XXXVII

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

A rush swept through Lillian when her lips crushed against Aëghan's; something hot and heady and wholly intoxicating, yet similarly comforting, barrelled through her with the force of a torrential rapid.

Kissing him, feeling his lips cover hers as his body curled around her, was akin to coming home, to feeling safe, even if her equilibrium was veered off-centre. A shudder ran through them both when his tongue swept boldly into her mouth, the cost of being separated and loss of intimacy for the past three days felt keenly through the persistent searing of the brand encircling her upper arm. She leaned into him, supported, as her arms swept around his broad shoulders, feeling his fingers shift along her length to settle at her waist.

Then he tightened his hold, shifting her easily so that she was manoeuvred on the edge of her desk. A startled gasp left her, his lips curling into an indulgent smile against hers, but then he was kissing her fervently once more, a gruff sound leaving his chest when she nipped his lip between her teeth. Her bottom slid backwards until she was hitched, her thighs flanking his, her fingertips raking down the corrugated expanse of his naked chest.

His mouth tore away from hers abruptly, and when Lillian opened her eyes, she couldn't mistake the question in his own, the undeniable heat and need darkening their impenetrable depths.

Her heart clenched and clamoured in her chest, her skin flushed with the demands of her body that wanted this male with a fervour that made her dizzy. "Aëghan," she breathed, or whimpered- she hardly knew at that moment how she formulated speech. Her fingers splayed wide against his ribs and she marvelled at the shift and play of muscle there, momentarily distracted-

He caught her chin gently, capturing her attention once more. "I desire you more than anything in this world and the next," Aëghan told her softly, "but I will understand if you wish to wait until you are able to wholly trust me once more."

She shook her head vehemently. "No." Her thighs clamped about his, her skirts pulling taut. "I want you, I trust you- it was never an issue of trust. It was an issue of what parts of you I could have... of which parts of you I could never have- and I was selfish, for wanting it all and being unable to settle for the parts you could give me."

"You could never be selfish," he murmured, his fingers dropping and working over the front buttons of the heavy woollen coat she wore. It draped open in no time, and he began to ease her arms free from the sleeves, leaving the hefty fabric to pool behind her. "You have every right to demand all of it from me. And I am more than willing to give it to you." His gaze grew warm, making her stomach flutter with anticipation. With deliberate slowness, never removing his gaze from hers, Aëghan's fingers moved to her sides, his thumbs swiping teasingly under her breasts as they passed to her back, and there he began to unfasten the row of tiny buttons that trailed down her spine. "You only need to tell me, again and again, exactly what it is that you want."

She gnawed her bottom lip, the material of her gown beginning to loosen about her shoulders. When he had finished his quest at her back, he found the sleeves at her shoulders and pulled them down. Cool air touched her skin where she was now exposed, and she shifted closer to him. "You," she breathed. "I want you. I'll always want you- again and again."

His grin was wicked and indulgent, and Lillian realised just then how much she adored seeing his lips curl into that familiar smirk. It was unequivocally Aëghan, unapologetic and shameless. "Just not enough to marry me," he teased.

She smiled, reaching for him, forcing him to step closer and become hindered by the skirts that separated them. His hands dropped to her thighs, his fingers curling in the soft fabric there. "I never said I wouldn't," she told him wryly. "I just never said when."

Then his head dipped, lips skating along the edge of her jaw until she felt his breath tickle the edges of her ear. Gradually, his hands worked and gathered her skirts, easing her up his body until her thighs locked about his hips. He had worked fastidiously to ensure that her dress was piled at her waist, she realised; her breasts only half-covered by her chemise and her thighs entirely exposed. "I know when," he told her, raking his teeth down her neck. "Would you like to know? I do ask you, you know. Numerous times, but each time you deny me."

