“My anchor,” he murmurs. “My mortal. You know you’re mine, don’t you?” And he thrusts deeper into me, impossibly. He’s claiming all of me, driving me down on his length. “You know that this cunt belongs to me. That these legs are going to clench around no hips but mine.”

I twist my hand in his hair. “You have to promise me the same.”

He laughs, and I feel the movements all through my body, but especially in my pussy. “How demanding of you, my anchor.” The words are full of affection. “You think I would touch another when I can touch you? No mortal has interested me in millennia. They are nothing to me. And then you come along, and…” He thrusts deep into me, and I cling to his neck, whimpering. “You have bewitched me. You have made me want things I have not wanted in a very long time.”

“Good,” I manage, rocking my hips against the massive length of his cock. “Good. I don’t want you to want anyone but me.”

Aron laughs again, and then he pumps into me once more. Not as hard, but when his hips begin to rock in a steady rhythm, it sends all kinds of new sensations through me. I don’t know if this is better or worse—killing me fast with each hard, rough stroke, or killing me with small, quick pumps.

All I know is that it all feels amazing.

“You’re mine,” he whispers as I cling to him and try to set pace with his rhythm. He moves so fast that all I can do is hang on to him while he fucks me. As he moves, his hands go back to my hips and then he’s drawing me down with rough strokes even as he spears into me, making each thrust as hard and fierce as he can.

And oh god, it’s so good that it doesn’t take long for that tingle to spiral through my belly. He’s not even rubbing my clit and I feel as if I’m going to come. “Aron,” I pant. “Fuck, Aron, I need—”

“I know,” he murmurs, and then, impossibly, shifts the angle of his thrusts.

I cry out as it rubs something inside me, something white hot and so good that my legs jerk like a puppet’s, and then I’m coming, everything clenching and growing tight as he fucks the hell out of me. He growls low in his throat again, and his thrusts change, becoming hard and rough, and thunder crashes overhead as he comes, burying his face against my throat as I gasp for breath.

We rest against the wall, panting and breathless, until I’m vaguely aware that the insides of my thighs are sticky with come, both his and mine, and I’ve thrown my head back so often that half of my hair feels stuck to the spiderwebs on the wall. Aron lazily kisses my neck, pressing his lips to my pulse. I’m not ready to move yet.

My stomach growls.

Aron chuckles. “Hungry?”

“Always,” I admit.

He leans in and kisses me again, this time softer, gentler, and then he eases his cock out of me, leaving me feeling as hollow as one of those chocolate Easter bunnies. I wonder if anyone would notice if I walked bow-legged back up to our rooms? Probably.

Aron sets me down gently on the ground and my knees wobble, and I have to lean on him for support. This time, he frowns. “You are weak?”

“Aron,” I say, exasperated. “You just fucked the shit out of me. Of course I’m weak in the knees.”

He studies me, as if to reassure himself, and then the look he gives me is definitely post-coital smugness. “I was excellent, wasn’t I? Not rusty at all.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not giving you a trophy, if that’s what you’re aiming for. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that your other Aspect slept with Yulenna. You’re not as unskilled as you pretend.”

Aron grunts at that and helps me adjust my skirts. “I thought about it for a while, because she holds no interest for me and I tried to understand my other Aspect. Why he would do that.”

“What was the reason, then?”

“The wizard must have wanted her. I—that Aron—would have taken her just to prove he could.”

“Well that sounds dickish.”

“I never said I was a nice man, Faith. Or that I was a just god. I am a god of battle.” He caresses my cheek, gazing at me thoughtfully. “And of storms. That means I have a temper. I rush into decisions. But I will never touch another human, not when I have you. So you need not worry over such things.”

“Oh, I’m not worried.” And I’m not. Aron could have had Yulenna a hundred times over. It doesn’t matter that she’s upstairs messing around with Solat. She’s made it quite clear that she’s here for Aron’s pleasure and no one else’s. As for Aron? He’s pretty much looked at her like he’s looked at the others - as people to be tolerated, not enjoyed. Strangely enough, I’m not threatened. I smile fondly as he carefully pulls my hair free from the spiderwebs on the wall, because even now he’s taking care of me.

“What made you change your mind?” I have to ask. “You said it was a bad idea for us to get together.”

“It is.” He frees the last bit of my hair and then puts an arm around my waist. “It’s a mistake for any warlord to focus on anything but the battle at hand. You are a distraction I don’t need, but I am already lost.” His gaze moves over me possessively. “When I thought the Spidae had sent you home, I realized how much I need you with me if we are going to win.”

My heart gives a painful little squeeze, because I know there’s no winning this. Not the way he thinks. “I want you to be the last Aspect standing.”

“With you at my side.” Aron grins at me.

I try to smile back, though it feels forced. “Can we eat now? I’m starving.”

He pulls me against his side, holding me close against him as he walks. Hell, he’s half carrying me, but I don’t mind. I like leaning against him as we head back up the winding ramp. “There is food back in the bedchamber. We’ll send the others packing and then I will feed you so you’re not weak the next time I take you.”

His hot look promises a very toe-curling taking indeed, and my stomach flutters. Even though I ache in all the right ways, I totally want to do that again. I’m still wet with his seed from a few minutes ago, and I can feel it slicking my pussy and inner thighs when I walk.

I think of the bed upstairs, where I’d slept next to Yulenna. Yeah, they’ll definitely have to find somewhere else to sleep. “Maybe there’s another room the others can set up in.”

He grunts. “No need. We’ll be leaving once I get answers from the Spidae. Tomorrow, hopefully.”

“Tomorrow?” I echo, and I’m suddenly exhausted. I don’t want to leave tomorrow. Suddenly, I don’t want to leave, ever. I want to stay right here, in this creepy, spider-infested tower, because it means I’m here with Aron and the outside world is a billion years away…or at least over the other side of the mountains. Here, we can be left alone.

No wonder the Spidae said I’d request time to relax. Right now, that’s what I want more than anything. I stop walking and turn to Aron. “The Spidae told me where we need to go.” I don’t want to withhold the information from him, because that seems wrong. “I know where we need to go, but Aron, can’t we stay here for a while? Rest? Relax? Enjoy ourselves for a few weeks?”

“Here?” He arches an eyebrow, surprised, and those mismatched eyes study me. “Are you that tired?”

“Yes. No. I mean, if I have to, I can keep up. I’m just so tired of racing from one place to another.” I sigh and lean forward, and he pulls me against him so I can cuddle against his chest. “It seems like ever since I met you, we’ve been running from someone or to someone. Can’t we just relax and take a break for a few weeks? Do you have a deadline? Is there a time you have to be back by?”

I can feel the laughter rumble up in his chest. “A deadline? No. There are some gods who never returned from the last Anticipation. Kassam, the lord of the wild, is still missing. And Tadekha remained here in the mortal realm in her Citadel. You met her.”

Oh, I can’t forget good ol’ Tadekha. “I remember. So this doesn’t have to be done soon?” I look up at him. “I don’t care that this tower is weird. I just want to relax and wake up knowing I don’t have to do anything that day except spend time with you. That sounds like paradise.”