Chapter 20 FIRST NIGHT TOGETHER.

Chapter 20 FIRST NIGHT TOGETHER.


Seren’s POV

The bedroom was too big, but the man inside it made it feel small.

Draven carried me from the conservatory to the room. He didn't put me down until we were standing beside the massive bed. The cover were pulled back, waiting for us. 

The only light came from the fireplace, casting long, dancing shadows across the walls.

My heart was beating so fast it felt like adrenaline.

I didn't remember the past. I didn't remember being with a man. But as Draven looked at me, his eyes glowing with that intense look in them, I knew this was the first time for me. 

Every nerve in my body was on high alert. I felt raw. Exposed.

"You’re shaking," Draven whispered.

He reached out, his large hand cupping my cheek. 

His thumb traced my lower lip, pulling it down slightly. He looked at me like I was a prize he had spent his whole life trying to win.

"I'm fine," I lied. My voice was barely a breath.

"You don't have to lie to me, Seren. Not about this." He stepped closer, closing the small gap between us.  "I can feel your heart. It’s racing."

I looked up at him. "I don't know what I'm doing, Draven. I don't remember... anything."

A soft look crossed his face. He leaned down, resting his forehead against mine. "There is nothing to know. There is only us. And I am going to be so careful with you."

He reached for the zipper at the back of my midnight-blue dress. The sound of the metal sliding down was loud in the quiet room. 

The dress loosened, sliding down my shoulders and pooling at my feet.

I stood there in nothing but my lace underwear. I felt cold for a second, but then Draven’s gaze swept over me. His eyes looked hungry. 

He looked like a man who wanted to devour me.

"You are so beautiful, it hurts to look at you," he rasped.

He made quick work of his own clothes. He didn't look like a King now. He looked like a god made of muscle and scars. He was absolutely breathtaking. 

When he stepped toward me, naked and unashamed, I forgot how to breathe.

He picked me up and laid me on the bed. The sheet felt cool against my back, but Draven’s body followed mine, and suddenly I was surrounded by heat.

He started at my neck. His kisses were slow and deliberate. He trailed his lips down to my collarbone, then lower, marking every inch of my skin as his own. Each touch felt exharilating

"Draven," I gasped, my hands finding his hair.

"I've got you," he murmured against my skin. "Just breathe for me, little one."

He moved with an agonizing slowness. He wanted me to feel everything. He used his hands and his mouth to wake up parts of my body I didn't know existed. 

The emptiness in my mind didn't matter anymore. My body was remembering for me. It was humming, reaching for him, desperate for the contact.

When his hand slid between my thighs, I jumped.

"Softly," he whispered. "I'm right here."

He was patient. He waited until I was slick and aching, until I was the one pulling him closer, my legs wrapping around his waist. 

I wanted him. I wanted to forget the needles and the ice. I wanted to be filled with the warmth only he could provide.

He moved between my legs, his arms shaking as he held himself above me. 

He looked down at me, with concentration and desire.

"This is the part where you tell me to stop if you want to," he said. His voice was strained, like he was holding back from having me. "Because once I start, I won't be able to let go."

I reached up, my fingers tracing the scars on his chest. "Don't stop. I want to belong to you."

The growl that came from his chest was…everything.

Like a man that got the thing he wanted the most.

It felt  fulfilling.

He entered me slowly. I felt the sudden, sharp sting of a barrier breaking. I winced, my fingers digging into his shoulders.

Draven stopped instantly. He buried his face in my neck, his breath ragged. "I know. I'm sorry. Just breathe. It will feel better."

He didn't move. He stayed perfectly still, letting me get used to the feel of him. He kissed my forehead, my eyelids, my nose. He whispered things to me—sweet, possessive things in a language I didn't understand but felt in my soul.

Slowly, the pain faded. It was replaced by pulsing fullness. I tilted my hips up, inviting him to move.

He started a slow, rhythmic pace. It was a torture of the best kind. 

Every thrust felt deeper, more certain. I found his rhythm, my body arching to meet his. The world narrowed down to this bed, this man, and the way he was claiming me.

It wasn't just sex. It felt like he was stitching himself into my soul.

"Look at me, Seren," he commanded.

I opened my eyes. He was watching me, his golden eyes burning with a beautiful light. He wanted to see me break. He wanted to be the one to do it.

"You're mine," he rasped, his pace increasing. 

"Every part of you. My name is the only thing you need to remember."

"Draven," I cried out.

The tension in my body grew and grew until it snapped. I saw white light behind my eyelids as a wave of pure pleasure crashed over me. 

A second later, Draven let out a guttural roar, his body tensing as he followed me over the edge.

He collapsed on top of me, his heart thudding against my chest like a drum. We stayed like that for a long time, the only sound the crackle of the fire wood and our heavy breathing.

Eventually, he rolled onto his side, pulling me with him. He tucked my head under his chin and wrapped his large arms around me, holding me like I was made of something precious.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"Yes," I said. And for the first time, I meant it.

I didn't have my memories back. I didn't know who I used to be. But as I lay there in the dark, wrapped in the arms of a man who would burn the world for me, I didn't feel like I needed it anymore.

I felt like his.

"Go to sleep, Seren," he said, kissing the top of my head. "I'll be here when you wake up. I'm always going to be here."

I closed my eyes.  There was only the heat of the King and the steady beat of a heart that belonged entirely to me.