Chapter 137: A Night to Remember

MIRANDA -

Cory spent the night explaining to them how the Red Queen wasn't allowing Souls go and instead they were being forced to Soul Spin over and over until the Soul either went mad or stayed within the waiting waters of Time.

Only the strongest Souls held onto their minds, and it was slowly breaking Wonderland. Each Royal was trying their hardest to find a solution.

Cory had been close, but they'd not mined enough of the gem he needed to make it possible just yet.

"I want you both to stay here tonight so I can show you the gems tomorrow." Cory said. "I'd like your thoughts on it, Jilena. Perhaps there's something we can do for all of Wonderland, not just Gemland." He paused a moment before adding, "I have many guest rooms, and you can have any of them."

When he was done talking, Jilena nodded, but no one spoke, and the silence enveloped them. The darkness of the night sky descended, and it wrapped around them like a heavy blanket.

Then suddenly, Cory reached down and scooped her up against his chest and carried her through the wide corridors of his castle.

One moment she was standing between Cory and Jilena, as they both absorbed the things Cory had said, and then the next she was tucked into his arms.

She watched the glowing gems on the walls pass by as he carried her. A faint hum of power sounded as they passed, and the air smelled like some kind of metallic sweetness that she could only assume came from the gems themselves.

Miranda looked behind him to see if Jilena followed, but the hallway was empty aside from paintings and statues that decorated the corridor.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll find somewhere to sleep." He said, as if reading her mind.

Then he was carrying her in through a large door and over to the only bed that had haunted her dreams for millennia. It was piled high with furs and silks that matched the low-hanging curtains that surrounded the bed.

The room itself was large and quiet, with lanterns and gems that hung low from the ceiling. They gave off a soft amber that lit the room in an almost magical hue.

He set her down gently at the foot of the bed, his hands still on her waist, as his thumbs brushed slow circles over her ribs through the thin fabric of her shirt.

Her eyes met his, and she saw everything that she'd carried with her through the years staring back at her. Hunger, relief, and fear that this still might be one of her dreams and she would wake up and it would all disappear.

Cory leaned in first and pressed his warm lips up against hers. Just like in the mine, the kiss started slow before the hunger took over.

Years of pent-up desire exploded within her, and she fisted his hair between her fingers. He groaned low in his throat before his hand slid up to cup the back of her head, angling her so he could go deeper.

Her fists clenched, her nails digging into her palms with the need to feel the solid reality of him.

This is real. His lips, are real.

They kissed until breathing seemed to become secondary, and their years apart collapsed into this single moment.

His hands roamed her back, mapping the shape of her like he was relearning every curve. She pressed closer as his hands went lower, needing to feel every inch of him. Needing to drive out the space that had separated them for so long.

He pulled back then, just enough to rest his head against her forehead. His breaths came out ragged, and his eyes burned into her.

"I dreamt of this," he whispered. "Every night... Before I'd wake up and find you gone again."

He didn't let her respond though, instead he took her mouth again. Harder this time. Like he was as desperate for her touch as she was for his.

Finally, his hands slid under her shirt and his rough, callused hands slid over her skin, causing her to shiver.

He pulled her shirt over her head, and the cold air caused goosebumps to rise across the back of her neck and breasts. Cory bent and placed light kisses across her collarbone and down the center of her chest until he came back up to claim her mouth.

With trembling fingers, she worked the ties of his trousers open and pulled back with a gasp when the heavy material fell to the floor with a thud.

His thick member twitched at her inspection.

Then her eyes traveled down his bare skin, and concern nearly replaced her desire when she saw scars she didn't remember marring his flesh.

Thick muscles clenched as he bent forward, and all concern vanished as he lifted her further onto the mattress. The furs were soft and warm from the lanterns and fire that blazed in the fireplace beside the bed.

She lay on her back as he undid her pants and pulled them down her legs. The sudden touch of the castle air sent another shiver through her body.

Then their eyes met as he settled between her legs and braced his weight on his forearms.

"I want to feel every second of this." The breath from his rough voice slid across her face.

He didn't give her time to respond as he slid inside her warmth, and instead she gasped at the feel of the stretch. The fullness and the feeling of rightness after so long sent bursts of light behind her eyelids.

When he was fully seated, he paused, pressing his forehead once more against hers as his ragged breaths blew against her mouth.

“You’re real,” he murmured. “You’re here.”

She arched her lips up to meet his before she said, "I'm here."

He moved then, slow and deep at first. Each thrust pulled a soft sound from her throat as her hands roamed his back, feeling muscles shift beneath the skin. She too, wanted to feel everything. Memorize everything.

While he pumped his hips with a slow calculated thrust, he pulled back and kissed her throat, then her jaw, before finally whispering her name and taking her mouth with his, once more.

Pleasure built, spreading through her limbs until she needed more. She hooked her legs around his hips, pulling him closer and causing him to go deeper and she was rewarded with the deep moan that vibrated through his chest.

His control seemed to snap then, and he was pounding into her, causing the bed to creak and slam against the stone wall.

She was so close, she could feel her inner walls clench.

"I love you, Miranda. Forever."

The words tipped her over, and the wave crashed through her. Pulling a cry from her throat as she clenched around his length.

His release followed on the heels of her orgasm.

They spent the night relearning each other until exhaustion finally took them.

Morning arrived with soft golden light streaming across the ceiling as music drifted up from the city below.