Kyron opens the door to his room, and I take a step back. It's small, no bigger than a broom closet. The white walls are bare and in the back is a silver box with a grated door.
"What is this? Do you sleep in a cage?" The question is outrageous, but what am I to think? This is the door to his room.
His laughter is like rich honey as he slides the door up. He motions for me to enter and closes us inside. "It's called a lift, and it will take us to my room."
He pulls a lever, and the metal floor trembles beneath us. I gasp and cling to the front of his shirt. I can't see anything, but I can feel the cage lifting us into the air—away from the ground.
Kyron kisses the top of my head, and his chest rumbles with a chuckle. "I should have thought of this sooner."
"Oh yeah, so you could get a good laugh at my utter terror."
"No, so I would I have a reason to keep you distracted."
He cups my cheek and tilts my head back. His mouth meets mine with a slow, soft kiss that has my toes curling in my slippers. Every tense muscle in my body relaxes at the stoke of his tongue. I pull him closer and rest my back against the lift's cold metal wall.
"This is a very good distraction," I say, my fingers easing under his tunic and sliding along the waist of his trousers.
"Is it now?" He grips the back of my thigh and hooks my leg over his hip. "I think I can do better."
His hand glides up to the juncture of my legs, and his thumb strokes over the center of my lace undergarments. I close my eyes as he dips his fingertips under the damp fabric and teases me. My hips roll to create more friction, but he continues to draw lazy circles, never quite touching me where I ache for him the most.
The ground shudders, and the cage stops moving.
"My mission here is done," Kyron says, placing my foot on the floor and kissing my forehead.
"Not even close," I reply while he slides the gate open.
His room—if it can even be called a room—is shaped in half of a circle. The one wall houses the door to the lift and two others, but the rest of the space is open to the elements. Smooth pillars hold up the roof and embedded in the floor are rocks. He doesn't have the energy powered lights like the rest of the palace, instead a large bowl sits in the middle with a crackling fire inside. The furniture is simple—a plain chest of drawers, a high-back chair, and a breakfast table with several sketch books scattered on top. I thumb through the pages and note how each implacable charcoal drawing is of a body part, but not a complete person. Lips, eyes, hands, legs, breasts—all are pieces of my body. I close the book and store my questions about the sketches in the back of my mind to ask when I'm not dumbstruck by his room.
Simple white linens cover the large bed, and a mountain of pillows is stacked to look out at the stunning view of Stigian and beyond. The floor extends further than the roof, creating an open walkway with no railing to keep someone from falling over the edge. It triggers my fear of heights, and I stop next to a pillar to safely take in the city below and the endless night sky.
"I never took you as the damsel in distress," I say, looking back at him.
Kyron removes the Posseda from his pocket and places it in a gilded box on his dresser. "What?"
"Isn't the damsel always made to sleep in the castle's tower in fairy tales?"
He moves behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I suppose that is true if I wasn't the one who locked myself up here. I wanted a place where I could feel close to you. So, I removed the walls, thinking I could share a small part of your days and nights. I know it sounds strange, but the sky brought my broken heart some relief. I'd remind myself that the sun warming my skin warmed yours too. The waxing and waning moon, the stars, they were all the same, and they shined for us." Heat spreads through my body as he presses his lips to the nape of my neck while making easy work of the delicate buttons along my spine. "I wasn't looking to be saved; you had already rescued me, Raelle."
Kyron slides the sheer fabric of my dress down my shoulder. I tilt my head to the side, offering him my neck. I close my eyes and savor the feel of his lips as his words replay in my mind. While I was praying to the Statera to forget him, he was finding every way possible to remember me.
Tears dampen my lashes and my voice trembles as I say, "Your heart will never break because of me again. And you won't need the sun and stars for comfort. You will have me."
He guides me around to face him. "I love you."
"Forever. I'll love you forever, Kyron."