She huffed out a shaky laugh. "I would like us to be together without any compulsion to do so, knowing that we can withstand a... courtship, I suppose, because that is what we both want, and even if there is an option to leave, or end, or whatever the case may be-"

"We don't," he finished for her. He gripped her hips, pulling her flush against his. Feeling the length of his erection slide against her core made her suck in a breath. "We don't need the bindings of marriage, or contractual obligations, or a sacred mark, or even the obstacles of impossible choices, to be together. Because again and again, I would always want to be with you- and only you."

The edge of his teeth grazed one of her nipples through the sheer material of the chemise and she made an urgent sound. That, combined with the feel of his hips rocking gently against her flesh, sent need firing off within her with a desperate insurgence. "Aëghan, I need-"

His head lifted suddenly, his breath seething, and he turned to give a kiss to the fingers gripping his shoulder, her nails digging into his flesh. Chagrined, she loosened her hold.

"Don't," he said gruffly, dropping a kiss to her lips. His hips shifted away from her briefly, then the tip of his cock glided over her heated flesh, until he was poised at her entrance. Every part of her trembled, aching for him to fill her, silently begging him to do just that, but Aëghan stalled, prolonging the moment. "I like it when you lose control." That unfathomably wicked smile made the muscles of her abdomen clench with longing. "And I know exactly what you need."

It was a smooth, uninhibited thrust that ensured his cock slid into her depths, embedded completely until he was flush against her, as close as they could ever be. Her groan was only exceeded by his as both of them were overcome with the sensation of being joined again after days of uncertainty and loneliness.

Beneath her hand, his chest heaved and trembled, his cavalier demeanour rendered inconsequential as he fought his own raging need to drive into her. His restraint was a palpable thing, and right then she didn't want it. They had time enough, a future of possibilities ahead of them, to prolong their lovemaking. Presently, Lillian craved his claiming in the most fundamental and urgent of ways.

Her legs tightened, her muscles clenching around his cock spasmodically, and she brought his face to hers. "Show me I am yours," she demanded.

He groaned, claiming her lips once more and plundering her mouth with wanton abandon, and his hips moved, retracting until only the tip of his cock remained within her, only to snap forwards and sheath entirely within her once more. It was excruciating in the most beautiful of ways how he brought her to the brink of insensibility with his body alone, his fit fulling her with an exquisiteness that felt right, that made her feel like she belonged.

They were of two different worlds, yet she had never felt more complete and whole than when she was with him.

She clung to his shoulders, her legs holding him to her body as he moved, thrusting into her again and again with a force that gained momentum, that made her swallow soft cries as they lodged in her throat while his lips and tongue devoured her entirely. "I need you to come," Aëghan moaned, his words staggered as he murmured them against her lips.

"Then make me," she returned breathlessly. He groaned again, a hand leaving her hip to dip between their bodies, fumbling briefly with the crumpled fabric at her hips. Seamlessly, rocking into her, she felt his fingers circle the top of her sex. He set a rhythm that complimented the thrusts of his hips, and perhaps aided with a special talent that could compel her to climax endlessly, but soon she felt herself peak.

Her head fell forward, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she hugged him close, her body reverberated against him as her release coursed through her limbs. Her entire being came alive, desperately chasing wave after wave of resplendent ecstasy. He wrung her out for several long moments until she was gasping and begging him to stop, her arms trembling as she clung to him and her thighs fairing no better.

His grin she felt against her cheek, but then he gripped her hips with both his hands, pinning her steady as his thrusts took on an entirely new rhythm. It changed then, becoming almost frenzied, and Lillian knew he was close.

This time she was overcome with the need to be closer to him than before. Their joining was different, imbued with the certainty that their relationship wouldn't suddenly be rendered asunder, thus she wanted something more, something he had denied her before.

"I want you to give me everything," she whispered against his cheek. "All of you, Aëghan."

A tortured sound left him and he raised his head to stare down at her, dipping his forehead against hers. "Are you certain? I have not predicted a child being conceived, but that does not mean it is not possible."

"All of you." Lillian found his lips with her own. "We will face that possibility when and if it happens."

