The Monster and His Queen

Chapter 20

"This."

Draven's mouth found hers again, and this time there was no holding back. No control. No fear of his shadows hurting her. He kissed her like a man dying of thirst who'd finally found water, and she responded with equal hunger.

The wedding dress pooled at her feet, leaving her in just a thin silk chemise. Draven's hands roamed over her body, mapping every curve, every soft place. His touch left trails of heat in its wake.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he breathed against her throat. "How hard it's been to keep my hands off you?"

"Show me." Elaria's hands went to his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. "Stop holding back. I want all of you."

He lifted her easily, carrying her to the massive bed. The shadows around them thickened, creating a cocoon of darkness that felt intimate rather than threatening. They moved over her skin like curious fingers, making her gasp.

"The shadows want to touch you too," Draven said, laying her on the silk sheets. "Is that alright?"

"Yes. God, yes."

He removed his shirt, revealing the hard planes of his chest, the scars from years of training. Elaria reached up to trace one particularly long scar across his ribs.

"From Lucien," Draven said. "When we were fifteen. He said he wanted to see if I bled regular blood or shadow."

"Your brothers are monsters."

"They're products of my father's teaching. Cruelty is encouraged in the North. Compassion is weakness." He caught her hand, kissing her palm. "You're teaching me there's another way to be."

"Then let me teach you more."

She pulled him down to her, and the world narrowed to just the two of them. His hands found the hem of her chemise, sliding it up slowly. The shadows helped, pooling beneath her back to lift her as he pulled the fabric over her head.

For a moment, Draven just looked at her, his amber eyes burning with heat. Through the bond, she felt his reaction, awe, desire, possessiveness, love all tangled together so intensely it made her breath catch.

"Beautiful," he murmured. "You're so beautiful it hurts to look at you."

"Then stop looking and touch me."

He did. His mouth found her throat, then lower, trailing kisses across her collarbone, down to her breasts. When his lips closed around her n****e, Elaria arched off the bed with a cry.

The shadows responded to her pleasure, caressing her everywhere Draven's hands couldn't reach. They slid along her thighs, across her stomach, between her breasts. The sensation was overwhelming, multiple touches at once, all connected to Draven's desire for her.

"Too much?" he asked, pulling back slightly.

"No. Perfect. Don't stop."

His hand slid lower, finding the heat between her legs. When he touched her there, Elaria nearly came apart. Through the bond, she felt his satisfaction at her response, his need to give her pleasure.

"I've never done this before," he admitted quietly. "Never been with anyone. I'm not sure—"

"Neither have I." Elaria pulled him up to kiss him. "We'll figure it out together."

That seemed to unleash something in him. Draven's kisses grew more demanding, his touches bolder. He explored her body like he was memorizing every inch, finding all the places that made her gasp and moan.

When his fingers slid inside her, Elaria cried out. The pleasure was intense, made more so by feeling his satisfaction through the bond. She could feel what he felt, the tight heat of her around his fingers, the way her body responded to his touch, the trust she was giving him.

"Draven, please," she gasped. "I need—"

"I know. I can feel it through the bond." He positioned himself between her thighs, his eyes meeting hers. "Tell me if I hurt you."

"You won't."

He entered her slowly, carefully, and Elaria felt the momentary pain of her barrier breaking. But the bond cushioned it somehow, his sensation of overwhelming pleasure mixing with her discomfort until it became something else entirely.

"Alright?" he asked through gritted teeth, clearly struggling to stay still.

"Yes. Move. Please move."

He did, and the world exploded into sensation. Through the bond, Elaria experienced it from both perspectives—her own pleasure and his. The dual sensation was overwhelming, pushing her higher and higher.

The shadows danced around them, responding to their joined pleasure. They wrapped around both of them, connecting them even more deeply, until Elaria couldn't tell where she ended and Draven began.

"Look at me," Draven commanded, his voice rough with need. "I want to see your eyes when you come apart."

She obeyed, meeting his burning gaze. The intensity there, the love, the need, the absolute possession was enough to push her over the edge.

Elaria shattered, crying out his name. Through the bond, she felt Draven follow her into c****x, his own pleasure feeding back into hers, creating a loop that seemed endless.

When they finally collapsed together, both breathing hard, the shadows slowly retreated to their normal places.

"That was..." Draven started, then laughed. "I don't have words."

"Incredible," Elaria finished. "Earth-shattering. Life-changing."

"All of those." He rolled to his side, pulling her close. Through the bond, she felt his contentment, his wonder that this was actually his life now. "I never thought I could have this. Never thought anyone would want me like this."

"I don't just want you. I need you." Elaria traced the shadow marks on his chest. "You're part of me now. Literally."

"Best decision I ever made. Binding myself to you."

They lay together in comfortable silence, skin against skin, heartbeats slowly returning to normal. Outside, the palace had finally quieted. The celebration was over. It was just the two of them now.

"What happens next?" Elaria asked eventually. "After tonight. After all this."

"We figure out how to live with the deal I made. How to keep the Void King at a distance without angering him." Draven's hand traced idle patterns on her back. "We navigate the politics between our kingdoms. We deal with my brothers and your father and everyone else who has opinions about our marriage."

"Sounds exhausting."

"It will be. But we'll do it together." He kissed her forehead. "And in between all that, I plan to spend as much time as possible doing exactly what we just did."

"I like that plan."

They made love twice more that night, each time learning more about each other's bodies, each time the bond between them growing stronger. By the time exhaustion finally claimed them, the first hints of dawn were lighting the sky.

Elaria fell asleep in Draven's arms, surrounded by his shadows, feeling safer and more complete than she ever had in her life.

But peace never lasted long.