Chapter 167 – Worship and Vows
Ronan
Eli is still trembling when I lift him into my arms. From everything he just poured into me, all the raw edges of his soul left bare between us. His eyes are swollen from crying, his throat scraped from begging, and yet when he looks at me now there’s only trust. That trust breaks me more than tears ever could.
I carry him through the hall and into our cabin. The bed waits, furs rumpled from where he tossed earlier in restless sleep. I set him down, not like a fragile object, I’d never insult him like that, but as something precious, my palms consecrating every line of him as I go.
He reaches for me, hands fisting in my shirt, dragging me down until our mouths meet. The kiss is soft at first, just the brush of lips, but then he opens under me and the world tilts. Salt from his tears mix with the taste of him, and I swear I’ll remember it forever.
“I meant it,” he whispers against me. “Every word.”
“I know.” My voice is thick, almost unrecognizable. “And I’ll prove the same to you.”
I peel his shirt away, baring the skin I already know better than my own. Every mark, every scar, every shiver belongs to me. My mouth tracks a path down the line of his throat, across his collarbone, over the quick beat of his heart.
I worship him with lips and tongue, pressing slow kisses to his skin until I feel him melt beneath me.
His breath hitches when I pause over his chest, teasing at the peak of a nipple with my tongue before sucking gently. His hand flies to my hair, tugging me closer, his back arching. I smile against his skin, greedy for the sounds he can’t hold back.
He’s always so sharp with words, always so ready to taunt, but here he forgets how to speak. Here he’s all gasps and whimpers, and they undo me more thoroughly than anything.
I take my time. I want him lost in it, adrift in the knowledge that every inch of him is adored.
My mouth trails lower, peppering him with kisses. The taut plane of his stomach, the curve of his hips, the soft inside of his thighs. I linger there, biting softly, sucking marks into the sensitive skin until he’s writhing. His legs try to close, but I press them apart, patient, insistent.
I pause there for a long while, just breathing him in, letting him feel the weight of my stare.
Eli squirms, muttering something about me being insufferable, but the tremor in his voice betrays him. He wants this. Needs it. I lower my mouth again, laying open-mouthed kisses against his inner thigh, tasting the salt of his sweat, hearing him whimper when my beard scrapes lightly over his skin.
“Ronan,” he breathes, my name breaking apart on his tongue.
I answer by kissing the base of his cock, pressing reverent lips to the place where his body aches for me most. He cries out, hips jerking, but I hold him steady and take him into my mouth slowly, savoring the taste of him. His fingers tighten in my hair, his voice climbing higher, pleading without shame.
I give him everything. My tongue, my lips, the slow hollowing of my cheeks as I draw him in deeper. When he gasps, when his thighs tremble, when he tries to warn me he’s close, I pull back just enough to tease him further. Not denial. Not cruelty. Just the promise that I’ll take him there, but only when I’ve had my fill of worship.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmur against him. “Mine.”
“Always,” he chokes, and the bond thrums hot between us, golden and fierce.
I climb over him, bracketing his body with mine. Our mouths meet again, messy and desperate now, his taste still on my tongue. I grind against him slowly, savoring the friction of his cock sliding against my stomach. His whole body arches into me, wild and helpless.
“I need you,” he whispers, voice breaking. “Please, Ronan.”
“You have me,” I growl. “You’ll always have me.”
I press kisses down his stomach again, pausing at every place that makes him squirm. I use my hands to spread him open, kneeling between his thighs, and take my time licking his swollen and sensitive testicles.
I drag the flat of my tongue across his cock from base to tip, swirl around the head, nip at the tender skin until he’s moaning into the furs. His thighs tremble violently, but he still begs for more, tugging at my hair, his chest rising and falling in frantic waves.
Every sound he makes brands me deeper. The Omega the rest of the pack sees, sharp, defiant, brash, becomes something else entirely here.
Only I’m allowed to see this side of him. The part that trusts me enough to surrender. It fills me with a pride I can hardly contain. He doesn’t need to beg me for devotion. I will always give it freely.
I move back up, covering him with my body. He clings instantly, wrapping legs around my waist, pulling me in. His eyes are glassy, wet, desperate.
“I love you,” he says again.
I push inside him slowly, inch by inch, watching his eyes the whole time. He gasps, lips parting, and I feel him stretch around me, tight and perfect. Lubricated by his slick.
I don’t rush. I savor the moment. The peace of being inside him. Of knowing this belongs only to us.
When I’m fully seated, I stop. Just breathe him in, feel him clutching at me, the heat of him stealing my breath. His nails dig into my back, his mouth finds my shoulder, and we stay like that, joined, unmoving, hearts hammering against each other’s skin.
“You’re mine,” I whisper. “Forever.”
“Forever,” he echoes, voice shaking.
I begin to move then, slow and deep. Pulling out until only my tip is still in his ass and then sliding home again languidly. Methodically. Relishing the way his walls hug me close. He gasps, cries my name, holds me tighter. I kiss him again, softer now, tasting every breath he gives me. The bond hums louder, filling my chest until I think it will burst.
My hands grip his face, his hips, his thighs. Every part of him I can reach, as if I can glue him to me. He touches me back, palms sliding over my shoulders, nails dragging down my spine. Every touch says the same thing. Stay, stay, stay.
The pace builds gradually, never frantic, only consuming. Every thrust is a vow, every kiss a promise. His eyes squeeze shut, his mouth opens wide on broken moans, and I can feel him trembling on the edge. I whisper in his ear, “Come for me, love. I’ve got you.”
He cries out, clenching tight around me, and I follow with a growl ripped from my chest, spilling into him as the bond erupts, blinding in its radiance.
We collapse together, tangled and shaking, sweat cooling between us. I cradle his face, thumb brushing his swollen lips, and whisper the only truth that matters: “Forever, Eli. You’re mine forever.”
His smile is small and exhausted, but it shines brighter than any crown. “Good, because I’ll never let go.”
“Never,” I agree, sealing it with another kiss.