Queen of Ruin(Book three of the Immortals Series)
CHAPTER TWENTY THE HONEYMOON

The bright white rays of the morning sun peeked through the blinds, and Rafik's eyes slowly opened. He kissed Tessa's shoulder before wiggling his face into the warmth of her hair to hide from the sun.

He stopped short of making love to her the night before, and she was more than a little annoyed about it when she pouted herself to sleep. It seemed a sin to rush into it after waiting so long for her.

"Too early." Rolling away from the light, she tucked herself into his chest. The heat of her skin was like kissing his morning cup of tea as he pressed his lips against her forehead and thought about what laid ahead for them. He pushed her hair behind her ear and welcomed her with a smile when she opened her eyes. "Good morning, Rohi."

Her sleepy eyes bobbed up and down, and she grinned at his handsome face as she placed her hand on his cheek. "Good morning. I thought I dreamed all that."

"No, Tessa, I am here." He put his fingers under her chin and placed a short, soft kiss on her lips. "What would you like to do today?"

Shaking her head, she sucked in a deep breath through her nose before yawning. "Let's just stay right here. We can watch movies and cuddle."

"We have all the world at our fingertips now, and you want to stay here?" Being confined to the dank basement for so long, he wanted to discover the world with his wife, but staying in bed and exploring her body sounded equally good. She opened her eyes and nodded as she slid her fingers into his curly hair. "Yes. I've seen as much of this world as I care to. I just want to see you now."

"As you wish. However, we must eat." Backing away from her, he slid out of bed and walked to the bathroom. "I'll make you breakfast."

When he closed the door behind him, she rolled over to her belly and talked to the door. "That's good because I can't cook at all, Rafik. I won't make a good housewife if that's what you're looking for."

Through his toothpaste-filled mouth and between brush strokes, he spoke back from the other side. "I do not believe you are poor at anything. I will teach you."

When he left the bathroom, he reached across the bed and tugged at her wrist. "Come, my love."

Walking into the living room, she tied her robe's belt and saw him already mixing eggs and vegetables in a bowl. She pushed herself up on the counter beside the stove where he worked and leaned over to kiss him. He pushed out his lips and shook his head as he wagged his finger at her. "Be careful, Tessa. You'll get burned."

She bit her lip and chuckled, then pressed her hand to the burner. "Not this girl."

Instinctively grabbing her wrist, he pulled it away as she laughed at him and lifted her palm. "See. I'm a Firestarter, Rafik, I can do this all day long, and nothing will happen."

He kissed her palm then pointed his finger at her. "Please, don't do that again."

Pulling him between her legs, she put her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. It's in the White Lighter's nature to be protective, but it's Tessa's to be reckless. If the Fates were seeking to balance their subjects, this was a good pairing. "I'm tougher than I look. You don't need to worry so much about me."

He moved his forehead to hers and shook against it. "I do not doubt your fortitude, but I am not like you, not when it comes to you. No more of these games, please."

As he went back to making Tessa's omelet, she poked her finger into his shoulder. "What happens when we go back to the castle?"

He narrowed his eyes as he glanced up at her. "What do you mean?"

She had no intention of ever being anything but his ever again, but she wanted to hear him say it. "I mean, are we together or not?"

Smiling back at her, he placed his fingertips on the side of her face. "We are most definitely together, Tessa. I won't spend another day without you."

After plating her eggs, he set a fork on the plate and handed it to her. "I'm going to go shower, my love. I'll be back soon."

Tessa finished her eggs quickly and smiled to herself as she walked to the bathroom and went inside. Through the steamy glass, she saw him washing himself, so she pulled her robe off and slipped her gown over her head as she came to the door.

Rafik held the door open for her and smiled as he pulled her into his arms under the hot water. "You are a gift. Amazing."

Cupping her round cheek in his hand, he brought her to his lips as she stood on her tiptoes to reach him. Her sharp nipples dug into his flesh when they slid up and down his chest as their lips moved against each other.

It took no time at all for her hand to replace his cock, and he huffed out a ragged breath as she grabbed it in her hand.

