Kathryne Kennedy - Everlasting Enchantment

He came to her at night, while sleep still shadowed her thoughts. Millicent could hear Nell’s snoring from the other room, even through the closed door. The perpetual twilight that lit the Underground filtered through the open window of the duke’s castle, outlining Gareth’s golden hair with a halo of half-light. He wore the clothing she’d first seen him in, his sword at his side, his body healthy and whole.

“You are alive,” she breathed, relief making her voice tremble.

He sat on the bed, rustling the burgundy-silk covers. He smelled of fresh linen and moonlit nights. “Did you doubt the strength of the curse?”

“No.”

He lowered his face to hers, waves of gold strands falling down his forehead, across his cheeks. “Alas. Could it be possible that you worried for me?”

“Yes—no. Nell said you would be fine.”

“The ladybird is more than she appears, I think.”

She could feel his breath on her lips, the warmth of his body through the thin silk sheet.

Millicent trembled.

He frowned, shadows playing across his straight nose, his full lips, the angles of his cheeks. “I would never harm you.”

“I—I’m not afraid of you.”

“Then you will not fear if I do this.” And he pressed his mouth against hers, gently, hesitantly, as if he touched some delicate object that would shatter with the slightest pressure. Millicent’s eyes drifted shut as all of her senses focused on that caress. On the warmth of his mouth and the sweet slide of his tongue across her lips. She knew the moment she saw him standing nude in the pond that she wanted him, no matter what arguments her mind managed to conjure. Because of her mother’s habits, Millicent had seen many a naked man, and not a one had caused such a response within her body.

Gareth groaned and pressed closer to her. She could feel his muscles tremble as he fought to keep his touch gentle.

Millicent buried her fingers in his hair and showed him she would not break. Perhaps… perhaps the moment she had truly known she would make love to him was when she had thought he’d died. When she had felt such an overwhelming grief that she would have blindly rushed forward to save him if it hadn’t been for Nell reminding her that he was immortal.

Or was he?

Millicent easily pulled his face away from hers, heard him catch a breath at the reminder of her were-strength. “I cannot break your curse. I do not have enough love in my heart to do such a powerful thing.”

“I do not care.”

“So you said. But what if… what if it were possible? Will time catch up with you and turn you to dust?” Her voice cracked, betraying her emotions, her fear of making the wrong choice.

His eyes looked like twin pools of midnight, the light blue barely discernible. “I do not care.”

“I will lose you either way.”

“Are you sure you want to keep me?”

“I—” Millicent frowned. She did not know what she wanted beyond this moment.

He slid his finger across her cheek. “Merlin’s spell be damned. I will make love to you for no other reason than because I want to… because I have to… because I need to make you a part of me, if only for one night.”

And Millicent’s beast, who had lain strangely quiet within her, sensed her weakness and suddenly rose up, demanding this man for her mate. She could not stop the low growl that sounded in the back of her throat. Could not help but pull his face to hers once again, kissing him with a fierceness she feared would startle him.

But Gareth only moaned, met her fierceness with his own, pushing her back against the bedding, his tongue tasting the inside of her mouth, his hands roaming over the silk, exploring, kneading, demanding.

Millicent did not know how he managed to keep her senses overwhelmed and remove his clothing at the same time, but within moments she felt his naked body slide next to hers, his skin warm and smoother than the silk. He felt perfect, his muscles molding against hers, as if they somehow fit like a puzzle into one form. And yet… a flutter of anxiety twisted through her, and she fought the urge to push him away. She wanted him, yes, but feared him all at the same time.

Her beast growled, chiding her for being a coward. But the animal lacked the vulnerabilities of a human heart, acting on instinct and need alone. Her beast had always been a part of her, even in human form, and she had used that side of her nature to save her life and sanity more than once. But she had always controlled the inclinations of the were-cat.

Until now.

Millicent twisted her body on top of Gareth’s, almost tumbling both of them off the bed. The silk sheet flowed off her as if made of water, revealing her nude body to the twilight.

