The Ranch {Epilogue}
An A Court of Thorns and Roses, Nesta x Cassian, Modern AU, fanfiction.
Collaboration: @snelbz x @tacmc
Summary: Nesta had spent years in Paris, living her dream and drowning in riches as a gourmet chef, capturing the hearts of the city and its people. But, after her father passes away unexpectedly and leaves his cozy, countryside B&B to his oldest daughter, Nesta is moving back home to the tiny town of Velaris, where the ranch, her sisters, and her father’s unfulfilled dream, awaits.
Nesta took a deep breath, every emotion she had ever felt toward Cassian Nazari coming to the surface. She hadn’t seen him in over twenty-four hours, and it had been the longest she had been without him since they’d been together.
She hated it.
But, it would all be worth it.
She looked in the mirror, admiring herself, shamelessly. It was a day she had dreamt of for so long, a day she had planned for and waited for, longingly.
A day she had almost thought would never come.
A cry from down the hall had her turning away from the mirror and towards her daughter’s bedroom, where her sisters were supposed to be getting her ready. She sighed, glanced into the hallway to make sure there was no sign of Cassian and hurried down the hall.
“No!” Sloan was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner, the little dress with the pink tutu in her Aunt Elain’s outstretched hands. “No pink!”
“This is what you have to wear today, sweet girl,” Elain explained. “It’s what mommy picked out for you.”
She shook her head, not yet noticing Nesta standing in the doorway. Feyre stood off to the side, rubbing her round stomach and sighed. “I’m hoping she’s as stubborn as she is thanks to Cass and that’s not an Archeron thing.”
Nesta scoffed, “It’s a Sloan thing,” before entering her daughter’s room.
“Mama!” She said, lifting her arms to be picked up the second she saw her. Nesta did so and Sloan pointed at the dress in Elain’s hands. “Mine?”
The one word sentences had become a very normal thing in their house. No was her favorite word, but Beau Beau was a close second.
“Yes, yours, isn’t it beautiful?” Nesta asked.
Sloan crossed her little arms. “No.”
Nesta sighed, setting Sloan on the ground. She was more of a run in her underwear through the mud type of little lady.
Which she got from her father.
“Daddy wants you to wear this dress,” Nesta pushed. “And when the wedding is done, you can change.”
Sloan’s little lips pursed together. “No pink.”
“Mama loves pink.”
“No pink.”
Nesta hung her head, exasperated. “Get Cass. She’ll do whatever he asks.”
Feyre chuckled but nodded. “Make yourself scarce. I’ll be back in five.”
Nesta did just that, re-entering her own bedroom, and putting on her jewelry and slipping her mother’s pins into her hair, the last touches she needed to be ready to walk down the aisle. To marry her best friend.
Speaking of, she heard slow, heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and it took everything she had not to throw open the door, grab his face and kiss him until she was lightheaded.
She would do more than that tonight.
But for now she had to wait, and her heart melted when she heard him ask, “Where did they find a dress for a princess as beautiful as you, huh?”
The giggle she heard next was the telltale daddy’s throwing me in the air giggle, which she adored, but stressed her out to no end.
“No pink, daddy,” she heard a minute later.
“Yes, pink,” Cassian said, his tone matching hers. “Because mommy loves this dress, and we love mommy.”
There was a small stretch of silence before she heard Cassian say, “If you put this dress on, daddy will give you a sucker.”
Nesta rolled her eyes, but Sloan’s excited giggled floated through the air. She supposed there were worse ways to get Sloan into her dress, although Nesta hoped all sucker goo stayed off Sloan’s dress until pictures were done.
Nesta glanced at the clock on the wall.
She had twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes too long. Nesta was ready to marry Cassian, and she was ready to marry him now.
She was in the bathroom, touching up her make up one last time, when she heard her door open and quick footsteps ran across the hardwood before when the bathroom door was shoved open. Sloan stood there, a broad grin on her face. Her blue-gray eyes, Nesta’s eyes, were sparkling and Nesta couldn’t help but grin back.
“Princess, mama!” She announced, holding onto the edges of the tutu.
“You’re the most beautiful princess I’ve ever seen,” Nesta said, picking her up, and gazing in the mirror.
There were days Nesta swore she was the spitting image of her father, but that was usually when she was getting into something she wasn’t supposed to. Right now though, save for her naturally olive complexion and her dark hair, she looked so much like herself.
“Do you remember where you’re supposed to go when your basket is empty?” Nesta asked, picking the small basket up from where it sat next to her bouquet.
“Beau Beau,” she replied confidently and Nesta chuckled.
“No, baby. You can either stand with Aunt Elain or sit with Mor and Vivi.”
“Aunt Lainey,” she said, squirming to get down.
“I know, we love Aunt Lainey,” Nesta confirmed, setting her back on the floor.
Elain came in, Feyre just behind her, and both of them were smiling, softly.