Pushing him against the shower wall, Tessa watched his face while she worked her hand up and down his shaft. She was a greedy and aggressive lover, just as she was in every other aspect of her life. She wanted to devour him and take him to the edge of the cliff she lived on with her.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, then chuckled out as she placed soft kisses along his chest while she quickened her pace on him. There were too many sensations to try to fight, and as she took his nipple in her mouth then clamped her teeth around it, he emptied himself on her belly.

Wiping it away, she bit her lip as he pushed the water off her eyelids. The look in her eyes was easy to read.

After turning off the taps, she wrapped her towel around her, and he wiped himself down as she came out. "I'll be waiting."

As she walked to the bed, he saw her drop her towel and crawl in naked. Her round ass made him grin to himself that such a perfect thing belonged to him now.

Throwing his towel aside when he was dry, he pushed his hair back with his hands and followed after her.

Climbing on top of Tessa, Rafik took her mouth with a roughness he hadn't shown her before. As she tried to keep up with his demanding lips and tongue, she wrapped him in her legs as her hips called out to his.

Pushing away, he broke free of her hold and slid down her body. Knowing what was coming, she licked her lips and opened her legs wide. She'd imagined him between her legs a million times and couldn't wait to compare his lips to every other she'd experienced.

Wanting to know every inch of his wife, he worked slowly around her sex with his fingertips and tongue as he kissed and licked and sucked and rubbed. It was like exploring something marvelous he'd discovered, and for the virgin Rafik, it was. When his tongue met her body, Tessa sucked in a breath and twitched under his mouth. She pet his curly hair and moaned his name, letting him know he'd done right.

He mimicked his moves from last night with his mouth as she hissed through her teeth and rolled her hips against him. When her legs began to shake around him, and she called out for him, he kissed his way up her belly then took her breast into his mouth.

Rafik had kissed Tessa's mouth before, but as he met her lips this time, the whole world stopped. As the flutter in his heart intensified, he breathed swiftly against her naked chest. "Are you ready for me?"

Her teary eyes said everything he needed to hear before she even said the words. "Yes."

Hovering above her, Rafik situated himself at her entrance and gently pushed inside her. Like turning away from the blinding sun after being trapped underground all his life, his eyes pinched together as a groan escaped his throat when her hot, velvety smoothness pulled him in.

He nearly cried as Tessa's tightness embraced him like a heavy blanket on a cold winter morning, and that's what she was to him. He'd been so cold and alone for so long that the Firestarter burned him with her comfort.

Wincing as he filled her, she closed her eyes, and every dark thought in her head left her instantly. For the first time since that night in Savannah, she was whole, restored by the healer's offering that thumped with a life of its own inside her. Curling his fingers around hers, he slowly rocked his hips in and out. He thought when the time came, he wouldn't know what to do, but some things come naturally and need no instruction.

Keeping his eyes half opened, Rafik viewed Tessa's face change from pain to pleasure over and over again. Every painful thrust met an equal dose of euphoria that made her eyes roll up to the Heaven she could never enter. Every breath was for pleasing her, and this time was no different as the shy and brilliant man changed his pace to match her expressions.

As her hands traveled his back, she lifted her hips to meet his like a ticking clock. When the pressure inside her started to burst through, she grabbed his ass cheeks in her hands and pulled him deeper while she gasped for more. "Oh, please, don't stop. It feels so good."

Lifting her face to meet his, she gripped the back of his arms with her hands as she braced herself for the tremors that overtook her.

When Tessa's uncoordinated hip thrusts stopped, Rafik took over. As his gentle thrusts got harder and he grew a little more, he delivered the final quick blows, then lost himself inside her while her throbbing walls drained him of every last drop.

He collapsed into her neck and pulled their joined hands to his lips as he tried to catch his breath. He'd imagined this moment at least a thousand times, but it never came close to what just happened.

He knew that no matter what, he would never be the same and that he would belong to Tessa until the end of time.

For the second time in her life, the Fates had favored her with Rafik's bodily fluids' lifegiving donation. She had been a shell of a witch, but a new sorceress came forth in that bed.

Resting in her arm with her soft breaths warming his skin, the breast his face laid against seemed even more fragrant now as he worshipped it with his lips and closed his eyes as the beat of her heart rocked him to sleep.