Chapter 28: Theron

She pulled me into her like gravity.

And I let her.

Her kiss had already cracked the restraint I’d spent years perfecting, but the moment her fingers slid beneath my shirt and curled into my bare skin, something inside me broke.

Delphine wasn't asking for gentleness tonight.

She was asking for me. All of me.

No guards. No silence. No distance.

And gods forgive me—I was done pretending I didn’t want to give it.

She guided me toward the bed, her eyes locked on mine as she backed into the mattress. When her legs hit the edge, I followed, looming over her, caging her in with my arms. Our breath mingled between us, the space narrowing to nothing.

Her lips brushed my jaw as she whispered, “Don’t hold back tonight.”

I exhaled, my control already unraveling thread by thread. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Yes, I do.”

My mouth was on her neck before I could stop myself—lips dragging over the skin just below her ear, tongue flicking at her pulse point. I nipped gently, then sucked hard enough to leave heat, to mark. She gasped, hips arching forward, and I groaned as I pressed against her.

“I’ve thought about this,” I murmured into her skin, “more than I should’ve.”

Her fingers tugged at my shirt. “Then stop thinking.”

I pulled away just enough to strip it off and toss it aside, then went to work on hers. My hands slipped under the hem of her top, dragging it slowly upward, baring inch after inch of soft skin. I leaned down as I uncovered her, kissing the space between her ribs, the underside of her breast, the smooth curve of her hip.

She shivered, and I smiled.

“So sensitive,” I whispered. “I wonder if you know what you do to me.”

I kissed lower, dragging my lips down her abdomen as she leaned back on her elbows, watching me. Her night pants were thin and already clinging. I kissed her through them, slowly, deliberately, my tongue pressing just enough to tease. She made a sound—sharp and breathless—and her hips lifted, seeking more.

I pulled the fabric down her thighs, kissed behind her knee, then her inner thigh, pausing just before I reached where she ached.

“Tell me what you want,” I said, my voice rough.

“You,” she gasped, already breathless.

“Not enough,” I said, lips brushing the inside of her thigh. “Say it, Delphine. Use that brilliant mouth and tell me exactly what you want me to do.”

She looked wrecked already—eyes dark, chest rising and falling in sharp waves.

“I want your mouth,” she said softly. “Please.”

That was all I needed.

I lowered myself between her legs and finally tasted her—slowly, thoroughly, like I was starving and she was the only thing that had ever mattered. She cried out, one hand gripping the sheets, the other tangled in my hair. I groaned into her, letting the vibration ripple through her, and her whole body arched in response.

“Gods,” she gasped. “Theron—”

I slid a finger inside her as I sucked gently, then deeper. Her walls clenched, her hips bucked, and her breath stuttered. I didn’t stop. Didn’t ease up. I coaxed her higher with every stroke of my tongue, every curl of my fingers, every dirty word I murmured against her soaked skin.

“You’re so perfect like this,” I whispered. “Falling apart for me. Letting me ruin you.”

“Don’t stop,” she begged.

“Never,” I promised.

She came with a cry that hit me like lightning—eyes squeezed shut, thighs trembling around my head. I stayed with her through it, licking her through every wave, every tremor, until she was panting and pulling at my shoulders.

I climbed over her, my mouth crashing into hers again—wet and wild and desperate. She could taste herself on my tongue, and she moaned, grinding up into me.

I was already painfully hard, straining against the last of my clothes, and her nails digging into my back told me she wanted all of me now.

“You’re sure?” I asked, breathing hard.

Her eyes found mine—clear, hungry, steady.

“Yes. Gods, yes.”

I shed the rest of my clothes, then hooked my arm under her thigh and pressed into her in one slow, stretching thrust. Her mouth dropped open, and I groaned, burying my face against her neck.

She was tight, warm, wet—everything.

I stilled inside her, savoring it, savoring her.

“Fuck,” I breathed. “You feel like you were made for me.”

She whimpered, wrapping her legs around my waist.

“Move.”

I did.

Slow at first, then faster as she met me thrust for thrust, her hands roaming my body, her mouth finding my throat, my shoulder, anywhere she could reach. I pushed deeper, harder, hitting that spot that made her cry out and clench around me like she was coming undone all over again.

She was wild beneath me—uninhibited, glorious, and mine.

She came again with a sob, her body rippling around me, and I chased my own release seconds after, burying myself deep with a groan as her name fell from my lips like a prayer.

Delphine.

Always Delphine.

We collapsed into the sheets, breathless and tangled, sweat-slicked skin pressed together as the castle pulsed faintly beneath us.

For the first time since I’d met her, I didn’t feel like I was guarding something fragile.

I felt like I had found my equal.

And gods help anyone who tried to take her from me now.

-

Her breathing slowed, soft and unsteady beneath me.

I held her like she was something sacred—arms wrapped around her middle, her thigh draped over mine, her head tucked beneath my chin. Our bodies were still slick with sweat and warm from the afterglow, but neither of us moved to pull away.

I didn’t want to move.

Didn’t want to break the spell that had settled over us.

Her fingers brushed along my ribs lazily, tracing half-formed patterns into my skin.

“You didn’t hold back,” she whispered.

I smiled faintly into her hair. “You told me not to.”

She shifted her head just enough to meet my eyes, her expression soft but unreadable. “Do you regret it?”

The question hit harder than I expected.

“No,” I said immediately. “Not for a second.”

She studied me for a moment longer, and I let her. Let her see the truth of it on my face. I had no defenses left. Nothing I could hide behind. Not after the way I had touched her, spoken to her, come apart in her hands.

Her eyes softened, and she moved closer, curling into my chest.

I shifted the blanket over her bare shoulders and kissed the crown of her head.

“You’re quiet,” she said.

“I don’t know how to be anything else.”

She huffed a soft laugh against my skin. “You were loud a few minutes ago.”

My lips curved. “You bring out a different side of me.”

“I like that side.”

There was a long pause after that. Not uncomfortable—just full. Heavy with things we weren’t quite ready to say.

I broke the silence first.

“I’ve spent so long learning how to stay still. How to hold back. How to keep people just far enough away that they can’t be used against me.” I exhaled. “But with you… I keep forgetting how to protect myself.”

She looked up again, brushing hair from her eyes.

“I don’t want to be your weakness, Theron.”

“You’re not.” I cupped her jaw gently. “You’re the one thing I want to fight for.”

She blinked, lashes fluttering. “That’s… dangerous.”

“Yes,” I said, leaning in until our foreheads touched. “But I’ve never wanted anything safe.”

Her fingers threaded through mine.

“I’ve never had someone choose me,” she whispered. “Not like this. Not because they saw me. People want the magic. The power. The name. Or they want someone to tame. But you…”

“I want you.” I said softly. “The fire. The chaos. The part that talks back even when she’s scared. The witch who made this castle bend around her without permission.”

“You make me feel… steady,” she said.

“And you make me feel alive,” I replied.

We stayed there for a while, bodies tangled in the sheets, magic humming low around us. The castle didn’t pulse, didn’t demand. It rested.

With us.

I kissed her once more—slower, this time. Gentle. Just a promise against her mouth.

Whatever came next, whatever the Council demanded, whatever the vault awakened...

She wasn’t alone in it.

Not anymore.