The knight sucked in a breath, staring up at her as if he’d never seen a naked woman before. Ha. Surely he had seen hundreds, perhaps thousands. Millicent growled, confused that the thought made her furious. She shook her head, black strands of hair flying about her face, across her shoulders. Nothing mattered but this moment. She would not think beyond that.

“You are beautiful,” he murmured, gliding his fingers up her hips, to her waist. “Did you know your eyes glow like your cat’s?”

Millicent blinked. She knew her human eyesight held some of her beast’s strength, but no one had ever mentioned that they glowed. The thought made her smile.

Gareth gripped her waist, as if he suddenly feared she would flee. Or as if he sought to hold on to her forever. “I want you, Millicent Pantere. Let me show you how much.”

She would not allow him control. This was her decision, her choice… not his. She would never fall prey to the thought that he had used her. “No.”

And she clasped his hands, brought them up over his head, beside his golden hair. Sadness glittered in his eyes for a moment. But only a moment. For Millicent knew what went where and how—she had not lived with her mother without learning such things. She adjusted her hips, felt the hard length of him slide between her legs, and leaned forward, catching the tip, encasing him with her warmth, impaling herself quickly, with a half growl from her beast.

He murmured her name.

Millicent froze for a moment. It hurt. She had forgotten it was supposed to hurt the first time. But her beast did not care. It urged her to move, to find a rhythm. And before she knew it, the pain had faded to be replaced with… ecstasy. Shivers of pleasure that flowed from her inner core to the very tips of her fingers. Gareth moved beneath her, somehow finding new areas of pleasure inside her.

She let go of his arms to sit up, to arch her back. Yes, it drove him deeper inside her, to a new wealth of feeling. He filled her completely, became a part of her. She had not expected that. Had not expected warmth to flow from him to her heart. Her eyes burned, and it took her a moment to realize that tears caused the sensation.

Tears of happiness.

With his hands free, Gareth sought to touch her everywhere. His callused fingertips felt like hot brands of fire, but like a flame they only licked her body, gently, softly. He created new sensations to add to the heady mix. She arched her breasts into his hands, tingles of heat spreading outward from his touch. He made her throb even harder, until she leaned forward again and tried to press her nub against his skin, hoping to slake that need along with the one already raging inside her womb.

He knew what she needed. Of course he knew. His hand delved between them, those fingers of fire finding the exact place where she needed to be caressed. Millicent fought a scream, her were-beast settling for a gasping mew as her rhythm atop him turned into a mindless frenzy. She did not know what she wanted; she only knew it was just beyond her grasp, just over the yawning precipice before her…

And she fell.

Spinning and twisting, pleasure wracking through her entire being. An overwhelming explosion of sensations that Millicent had never experienced before, had not even known existed. She heard Gareth cry out, felt his body tense and release in time with hers. The beast inside her growled with satisfaction, as if it had instinctively known exactly what would happen.

But she had not known it would be this… rare and wonderful thing.

She collapsed on top of him. Spent. Elated. Confused. And Gareth wrapped his arms around her, easily accommodating her weight, just as he had managed her were-strength.

Such a remarkable man.

Such a pity she would never see him again after tonight.

Gareth awoke a few hours later, a smile curling his mouth as he glanced down at Millicent’s tousled head, her body wrapped around his as if she would never let him go. She had been more magnificent than he had ever dreamed, more beautiful and fierce than he could have ever hoped for. By all that was holy, he thought… he thought he might be falling in love with her. He loved her rough exterior that hid a vulnerable heart, and her devotion to Nell despite her need to protect herself. He even loved her other half. The beast that skulked inside her, acting on instinct, offering a dangerous side to her that no other woman could match.

He could not fathom why this woman seemed so different than all of the others he’d met over the centuries. Gareth only knew he had never felt this way before.

His heart skipped a beat.

Could it be possible?

Was this what Merlin had foretold?

His feelings for Millicent felt much different than what he had thought he’d once felt for Vivian. The decades trapped inside the relic had given him some wisdom, at least. Merlin’s lover had been forbidden fruit, a conquest his youthful arrogance had felt compelled to pursue. He had fooled himself into thinking he was in love with Vivian, had twisted lust into love until he was blinded to the truth.