Chapter 346: Warm bed.

Chapter 346: Chapter 346: Warm bed.

Arik pulled back just enough to meet Liam’s eyes. The playful tension had shifted into something quieter, the air between them thickening with the mingled sweetness of saint’s breath and warm stone.

"I do love you," Arik said.

No teasing. No imperial weight behind it. Just the words offered the way he always offered them in moments like this—as though they were the only certainty he had ever needed.

Liam’s throat tightened.

"I know."

Arik kissed his forehead.

Then his nose.

Then the corner of his mouth, lingering there until Liam turned his face to catch the next kiss properly. The hand beneath Liam’s shirt moved again, palm gliding upward with deliberate slowness, as if mapping the rise and fall of each breath.

Liam let his legs fall open.

Arik settled between them, his weight balanced on his forearms. The thick muscle of his thighs pressed against the backs of Liam’s, spreading him wider through the thin fabric of the borrowed shirt.

"Comfortable?" Arik murmured against his lips.

"Extremely."

"Good."

Arik kissed down his jaw.

Liam’s body responded before his mind caught up—his back arching slightly, his fingers finding the warm skin beneath Arik’s collar. Each brush of mouth against his throat sent small shudders through his stomach. His scent sharpened, sweeter now, matching the answering scent rising from Arik’s glands.

Arik opened his mouth over the juncture of Liam’s neck and shoulder.

Just heat and pressure, tongue pressing flat against the sensitive spot where Liam’s bond mark had healed into a permanent claim. The dual sensation of Arik’s mouth and the memory of that first venomous bite made Liam gasp.

"Arik."

"Mm." The sound vibrated against his skin.

"You are being thorough."

"I am being affectionate."

"Thoroughly affectionate."

Arik’s teeth grazed the gland. Just a hint of edge, just enough to make Liam’s hips twitch upward.

Arik pulled back, pupils blown wide despite the low light. "You are already responding."

"I am an omega in bed with my husband," Liam managed. "This is not shocking."

"Your scent is sweeter than usual."

"Your mouth is on my gland."

"And you are not asking me to move it."

Liam’s fingers curled in the bedding. "Why would I?"

Arik’s expression softened into something that made warmth spread low in Liam’s belly. He shifted his weight to one arm, freeing his right hand to slide downward. His palm skimmed over Liam’s ribs, his stomach, and the sharp curve of his hip.

Liam’s legs parted further without conscious thought.

"There now," Arik breathed, thumb tracing a slow circle against the crease of Liam’s thigh. "That’s better."

Liam closed his eyes.

The room had gone hazy with their scents, the air itself thick enough to taste. Arik’s mouth found his again—soft, deep, and patient in a way that made something ache behind Liam’s sternum.

His husband kissed like they had nowhere else to be.

Maybe they didn’t.

Arik’s fingers finally slipped lower, brushing against Liam’s entrance. He was already wet, with the welcome dampness of arousal that had been building since the first kiss.

Liam made a small sound.

"I know," Arik whispered. "I have you."

One finger pushed inside.

Liam’s head tipped back. The stretch was minimal and familiar, but the slowness made it feel overwhelming. Arik worked him open with careful patience, adding a second finger only when Liam’s hips began rolling into the touch.

"Look at me," Arik said.

Liam forced his eyes open.

Golden eyes watched him with naked intensity, the kind that made Liam feel flayed and precious all at once.

"I want to watch you," Arik said. "When I’m inside you."

Liam exhaled shakily. "Then stop delaying."

Arik’s smile was almost shy. A rare expression, reserved for these moments when the Emperor of Nuria was simply a man who loved his husband.

He withdrew his fingers and sat back enough to remove his remaining clothing. Liam watched from the mattress as broad shoulders emerged from the black shirt, as the waistband of Arik’s pants was pushed low enough to free the heavy length of his erection.

Even now, the sight of it made Liam shudder with excitement.

Arik knelt between Liam’s thighs and lifted the oversized shirt the rest of the way, baring him completely to the cool bedroom air. His palms slid beneath Liam’s knees, guiding his legs up and wide.

"Ready?"

Liam reached for him.

Arik lowered himself slowly, the blunt head of his cock pressing against Liam’s slick entrance. The first push was controlled, maddening, stretching him open one slow inch at a time until Liam’s breath came in shallow, uneven gasps.

"There," Arik murmured, seating himself fully. "Just like that."

Liam let out a soundless moan.

Arik’s body surrounded him—his chest against Liam’s thighs, his hands braced on either side of Liam’s head, his cock buried so deep Liam felt it in the base of his throat.

Arik began to move.

Each thrust was deep without being rough. The rhythm built gradually, and beneath it, Arik’s mouth kept returning to his neck. Kissing. Sucking. Letting his teeth drag against the bond mark until Liam was trembling.

"Close," Liam whispered, hardly recognizing his own voice.

Arik angled his hips and thrust again, grinding against that hidden place inside that sent lightning through Liam’s limbs. His hand moved to his hip, anchoring him in place for each stroke.

"Come for me," Arik said quietly. "Just like this."

Liam fell apart at the sound of Arik’s low, sweet order.

The orgasm rolled through him from somewhere deeper than his stomach, clenching around Arik’s length as his body arched off the mattress. He made a broken sound that might have been Arik’s name or might have been nothing at all. His own cock remained untouched, the release drawn out entirely by the pressure and rhythm inside him.

Arik’s hips stuttered.

Liam felt the distinctive swell beginning at the base of Arik’s cock, the knot forming as his husband’s control finally frayed. Arik thrust one last time, pressing deep as the knot tied them together.

Liam felt the first pulse of heat flooding him and gasped again, his body milking Arik through a second, smaller wave of pleasure.

Arik dropped his forehead to Liam’s shoulder, breathing unevenly against his skin.

They stayed locked together, the knot sealing them close while Arik’s release filled him in slow pulses that Liam felt inside him.

Arik kissed his collarbone. "Warm."

Liam’s laugh was breathless. "You are extremely warm."

"I meant—" Arik stopped, voice rough. "This."

Liam understood.

Heated skin, tangled sheets, and the shared scent of satisfied bodies in the soft morning dark. Still connected at the deepest point.

"Yes," Liam said softly, reaching up to stroke Arik’s hair. "It is."

Arik shifted slightly, and Liam winced at the tug of the knot. In response, Arik’s arms tightened around him, pulling him closer.