Heat of the Dawn : Callista

I woke with a start, my body heavy and aching as if I had been running for hours. My nightgown was twisted, my hair a wild tangle across my pillow. As I reached up to touch my lip, I found it swollen and tender, though the memory of how it happened felt like a fading dream. Then, I saw it: the door was slightly ajar.

​Turning away from the door, my breath hitched. In the pale moonlight streaming through the window, I saw him. Emrys was sitting there, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.

​"What are you doing here, Brother?" I demanded, my voice trembling with a mix of shock and indignation.

​He didn't answer. Instead, he moved with a predator’s grace, his hand sliding beneath the fabric of my gown, tracing the curve of my waist before pulling me sharply against him. A gasp escaped me.

​"Didn't you want this, Callista?" he murmured, his voice a dark caress near my ear. "You seemed to find it quite enjoyable in your sleep."

​"Stop this, Emrys!" I hissed, though my heart was racing for reasons I couldn't admit. "If Father finds out—and the Princess... you are to be wed to—"

​He cut me off with a kiss that was less a plea and more a reclamation. It was fierce and possessive, silencing my protests. When he finally pulled back just an inch, his breath was hot against my skin. "Do not speak of anyone else now," he commanded.

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...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

​He moved over me, his weight both a burden and a comfort, caging me within the strength of his arms. As the silk of my gown was swept aside, I felt a wave of vulnerability and instinctively tried to shield myself. But Emrys was relentless. He pinned my wrists above my head with one hand, his gaze burning into mine as his other hand claimed me, tracing the lines of my body with a feverish desperation.

​The world outside—the alliance, the war, the impending wedding—vanished. There was only the heat of his mouth against my neck and the sharp, electrifying pull of a desire that had been buried far too long. Every touch was an awakening, a painful reminder of why I had been dreaming of him.

​I found myself calling his name, my fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer as the tension between us reached a breaking point. I wanted to lose myself in him, to forget the blood we shared and the laws we were breaking. The ache in my chest was matched only by the hunger in his eyes as he looked down at me, seeing the ruin he was making of my resolve.

​

...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

​The air in the room grew thin as the encounter turned more frantic. The restraint he usually wore like armor had completely shattered. I clung to him, my nails digging into the muscles of his back as the sheer intensity of the moment pushed me toward a precipice. I was no longer thinking of consequences; I was drowning in the sensation of being his, and only his, even if just for this stolen hour.

​"Please," I whispered, the word a ragged plea against his shoulder. I wanted every part of this forbidden fire, wanted the mark of him to stay with me long after the sun rose.

​As the moonlight shifted across the floor, the fever reached its peak. Emrys’ breath hitched, his movements becoming heavy and desperate until, with a final, shuddering release, the tension broke. He collapsed against me, his forehead resting against mine, both of us gasping for air in the sudden, ringing silence of the room.

​The reality of what we had done settled over us like ash. He pulled away slowly, leaving me cold in the dampness of the night, the evidence of our betrayal staining the sheets between us.

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