Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [323]
"Now." Her nails dug into my buttocks, her voice raw. "Please,”
Kneeling between her thighs, I spread them wider. "Now?”
Her hips bucked. "Yes!”
I slid into her with one long, practiced thrust, sliding the length of my body up hers and bracing myself over her.
And somewhat changed between us.
It wasn't that the urgency diminished. It simply …changed. Both of us went very still. Our bodies were joined. She held me. I filled her. The profound, staggering intimacy of the act of love struck me anew, the way it had never struck me with anyone else in the world. I laughed softly.
"Imriel…" Sidonie's eyes were open and filled with wonder.
"I know," I said. "I know.”
When the gods themselves make love, I think it must be like this. All of love's glorious mortal follies, all the tangled clothes and awkward limbs, went away. For a long time, I filled her without moving. I could feel her heart beating. Our breath intermingled. When I did move within her, it was as though the hand of Blessed Elua himself impelled me. Our bodies moved together; rising and falling, rising and falling.
Why do we fit so well together?
A woman's pleasure is different from a man's. It surged like a ship atop the waves, and I drove it, furthering it, our gazes locked on one another. Each trough was deeper, each crest higher than the next, onward and onward and onward. It felt as though I could last forever. It felt like it would never end. I wished it wouldn't.
Still, we were mortal.
I held off and held off, as long as I could, making the moment last, until I could hold no longer. My entire body shuddered as I spent myself in her in one long, exquisite series of spasms.
We lay entangled together, neither wanting to move.
"That was …" I murmured, then realized I had no words for it.
Sidonie touched my cheek. "Yes. It was.”
Chapter Seventy-Three
Waking the following morning in Sidonie's bed, with her naked and warm and tumbled in my arms, was one of the gladdest moments of my life. The sun had risen and filtered blue light filled the pavilion. I held her and watched her sleep until she awoke and smiled at me, her eyes sleepy and heavy-lidded. For the first time in longer than I could remember, I was quietly, peacefully, and utterly happy.
"Good morning, Sun Princess," I said.
"Mmm." Her smile deepened. "We could make it better.”
I daresay we would have, but at the sound of our voices, there was a discreet cough outside the pavilion. "Your highness?" a woman's voice called. "Shall I attend you?”
I groaned. Sidonie kissed me. "Duty beckons.”
Even so, it was strange and wonderful to be there with her, openly and unquestioned. Margot de Monluc, who was wed to Sidonie's Captain of the Guard, entered and greeted us both with cheerful respect. She bustled about the pavilion, bringing a ewer of fresh water and arraying Sidonie's attire for the day.
"Well, that will want mending," she observed in a good-natured tone, folding away the gown I'd torn last night. I found myself growing warm, but Sidonie was unperturbed as ever.
When Margot had departed, I donned my clothes, then sat cross-legged on the pallet and watched Sidonie comb out her hair beside me. "I'm surprised Amarante didn't accompany you," I observed. "I would have thought to see her here.”
"I released her from my service before I left for Alba." She looked at my face and laughed at my shocked expression. "Elua! Released, not dismissed.”
"Why?" I asked.
Sidonie concentrated on a thick tangle. "You know she lacked a year's service to Naamah in order to take her vows as a priestess?" she asked. I nodded. "Well, I would have freed her to do it a long time ago, except she wouldn't have gone. Not until we knew you were safe." She set down the comb. "Whatever lies before us, I don't want Amarante drawn into it.”
"You think she would have been?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I've been working to get the support of the priesthood. Her mother is the head of Naamah's Order. Even the semblance of influence