost herself in darkness. "We didn't really speak, but I could feel you…"
"We talked some." Elain breathed, eyes closed now, "I spoke to you more than anyone else."
"I know."
"I'm sorry for the time we lost." She said, tightening her legs around his waist. "When I was unsure…"
"Petal, we have such a very long time ahead of us." He kissed her cheek softly, and then her jaw, "It is alright."
"I'll spend that time making it up to you."
"You already have." He replied, "That day under the tree in the Summer Court when you told me you wanted to accept the bond. Right then… everything between us became perfect." He lifted hie head then and Elain opened her eyes to meet his, russet and gold, "There is no debt between us."