My dress falls to the floor, leaving me in nothing but delicate lace undergarments. His gaze skims over me from head to toe, and he lowers to his knees. He runs his hands down my sides and kisses the center of my torso, making me tremble. My fingers comb through his soft, black hair, pressing down. He follows my silent demand, leaving a wet trail to my navel. When his mouth moves over the lace, I grip his hair and lean into the pillar.
Every lap of his tongue and open-mouthed kiss has me aching for more. I'm desperate to remove the barrier keeping him from my skin, but his mouth feels so good sucking on the lace. He nips at the sensitive flesh and my knees buckle, threatening to let me melt into a puddle at his feet.
Lowering the lace from one hip, Kyron smirks up at me. "I could spend the rest of the night on my knees."
"Statera, stop teasing me."
He lowers the fabric down my thighs. "It looks like you have no issues with the demanding part of being queen."
"Kyron."
He laughs for the second time tonight, and I can't recall ever seeing him this happy. His focus is on me, not the pending conflict, not his missing mother. This is our moment; one we both want to lose ourselves in.
"Yes, my queen?"
"Put your mouth on me."
"As you wish."
He lifts my leg over his shoulder, and with his gaze locked to mine, he glides his tongue through my folds. That long, wet touch is all it takes, and I'm lost to everything but Kyron and the euphoric sensation pumping through me. I hold on to his hair with both hands, my back arching from the pillar, and his name slipping from my lips like a prayer.
With a final stroke of his tongue, Kyron stands, and his mouth is on mine. The mixture of him and me is invigorating. I drink it in, reawakening my need and desperate to be one with him. I pull his tunic over his head and yank free the string on his trousers. As I shove the leather down his legs, he works free of his boots.
We fall to the bed in tangled limbs and frantic kisses. Kyron wraps his arm around my waist and guides me to the top of the mattress with him. He props his back against the mountain of pillows against the headboard and pulls me into his lap. His mouth moves over my neck, chest, and nipples. I reach between us and take him into my hands. My palms slide over his smooth skin, making him moan.
He tilts his head back, and I lick the column of his neck. I love how he gives in to the pleasure. He doesn't censor his words or fight what comes naturally to him. In my hands, he is free to let go of everything haunting him. I'm his safe place. I hold no judgement—just unending love and it grants me a glimpse of him no one else gets to see.
He turns me to face away from him. My legs straddle his hips while his palms slip down my spine. He kisses my back and pulls me against his chest. His hand moves between us, grabbing his cock and pressing it to my entrance.
I look back at him to protest, wanting to watch him as he moves inside me.
"Trust me," he says, urging me down with a gentle push.
My worries subside as I surrender to the feeling of him easing inside of me. He holds my hips, moving me over him. When the center of our bodies meet, he pulls me back to recline against him. He peppers my neck and shoulders with kisses while I roll my hips. Soft caresses move over my thighs and down my arms. Kyron's shadows coil from his fingers, touching me in all the places he doesn't. I brush my lips against his jaw and moan.
"Look at the stars, Raelle. They are here to watch me worship you."
I give my attention to the millions of sparkling voyeurs. They watch as my parah runs his hands over my skin, and I gasp at his touch. I don't shy away from them as I lift my hips and sink back down over and over again. I don't blush as I spread my legs wider giving Kyron's fingers freedom to move between them. Let the stars stare in envy as we love each other. Let them wish to the ether they could have what we do.
Kyron moves below me, thrusting deep inside me. His breath quickens, and his hand leaves my breast to cling to my hip. The fingers at my center move faster, pulling me with him over the edge. Our bodies collide until they shatter with pure ecstasy. The pieces of us are radiant—vivid rays of aqua, violet, and emerald, burning brighter and more beautiful than the aurora. We bask in the glow until we come back together, out of breath and with liquified muscles.
Kyron holds me close, rolling us to our sides and curling his body against mine. Drawing circles with my fingertips on his forearm, I stare at the stars and flash them a cheeky smile. I hope each and every one of them understands he is mine, and I am his. Not them, the sun, or the Statera will ever be powerful enough to obliterate our love.