He cursed then kissed her with an almost bruising force. His fingers clamped against her hips, and when he came, he buried his cock deep within her and stilled, a hot pulsating between her legs making her clench around him and sending small, tingling arcs through her.

Aëghan groaned, his arms wrapping around her and crushing her body to his chest. His large frame shuddered until his lips tore away from hers and he dropped his head against her shoulder, panting. "Gods help me," he muttered at length, "but you've possibly ruined me now. I'll never be able to finish any other way again."

"I can think of other ways," she mused, laughing lightly as she stroked the dark locks of hair curling at the nape of his neck. "Quite a few, actually."

At that, he lifted his head. There was an intrigued light in his eye, but whatever he had meant to say to her was interrupted by the sound of the door being thrust open wide at the other of the study, banging noisily against the wall, followed promptly by Millie's outraged voice, "I was inspecting the grounds when I saw that dragon fly over and I just knew-"

Lillian twisted to study her sister frozen on the threshold of the chamber. She had yet to catch her breath, neither her nor Aëghan fully recovered from their lovemaking, and the intrusion came as a very unwelcome surprise. Millie's eyes were wide on the scene before her, and Lillian knew that her sibling was about to implode. Aëghan swore softly, promptly retreating from her body, and she felt her cheeks scour with a blush at being caught in such a licentious embrace.

It would never have been insinuated that Lillian Adams, the oldest and most composed of the Ravensfield sisters, would be caught in flagrante delicto. Perhaps it was that unanticipated shock that spurred Millie's expression to turn from confused surprise to full-blown, indignant rage. She stormed fully into the study then, pointing a condemning finger at Aëghan, who had wisely decided to shield his nudity with, unfortunately, the only object nearby- a piece of parchment. Millie's skirts flounced about her ankles, her eyes blazing with fury.

"He. Has. VIOLATED. My. Sister!"

Lillian hopped off the desk, straightening her skirts and spinning to her with her hands held out imploringly. Wisely, Aëghan shifted to stand slightly behind the woman he had been inside mere moments before, whose thighs were slick from his release. "Millie, no-" Lillian began.

"I will have him arrested! Thrown into a pit!" Her eyes raked over Lillian's form, taking in the state of her gown that hung off her shoulders and exposed most of her chest. "God, did he hurt you?"

"Why is my wife shouting?" Blayne asked mildly, striding into the chamber suddenly. "Again."

"Fuck," Aëghan muttered from behind Lillian.

She heaved in a breath, endeavouring in vain to settle matters that were beginning to veer wildly out of control, worsening as each moment passed. "Will you just listen to me-"

"Aëghan has violated my sister!" Millie wailed to her husband. "I caught him! He had her pinned to the desk-"

"Pinned to the desk, you say? Now that is an interesting thought," Aëghan mused aloud, a wicked edge to his voice.

Lillian's elbow met his ribs. "Not helping," she grated. To the other two, she said with no small amount of desperation, "He did not violate-"

"What is that?" Millie demanded, her finger pointed to something lower down. Lillian turned, finding it directed to Aëghan's crotch... well, more specifically the parchment that was doing a poor job at hiding it. "Is that... that had better not be what I think it is!"

The smirk on Aëghan's face turned sheepish when he caught Lillian's frown. "Well, I didn't have a chance to find a pair of trousers, did I?" he said.

She turned back to her sister. "Millie, it doesn't matter what it is, the document is unoriginal-"

"Go on," Millie demanded of her husband furiously. "Break his wings again!"

"Millie," Blayne urged patiently, "look at their arms."

"What the hell do their arms have to do with anything-" But Millie had turned to consider, and Lillian was astounded at the level of temperament Blayne Leowyn had over her tempestuous sister, because Millie actually did stop throwing allegations for a short moment.

It was also only then that Lillian realised that both her and Aëghan had their marks revealed, and Blayne and Millie considered the black bands circling their arms with varying expressions of shock and disbelief, to confusion and understanding at once.

