ELRETH

The loss of Aaryn against her was such a shock, for a moment she just stood there, his warmth at her back, his arms embracing her, holding her close, his chest heaving against her back. His breath was hot on the back of her neck and his body, demanding, still rolled against her.

Elreth raised her head, panting. "What—?"

He pressed the flat of his tongue against the nape of her neck, then sucked and goosebumps washed down her back. One of his hands slid down to find the apex of her thighs and she arched as he found her there, slick and swollen, her flesh yearning for him.

Dropping her head back against his shoulder, her breath rasped in and out of her throat. The skin on her back shivered deliciously at the sensation of him pressed against her, coupled with the warm press of his hand between her legs.

Then he found that spot, just right and she groaned as every hair on her body stood up and that glittering wave of bliss began to beckon the horizon of her mind.

"Aaryn!" She reached back with one hand, clapping it to the back of his neck, holding him close as he continued to roll against her from the back, while his talented fingers probed and slid, and her entire skin became a tuning fork, humming with the note that only he had ever played.

Kissing his way across, he huffed the mating call against her shoulder and she groaned it back as he urged her to open her legs wider.

For a split second her embarrassment flashed. If someone were to see them like this!

But then he stroked the inside of her thigh with soft fingers, before finding her core and her breath caught.

"Aaryn… Aaryn…"

"Let go," he rasped, his breath hot, thundering in her ear. "We're just beginning. Let go, El." He kissed the corner of her jaw then focused all of his attention at that sparkling point between her thighs, and Elreth stopped thinking and became a bundle of sensations, electric jangling pleasure that made her goosebump, broke strange noises from her throat, and made her knees shake.

"I have you," he croaked. "Let go." Then, just as he slid his fingers from her core up to that bundle of nerves, he also took her breast in his hand, pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

Elreth's knees gave and he caught her weight as she cried out, lifting her and carrying her the few feet to the couch where they'd almost mated the first time. Her body was still rolling in waves of pleasure when, instead of laying her down and covering her, as he'd always done in the past, he placed her kneeling on the seat, taking her hand and gripping it to the back of the couch and taking himself in hand, pressing into her in one long, slow slide that she felt in the soles of her feet as her body clamped down on him and the wave of sheer joy within her broke again.

Her entire body trembled with it. She couldn't breathe.

A few seconds later when she sucked in a breath, her eyes blinking, trying to see straight, Elreth cursed and, without thinking, pressed back against him—discovering an entirely new world of pleasure as he took her from behind.

But, twining their fingers on the back of the couch, Aaryn hesitated, holding her tightly to his chest as he curved over her back, his mouth at her ear, his breath thundering across her cheek.

"Are… are you okay?" Elreth gasped.

Aaryn spluttered his own laugh then. "I'm way too okay, Elreth," he groaned. "I'm trying not to okay may way into finishing this too soon. Just… give me a second."

Elreth didn't mind—she kind of needed a second to catch her breath. But she was worried about him. His entire body shook, and there was a dark edge in his voice that she'd never heard before.

Squeezing his fingers between her own on the back of the couch, she whispered, "I'm here."

"Creator's Light, Elreth. I know. And… and you're fucking perfect."

She was about to make a joke about the appropriateness of the curse when Aaryn groaned and straightened, grasping her hips and pulling her back against him as he thrust into her with a guttural, shuddering groan.

"Oh… oh!" Elreth gasped and gripped the couch with both hands.

Then, his large hands gripping her so hard she felt his fingernails bite her skin, he began to thrust into her slowly, intently, groaning her name, pulling all the way out, then plunging back in until she felt every inch of him and her knees began to shake again.

When she had the rhythm of it and he'd found his control, Aaryn began to stroke her, first drawing his fingers down her spine, then reaching around to her stomach, her breasts, his fingers leaving glittering trails of cold sparks everywhere he touched.

Elreth's entire skin throbbed with the force of the orgasm she'd already had. She'd thought that would be it, that she would just enjoy him now. But when he combed her hair back with his fingers and began to kiss the back of her neck while still pulling slowly out and plunging back in, she began to shiver again.

Slowly, patiently, he increased the speed of their joining, resisting her when she began to press back more quickly, pleading with him.

Then he nibbled on her ear lobe and let one hand drag down her stomach, back to her hip. Elreth moaned his name and he shushed her, drawing himself in and out of her with such perfect balance of pressure and patience, that she swore.

With a rich chuckle when she whined his name, he leaned over her again, taking both breasts in his hands and whispering in her ear, "Hold on," with all the force and power of the Alpha within him.

Elreth groaned, her fingers tightening on the back of the couch without her permission.

**** Privilege Warning & Mass Release ****

1. Don't forget: DO NOT buy expensive privilege tiers this late in the month, because privilege resets on 1 October (30 September for the USA) and you would have to pay again! Wait until the monthly reset and enjoy your privilege access for the full calendar month for a single charge! QUEEN will remain on 45 available chapters this month, but I have dropped the prices of the tiers, so if you do choose to buy the top tier, you'll get them 300 coins cheaper than last month!

2.. Unfortunately QUEEN didn't earn any extra chapters through Golden Tickets this month, but I'm so grateful for your ongoing support, gifts, comments and reading, that I've added a bonus chapter for your summoning pens on the last day of the (AllNovelFull) month. I hope you enjoy!