“I like this,” I say. “Having you helpless and naked under me.”

“Can’t say I mind it either,” he answers as I slip my bra strap down on one side and then the other. He watches me with a hungry look as I unhook it and then toss it away. Backing off the bed, I stand up and slowly peel off my underwear as his eyes never leave me.

“Lor,” he growls.

When I’m naked, I crawl over him and lean down to kiss him, driving my tongue into his mouth. He sucks on it, bucking against his restraints as I press my body to his, relishing the feel of his warmth and the hard lines of his chest and thighs.

Pulling up, I tap my bottom lip. “What shall I do with you like this?”

He tugs on the restraints, sitting up as much as he can.

“Sit on my face, Lor,” he growls. “Smother me with your pussy.”

My mouth opens with a gasp of surprise, liquid heat pooling in my stomach. I was supposed to be the one in control here, but I like the sound of that.

I drag my hand down his chest and then I move up, positioning my knees on either side of his head. With one hand on the headboard, I look down and he stretches up, but I hover just out of reach.

“Lor,” he snarls. “Stop fucking with me.”

I gasp and then lower myself with a whimper as his tongue sweeps out to lap my center. “Oh gods,” I whisper as my head tips back, and I grind myself against him. He feasts on me as I grip his hair with my other hand. My hips writhe back and forth as I seek friction while he sucks and nips. It doesn’t take long before I feel my release curling deep in my stomach.

“Give me my hands,” he begs, coming up for air. I release my magic with a snap before he wraps his arms around my thighs and then devours me.

We spend the next few hours exploring one another under the light of the stars and the aurora lights, finding each other over and over.

But he could never truly ruin me.

I think back to that night in the Aurora throne room when the Torch said we were destined for heartbreak and ruin.

At one point, I believed it. At one point, I vowed never to let him have my heart. But it’s his now, every last piece of it.

And he was never my ruin.

He was always my salvation.

Our footsteps crunch over the snow, the night so still and quiet, I can hear my heartbeat. Nadir squeezes my hand as we crest a ridge that offers us a view of The Aurora’s snowy peaks stretching out for miles.