Chapter 191: Harder...
Vince drew the tunic the rest of the way up and off in one slow pull. The linen whispered over Elena’s skin and then it was gone, leaving her bare beneath him on the silk sheets. Firelight spilled across the smooth plane of her stomach, the soft undersides of her breasts, and the vivid purple crown crest etched directly over her heart—the permanent mark that declared her his. The crest sat dark for only a heartbeat before the heat of his gaze and the press of his bare chest against hers made it warm.
Elena’s body answered before her mouth could. Her nipples tightened hard in the cooler air. A visible shiver rolled down her torso. Her thighs pressed together once, then fell open of their own accord as heat flooded low in her belly. Color already rode high across her cheeks; her lips parted on a soft, shaky breath and her eyes went half-lidded and dark the moment they locked on his face.
"Vince..." The name left her on a low, breathy moan. She reached for him, fingers sliding over the golden sheen of his healed chest. "Look at you... finally taking what’s yours."
He braced above her, one hand braced beside her head, the other tracing the edge of the purple crest with his thumb. The moment his mouth followed—hot, open, dragging across the mark—Elena’s back arched hard off the mattress. A sharp gasp tore from her throat.
"Ah—!"
The crest pulsed once, faint violet light blooming under his lips. Her hips lifted, seeking friction, thighs trembling as slick heat gathered between them. She could feel how wet she was already becoming, the evidence of how badly her body had been waiting for him.
Vince’s voice was rough against her skin. "Feel that? Your crest’s already waking up and I’ve barely touched you." He dragged his tongue across the mark again, slower. "Tell me how much you need it."
Elena’s brows drew together in helpless pleasure, mouth falling open. "I need you inside me," she breathed, the words breaking into another moan when his teeth grazed the sensitive skin beside the crest. "I’ve been aching for it since the moment the dread commanders rook you away... every time you look at me I get so wet I can barely sit still. Please, Vince—"
He silenced the plea by claiming her mouth in a deep, hungry kiss while his hand slid between her thighs. The first stroke of his fingers through her pussy pulled a broken, needy sound from her throat. She was soaked, slick coating his fingers the moment he touched her. Elena’s hips jerked; her free hand fisted in the sheets.
"Fuck—yes—"
Vince worked her slowly, deliberately, two fingers sliding in and curling while his thumb circled the swollen clit above. The wet sounds of it filled the space between their heavier breathing. Elena’s face was a study in open want: cheeks burning, eyes glassy and locked on his, lower lip caught between her teeth until another stroke forced it free on a high, trembling cry.
"You’re dripping for me," he growled against her mouth. "This pretty little crest glowing just from my fingers. You want my cock that badly?"
"Yes—God, yes—" Her voice cracked. She tried to reach between them, desperate to guide him closer, but he caught her wrist and pinned it gently above her head. The denial only made her clench harder around his fingers. A frustrated, filthy whimper escaped her. "Don’t tease... I’ve waited months. I need you to fill me Vince... claim me properly."
Vince withdrew his hand, slick fingers shining in the firelight, and finally freed himself from the open belt and trousers. The thick, hard length of his cock rested heavy against her inner thigh. Elena’s eyes dropped to it; her tongue flicked across her bottom lip and the crest on her chest flared brighter, pulsing in time with her racing heart.
He notched himself at her entrance and pushed in with one long, controlled thrust.
Elena’s reaction was immediate and raw. Her eyes flew wide, then fluttered shut as a loud, broken moan tore from her throat. Her back arched hard enough to press the glowing purple crest flush against his chest. The stretch, the heat, the sudden perfect fullness dragged a string of helpless sounds from her—"Ah—ah, fuck, Vince—"—while her walls fluttered and clenched around him, greedy, trying to pull him deeper still.
The crest blazed vivid violet, casting soft purple light across both their bodies.
Vince held still for a heartbeat, buried to the hilt, letting her feel every inch. "Look at you," he rasped. "Taking me so well. Crest shining like you’re proud to be mine."
Elena’s nails raked down his back. Her legs locked around his waist. When he finally began to move—slow, deep strokes that dragged against every sensitive place inside her—the wet slap of skin joined the crackle of the fire. Every thrust forced a new sound from her: sharp gasps, lower moans, higher cries when he angled just right.
"Harder," she begged, voice wrecked. Her face was open and abandoned now—brows furrowed, mouth slack, eyes half-rolled with pure overload. "Harder—harder... don’t hold back. I want to feel you for days."
He gave her exactly what she asked for. The rhythm turned harder, deeper, the bed creaking beneath them. Elena’s body answered with shameless need: hips rising to meet every thrust, inner muscles milking him, the glowing crest pulsing brighter with every peak of pleasure that rolled through her. Wet, filthy sounds filled the room. Her moans grew louder, less controlled, broken by gasped fragments of dirty encouragement.
"You’re so deep—fuck, right there—don’t stop... make me come on your cock—"
Vince’s hand slid beneath her lower back, tilting her hips so he could drive even deeper. The new angle tore a raw cry from her throat. Her head fell back against the silk, throat exposed, face contorted in pure, overwhelming sensation—eyes squeezed shut, mouth open, a sheen of tears of intensity at the corners.
The crest flared almost white-hot purple.
Elena shattered first. Her walls clamped down hard around him in rhythmic, fluttering pulses; a long, broken cry ripped from her as the orgasm crashed through her. Her entire body trembled and locked, the glowing mark on her chest blazing like a beacon while wave after wave of pleasure tore through her. The look on her face was pure, unguarded ecstasy—lips parted on continuous soft cries, brows drawn tight, eyes finally opening again only to stay glassy and dazed.
Vince followed with a low, guttural groan, burying himself to the hilt as he spilled deep inside her. The added heat and the way her body kept clenching around him dragged a few more helpless, oversensitive whimpers from Elena’s throat.
For a long moment they stayed joined, breathing hard. The crest still glowed, softer now but stubborn, casting faint violet light across the sweat-slick skin of her chest. Elena’s face had softened into something blissed-out and completely open—cheeks flushed dark, lips swollen, eyes heavy and soft when they finally focused on him again.
She reached up with a trembling hand and traced the edge of the still-glowing mark.
"I can still feel you," she whispered, voice hoarse and satisfied. "The crest won’t stop glowing."
Vince leaned down and kissed her slow and deep, one hand spanning the small of her back, holding her close while their hearts gradually slowed. Outside the locked oak door the capital continued its distant waking, but inside the firelit room there was only the residual shimmer of purple light, the scent of sex and woodsmoke, and Elena’s body still soft and claimed beneath his.