Luna was resting against Lukas's chest. He had fallen asleep a long time ago.
He seemed to have even less stamina than her. But that couldn't be right. He was a Lycan. He hadn't been walking heavily or even breathing hard when they had returned to the carriage.
So why was he already asleep?
Luna sighed deeply.
And his body shifted.
She barely had time to sit up when his arms were wrapped around her, and then she was pressed face first into the mattress.
Luna let out a small squeak, and then he leaned down and nipped her ear. Immediately, she shut her mouth.
That level of dominance sent a clear message. Shut up. Lukas didn't hurt her, he was gentle with her. Usually. But even so, she felt a small thrill up her spine. She wasn't sure what she wanted. But Lukas would know.
"Please," she whimpered softly. Then she fell silent.
They lay still like that for a moment, simply feeling.
Luna felt his heat and his power, mentally reveling in each sensation one at a time.
His strength against her. The feel of his arms around her. The way that she was pressed into the mattress under him. The way his breath hit her neck.
Luna was content to simply feel for a moment. To be still and soak it in. She didn't need to move quickly, or be loud or struggle against him.
All she needed was him.
She loved how careful he was with her. Like she was a glass vase that he was trying his hardest not to break. It was so endearing. He acted like she was fragile. And precious.
Like she was the most precious thing in the world.
She loved him for it. Because he didn't do it just make her feel better. He did it because that was who he was. A gentle, kind, caring person.
A deadly warrior like this for her... It sent more tremors through her, though she tried to stay as still as possible.
She could feel every inch of his muscles against her body. His chest was pressed flush to her arched back, and his heartbeat thumped in her chest.
They were synchronized. She couldn't tell whose heart was whose, or which beat belonged to her. There wasn't even a fraction of a second of delay between them.
When he began to move, she followed his lead.
He straightened slowly, and she pushed herself up, then she reached back and grabbed his arms, using them to pull herself up straight. Before she turned herself around, he did it for her, lifting her slightly and turning her to face him.
Luna reached up and cupped his face.
Even with the mask it was beautiful. But without it...
Without it it was perfect.
Luna slowly slid her fingers back, turning her hands so that they were able to touch the place where his mask ended. She hooked them slowly, watching his mouth for any sign of discomfort or displeasure.
Then her fingers slid into place. As though they were clicking into their home, they slipped under and around his mask, displacing it slightly. Pulling it forward.
It was off. But it was still in the way.
She pulled his mask forward towards her, until it was no longer attached to him. She turned her head away as she moved the mask, shifting herself up to her knees to crawl to the edge of the mattress, where there was a small table. There was a soft but solid mold there, lined in velvet. It was shaped just like the mask.
Luna traced two fingers across where the eyes would be, then she put the mask in its place and sat back on her heels.
He came up behind her again.
She heard the creaking of the bed, like the shifting of some massive wagon, then his hand fell on her waist.
Luna turned and finally looked at him.
She landed closer, enraptured by the sight of his eyes. They burned with something dark, and the sight of that fire triggered something in her stomach to coil tight and something else, a little lower, to loosen.
She shivered as her warmth was drawn inwards to fuel the fire burning there. Lukas noticed, and quickly wrapped his arms around her again, then pulled her up into his lap.
Luna made a soft sound, shifting closer in his lap, then she closed her eyes. His fingers touched her, moved her head. Then something soft pressed against her.
Something gentle and beautiful brushed her lips, and she responded eagerly, leaning upwards slightly.
The kiss deepened as twilight left, and then the world was dark but for the distant torches and the flames of their passion.
Lost in each other, they didn't see it when it came. But come it would.
Chaos loomed on the horizon. And as it looked at them, it sneered.