Kaden kept his hand between our bodies, thumbing at my clit, and I reached out to grasp at his shoulder, needing to steady myself as the pleasure built more quickly than I thought possible. I had so much pent-up need, but I hadn't been able to do anything about it the entire time I'd been in Lunatera.
“I know, I know,” Kaden murmured, running a soothing hand over my waist as I shuddered, all the emotions I'd been too busy to really comprehend came crashing over me. “I'm here now. We're together."
The waves of emotion mixed with the pleasure in a confusing rush, and I began moving faster. Kaden's breathing became harsher as we picked up the pace, his hips lifting to meet mine. My fingers tightened around Kaden's shoulder, digging into his flesh as I let go of all logical thought and started just focusing on the pleasure, the way our bodies met and melded together in the perfect way they always had. The water added a hazy element, a sharp contrast to the growing need building up in the pit of my stomach. The steam rolled against my skin, making everything slippery and that much hotter. Kaden leaned forward and licked my collarbone in a way that sent strong shivers of pleasure sliding through my entire body.
It tipped me over the edge when Kaden latched his teeth onto my collarbone, just putting enough pressure onto it that I could feel it, each tooth pressed into my flesh. I shuddered, stilling on top of him as the pleasure crested. He growled and slid his hands underneath my ass again, helping to move me up and down, making the orgasm even more intense. The splash of water became louder as he picked up the tempo. My other hand slid on the slick porcelain of the tub as I tried to hold myself up for Kaden, but I couldn't quite manage it.
It didn't matter, Kaden's harsh breathing and stuttering rhythm let me know that he was getting close as well. He pounded into me through my orgasm, and all I could do was hold on for dear life as he let go of my collarbone with his teeth and drew me close to him. He shuddered to a halt, buried deep inside of me, and let out a moan that resolved itself into my name. I wrapped my arms around him as he came, and pressed our lips together. I felt like I wouldn't be close enough to him until I'd crawled into his skin, merged us together.
The water settled around us, and I sank back down, letting Kaden slip free from inside of me. He cradled me as I slumped over him, cheek pressed into his shoulder, and for a while, we simply sat, tracing lazy droplets down each other's skin.
"I love you," I said, once I had the energy to speak again. "Every day in Lunatera I regretted not saying it before. So I'll tell you now, and every day after, as long as I can."
"I love you too, Ayla. Even in death, my only thought was of coming back to you." He touched my cheek, his eyes staring into mine with awe. "But not even death can keep us apart."
I'd never felt so content as in this moment, wrapped in Kaden's arms, still feeling the afterglow of the orgasm we'd shared. Everything I'd been desperately working toward had finally happened. I had Kaden here in my arms, alive and breathing, pressing soft kisses to my neck. But eventually my eyelids began to droop.
"Come on," Kaden said, as he rose to his feet in one fluid motion, lifting me up at the same time with his hands on my ass. Water sloshed everywhere, but I was past caring at this point.
I'm pretty sure Kaden toweled us off, but I barely noticed, and then he carried me back to bed and drew the covers back. I gratefully let go of him to snuggle into the pillows. This had to be the softest bed I'd ever slept in. Before I knew it, I was drifting off to sleep, and only felt the bed dip under his weight when he joined me. Then his arms wrapped around me, and I was gone.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I woke up to the sun slanting into the room, casting its warm rays over my feet, but the heavy weight of Kaden's arm around my waist was more comforting than anything else. His arm was curled protectively around my body, hand splayed flat across my stomach, and I smiled before I even shifted around to look at him.
He was still asleep, and I watched his face for a few moments in silence. He looked younger and less serious in sleep. I let my gaze skim over his face, down to his chest. The blankets had slipped down during our sleep, baring his torso, and desire stirred up within me again, along with that aching feeling in my chest I now recognized as love. I could hardly believe that I had him back.
He looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake him, and after nearly dying yesterday, he had to be exhausted. But I couldn't stay in bed either. There was too much to do before we left for the Libra pack's territory at sunset.
I slipped on some clothes as silently as I could manage and grabbed my camera. It felt strange to be wearing modern clothes again after spending so much time in the hand-sewn dresses of the Moon Witches, but I had missed stretch fabric. The weight of my camera felt familiar in my palm, even though I hadn't seen it in such a long time. I looped the strap around my neck as I reached the kitchen, where I found Larkin and Stella already there.
I smiled as I heard Larkin's animated chatting before I caught sight of her. They were both cooking something that looked more like lunch than breakfast, and I frowned as I glanced at the clock. It was close to noon already, though I could have sworn I'd only gotten a couple hours of sleep.
I caught the tail end of Larkin's enthused words. “And you just watch the people on this little flat screen, I couldn't imagine anything like it.”
Stella grinned over at her. “Just wait until you get a smartphone. You'll be amazed at how many things you can do with a little screen that fits in the palm of your hand.”
“Like a television?” Larkin's eyes looked as round as the moon, and she glanced over at me as I approached. “Good morning, Ayla. Or should I say afternoon?”
“Hey,” Stella said, grinning at me. “Do you want a sandwich?”
“Oh, yes please,” I said, and my stomach growled so loudly that Larkin laughed.
“Coming right up,” Stella said, as she grabbed another piece of bread. “But yeah, it's like a TV, Larkin, but even better. You can even read books on it. You can have as many books as you can imagine. Hundreds of them all on the little device that you can stick in your pocket.”
"No way," Larkin said.
I sat down in the living room and listened to Stella and Larkin chatter more about the marvels of modern technology. I was struck once again by how odd it was to know that Larkin had spent most of her life without any of these. It was sad, but at least she had a chance to experience it now.
Stella brought a plate over to me, and I took it gratefully. It was a BLT, and my mouth started watering before I even bit into it. I closed my eyes and made an appreciative noise.
“I've missed your cooking so much,” I said.
Stella sat down opposite me, and Larkin wandered over to join us. “Everyone is getting ready to move again,” Stella said after I'd taken a few bites of my sandwich. “Eileen left early this morning to rejoin the Sagittarius pack.”
A bolt of panic went through me. “What about Wesley?”
Stella shrugged. "I think he's outside somewhere. I saw him walking down to the lake earlier."
I polished off my sandwich and took my plate over to the sink. “Thank you,” I said again and waved as I headed outside.