Wed to the Wild God (Aspect and Anchor)

"They will not test me," he says, all cheer once more. "If they do, they will find their lands full of biting flies and the smelliest of skunks. I will fill their lands full of nettles and bees." He gives me a sly look. "Or even better—I will drain their forbidding lake and make this such a verdant, enticing place that mankind will show up on their doorstep."

"They do look like they'd hate that," I admit. "But…Kassam, love, what if he's right? What if my thread is too broken?" I bite my lip, hating that I have to confess it all. "Death approached me in a dream and told me if I stayed to help you get your vengeance, I'd be screwing myself over."

"And yet you stayed," he says softly, "Because you wanted to finish something. My sweet Carly."

"I stayed because I love you," I correct. "I didn't want to give Riekki the opportunity to hurt you again, so I stayed."

"You gave much for me, and I will do the same for you," he promises. "Trust me." He sweeps aside a curtain and we're in our room again. Kassam marches over to the bed, and before I can wonder what he's thinking, he settles me onto my back and flips my skirts up. He claims my mouth in a hungry kiss and settles between my parted thighs. "My Carly. My love. I will not let this be our ending."

And yet when we make love, it's with a fierce desperation, as if he's not entirely sure he believes his own words.

55

I lie in bed with Kassam atop me, my legs wrapped around him. He's still seated in my body and hasn't moved from our fierce fucking some time ago, and we just…cuddle and touch. I run my hands over his back, tracing his muscles and relishing the feel of his weight atop me. He presses lazy kisses to my neck and my jaw, and I love this position because I can feel his every breath. His heart doesn't beat, but that's all right, because mine doesn't, either. His long hair tickles against my fingers, and I draw tiny circles on his butt as he shifts his weight over me, murmuring my name.

"Am I too heavy?" he asks at one point.

"Never." I make another tiny circle with a fingertip, right over the spot I imagine his butt is dimpled. I can't see them, but I know there are dimples there. "If you move, I'm going to be very upset with you."

"Can't have that," he teases, nipping at my ear. "My sweet, lovely Carly. My little light. What if we stay like this forever?"

I'd been thinking the same thing, and hearing it makes me smile. "I mean, there might be some chafing at some point, but I'm game if you are."

"I'd lick your chafed parts for you," Kassam murmurs between kisses. "Rest assured that I'd keep you good and lubricated."

My smile widens. I know we're stealing moments before everything falls down around our ears, but that's one of the things I love most about Kassam—that even in the darkest moments, he makes me smile and forget about all the terrible things in the world. It sounds like there is an afterlife (I did meet Death, after all) so I want to take these memories with me when I'm parted from Kassam. Until that moment comes, I'm going to spend every blink just drinking it all in. I dig my heel into the back of one thigh, squeezing my inner walls around him, and I'm rewarded with a gasp from Kassam and a full body twitch that I feel deep inside.

I give a little wriggle, just about to ask for another round…when I pause. It feels like someone's watching us.

I go still, because surely the Spidae would grasp the meaning of privacy, right? They have curtains over every door, after all. I peer over Kassam's shoulder—

And make eye contact with a stranger.

I yelp, squeezing Kassam again and making him groan when I stiffen. He surges into me with a rakish grin, grabbing my hips. "You're insatiable, my little light."

My hand goes over his mouth and I squirm underneath him, trying to get free. "Someone's here!"

Did I think that was going to deter Kassam? This is the same man that flipped my skirt up and fucked me in front of Seth. I should know better. He only pumps into me again, rearing back before dragging his cock slowly in once more, seating himself to the hilt. "This is all part of my plan, you see," Kassam murmurs. "He will not take you from me while I am balls deep inside you."

I screech in horror, pounding a hand on Kassam's back. "Get off me, you oaf!"

"I thought you were game for staying like this forever?" He nips at my jaw, one hand sliding up to cup my breast.