When Ileus finished, he pulled Anastasia up and kissed her lips, delving his tongue into her mouth, tasting himself. Then he grasped her hips and in one fluid movement positioned over his shaft and slid her down it. She gasped as he hit her to the hilt. Her wings rustled behind her. He lifted her again and slid her gently down. He built a gentle pace for her, but she pushed down to urge him to go faster. She pressed her hands against his chest.
Tension and heat coiled inside her and her body shuddered when he matched her rhythm and pumped her fast. The way his muscles rippled beneath her hands, it was magnificent. The way her hips hit his thighs, it was mind blowing. Her entire body became still for a moment and then pleasure hit her. She came around his shaft with a cry and a whimper. He started driving inside her like a piston, so furiously as though he was waiting for her for an eternity. Finally he tipped his head to the ceiling and then with a brutal roar, he came inside her.
"Anastasia!" He called her name in reverence.
She fell on his hard chest muscles like a puddle, breathless, as tension seemed to seep out of their bodies. She closed her eyes, savoring every moment as he continued to hold her tight against his chest. He threaded his hand in her hair and gathered them to one side.
They lied together for god knows how long, but drifted off to sleep with him still inside her. At some point of time his shaft swelled again inside her and stretched her. She must have been sleeping because all she remembered was that he had rolled her down and was mindlessly pumping inside her calling her name again and again. She knew that he was shocked at what Iona did to her and was anguished. He wanted to feel her, wanted to feel home.
The way she was deceived and taken hostage was unbelievable. Though she was trying to be as calm as possible over the entire incident she was deeply affected. The deceit, the anger and the very fact that she was held captive again, ate her insides. She was furious and her heart was flipping every now and then. She needed him as much as he needed her. And she didn't know how, but revenge crept in her heart. She didn't know if that was good or bad, but the emotion penetrated some deep part of her brain and sat there, coiled tightly.
"I need you so much, Anastasia, that I am scared of the beast inside me. He craves for you," he murmured.
"I am yours, love," she whispered. "For this life and for the next. For eternity."
"For eternity," he repeated. "I will follow you beyond eternity."
And in that instant, she knew that he had actually followed her even though he wasn't sure whether he would survive or not.
He flipped her over. He kissed her in between her wings and down till her hips. Then he pulled her hips up and positioned himself at her entrance. "My beast wants to mark you again," he said in a voice so guttural that she almost came. His fangs lengthened and he licked his venom over them.
She bared her nape to him and said, "I am all yours, love."
With that assurance, he thrust hard in her and at the same time plunged his fangs in her shoulders. She cried loud as both pleasure and pain hit her. He drove inside her, driven with need, with lust, with urgency. Release shattered her vision into a thousand stars and with a low rumble in his chest, he came inside her. He snarled as his body jerked with every hot cum. When he was done, he slumped over her and released her flesh. He licked her again and again over there, until the wound began to heal. "Gods, I love you."
Sated, Anastasia drifted off to sleep once again. No nightmares affected her this time.
When she woke up again, she found that the canopy had retracted and she was sleeping with her wings sprawled on their massive bed, alone. She missed his warmth immediately and got up as panic ran down her spine.
"I am right here, Natsya," he said and rushed to her side.
Relieved, she smiled. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes."
"Mother and Father want to talk to you," he informed her. He was already dressed and wearing a black leather pants with a white shirt that was slightly puffed on the shoulders. A golden chain dangled that tied one side of the collar to the other.
"Oh, okay." She frowned a little.
He rubbed the frown away from her forehead and said, "They want to introduce you to the council members."
Stunned, Anastasia jerked her head back. "Does that mean that we have to meet Lila's father?"
"Yes, the Minister of Relations is going to be there. He has already been apprised of his daughter's treason," Ileus said. He kissed her temple, her forehead and her pointy ears. They twitched. "So fae," he murmured with affection.
Anastasia wondered how the meeting would go. How his reaction is going to be. She let out a ragged breath and then pursed her lips.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. It's a regular meeting. He didn't know of his daughter's activities."
"I see…" she replied, wary of his statement, but she didn't delve further. He helped her to get out of the bed. When she walked in the bathroom, she found the maids waiting for her. Her thoughts wandered to Cora and Pierre and then back to the impending meeting. Why was Anastasia suddenly interested in introducing her to the council members?
The maids made her wear a dark blue gown. Her hair was swept up over which they had made her a tiara crafted from gold and diamonds and gems that sat at regular intervals on the periphery. Her earrings were shaped like crescent moons with a solitaire fixed in the middle of each. They wanted to make her wear a three strips of diamond necklace, but she decided on wearing a thin choker, the pendant of which matched the earrings.
When she stepped out of the room, her eyes met with that of Ileus' and the emotion that waved through his face was enough to make her feel confident. The feathers on her white wings rustled a little under his gaze.
"You look lovely, Anastasia," came Darla's soft voice from the side.
Dragging her eyes away from her husband, Anastasia looked at Darla. She looked stunning. For the first time, Anastasia saw her wearing a violet gown with just a pair of earrings and no other jewelry. She looked stunning. "And you too," Anastasia replied as the two hugged.
"There is a surprise for you waiting in the gardens," said Darla, as Ileus pulled his wife close to him and they walked towards the meeting chambers in the west wing of the palace, surrounded by the guards.
"What surprise?" asked Anastasia.
Suddenly Ileus stopped, gathered her in his arms and kissed her temple and then crashed his lips on hers. Everyone looked away, except Kaizan who was dumbstruck. "Why do you give such dog food to us singles, Ileus?" he said.