Her sister's silence, however, allowed Lillian a moment to at least say her piece. "I realise this looks... compromising," she said, steadying her words with a deep breath. "But the simplest truth to it all is that... well, I love him, Millie, and he loves me."

Aëghan's head dipped closer to her, and out the corner of her eye she caught the devastating curl of his lip. "You do?" he murmured.

Millie reeled backwards at that and her husband caught her shoulders, easing her against his solid frame gently. "You... love him?" she asked incredulously. "Oh, God, there must be some sort of magic at play-"

"Wife, just because someone acts against your expectations does not mean they are under an enchantment," Blayne told her. "They are marked- their union has been preordained by our god, as ours was. You and Aëghan got off on the wrong foot, and your antagonism towards him is understandable, however I can and will vouch for his character despite this."

Millie folded her arms under her breasts, giving Aëghan a sneer. "I still think you should break his wings. One, at least."

"I doubt that will be necessary." Blayne gave Lillian a pointed look, beginning to guide his wife from the chambers. Millie allowed herself to be led away reluctantly, glaring at the both of them with open agitation. "Allow them the dignity of composure before they address us again," he said. "And I am sure Lillian will find you soon to provide a suitable explanation for all that has transpired. Perhaps if you cannot find it in your heart to forgive Aëghan of his past misdemeanours against you, you may do so at a later stage after hearing them out."

"Ugh," Millie protested, but her face softened as she looked up at him. "Why do you always have to be so damn reasonable?"

"Sickening, isn't it?" Aëghan called out to their retreating backs.

Millie glared at him over her shoulder. "If it wasn't for my sister I'd be drowning you right now," she snapped. Blayne nudged her out the chamber and gave them a pointed look before closing the door in their wake.

"Finally-" Aëghan began, interrupted when Lillian spun to him and plunked her hands on her hips.

"Must you deliberately rile her up so?" she queried, frustrated. "These proceedings could run smoother if you liked each other. She will be part of your family one day, you know."

His face dropped as the realisation took root. "Shit." The parchment dropped to the floor as he mirrored her stance, a line creasing his brow. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Is it a game changer then?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He shook his head, his dark locks flicking over his brow in disarray. "Best we hold off on the nuptials indefinitely then. Couldn't bear it, honestly. A sister like that..."

Lillian shrugged, a nonchalant smile tugging her lips as she turned away, beginning to saunter around the desk. "Ah, well. No matter. Perhaps we had better call the whole thing off then, if you-"

His arms encased her from behind, pulling her tight against his body and her breath left her with a startled squeak. His chin dipped to her temple, and the smile on his lips she could feel as he murmured against her skin, "I'd take on ten Mildred Adams if it meant getting to keep you, little cat. Do not doubt that for a moment."

"What about eleven?"

He spun her, shifting her to lift within his arms easily. Lillian gasped, clinging to his neck as her feet left the floor. "Eleven? Definitely not. Ten is my limit."

"Noted," she said as a laugh bubbled out of her.

His grin was crooked as he glanced down at her, that familiar heated look entering his eyes as he considered her for a moment. "I am going to take you to bed now, Lillian, and I hope this estate knows how to retain secrets, because quite frankly I don't care who sees us as I walk through the halls with you in my arms."

She bit her lip, considering. If it was scandalous of them to do so, she could always claim a lengthy betrothal, yet she rather favoured the idea of throwing caution to the wind right then. For once, at least in this regard, she didn't need to control the outcome. They would face what came of their unconventional union- together. The future may hold uncertainties, and she couldn't begin to know how it would unfold for either of them as Ravensfield took increasingly radical shifts for change both politically and socially... yet somehow she felt at peace with that.

"You know, neither do I," Lillian told him, unable to prevent the wide smile spreading her lips. His head dipped to kiss her, once and lightly, and then he swaggered from the chambers cradling her close.

"Good."

And in that moment, everything was.