“Are you ready to get into place?” Feyre asked.
Nesta looked at herself one last time before she nodded. “So ready.”
Elain picked up Sloan before slipping her other hand in Nesta’s. Feyre did the same on Nesta’s other side, then they were walking down the stairs together.
The house was empty, all except for Azriel, who stood at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled upon seeing the women come into view. After kissing Elain’s forehead, he held his hand out to Nesta.
“Ready?” He asked, quietly, his smile fully genuine.
She took it and said, “You have no idea.”
Music began to play from out front and Nesta looked at her sisters.
Elain whispered, “It’s time.”
Feyre was the first one Cassian saw, carrying Sloan down the porch steps. She looked radiant, absolutely glowing at six months pregnant. A glance over at his brother told him he thought so, too. But when she set his daughter on her feet and she gripped onto Beau’s tuxedo collar, he thought his heart might burst. Nesta had rolled her eyes, but never objected. Beau was a part of the family, there was no way he wasn’t going to be in the wedding.
But his sweet girl, his Sloan was so beautiful. He never thought he could love someone as much as he loved Nesta, so all consuming and vital to his happiness. But then Sloan came crashing into his world, and he couldn’t imagine a second without her. He wiped at his face, and chuckled to himself, knowing if he was crying seeing his baby girl, he had no hope when his beautiful fiancée stepped out of their home’s front door.
Feyre stepped to the side and Cassian whistled quietly. Beau began walking towards him slowly, careful not to make the baby tumble over. He wasn’t nearly as excitable as he was when he was a puppy, but Sloan was his entire world and he would never do anything to hurt her.
Halfway down the aisle, Sloan finally noticed who was at the end, and cried, “Daddy!” before happily giggling down the rest of the walk.
Except it was more of a run.
The white rose petals in the basket were forgotten as she hurried to her daddy.
So much for standing with Elain as planned.
Cassian laughed as he scooped Sloan up in his arms, her little hands flat out against his chest before her head fell into his shoulder.
Feyre couldn’t help but laugh as she followed her niece.
Elain was next, shaking her head with a smile as she took in the scene before her, underneath the archway draped in floral and greenery. She winked at her about-to-be brother-in-law as she stepped up in front of Feyre, but Cassian’s eyes never wavered from the door, which Nesta would be walking through any second.
Excitement flooded his body, and he held onto Sloan a little bit tighter as that front door opened, once again, and Azriel stepped out, Nesta on his arm.
He forgot how to breathe. The dress she wore was simple, elegant lace with a beaded belt. It was plain enough that it let her beauty shine, but she never needed any help with that. Her smile was the most gorgeous sight in the world, but when she saw him at the end of the aisle, holding their precious baby, she couldn’t help but cover it up. He heard the teary laugh from across the yard and couldn’t stop his own.
“Mama pretty,” Sloan whispered, and his arms tightened around her.
“Yes, she is.”
The walk down the aisle was the longest walk of Nesta’s life. If it wasn’t for Azriel’s calming presence - and very firm grip - on her arm, she was fairly sure she would have sprinted across the grass and thrown her arms around him. But she kept her pace, walking in time to the music they selected, and then she was standing in front of Cassian.
The officiant didn’t ask who gave Nesta away, Azriel just stepped to the side, taking his spot next to Rhys, and Nesta took Cassian’s outstretched hand. Her heart had belonged to him since she arrived back in Velaris. There was no need to give a blessing when they’d already been so blessed beyond comparison.
The ceremony was relatively short, mostly because Nesta had told the officiant beforehand to marry them as quickly as possible, because she just couldn’t wait any longer. Once the vows had been said, and Cassian kissed his bride, they were swept away into a mess of pictures and greetings and whatever else. Nesta didn’t care, though. She would do the messy wedding thing, as long as Cassian didn’t leave her side.
After the pictures, Sloan fell asleep on Cassian’s shoulder, and after they got pictures of that, she was being carried away by Feyre, who was begging to sit down from her own pregnancy exhaustion.
As everyone ate the extravagant meal they had catered, Cassian took Nesta’s hand and pulled her away.
“Hope you’re not too hungry,” he muttered, pulling her around the side of the house as the sun sank down behind the hillside.
“No,” she laughed, “but I’m surprised you’re not.”
He winked. “I can eat later. But right now, I want to spend time with my wife.”
She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and tilting her head slightly. “Is it fun to say?”
His grin was breathtaking. “Oh, it’s fun. You should try it.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t, there’s no one here but my husband to appreciate it.” She was smiling so hard that her cheeks hurt. “You’re right, it’s fun.”
Cassian cupped her face and kissed her softly. “Are you having a good time?”
“Of course, I am,” she said, looking back to where some of their friends and family were still eating and others had already jumped on the dance floor. “This day is everything I ever dreamed it would be.”
“It sure was a hell of a time getting here,” he breathed, brushing a curled strand of hair out of her face. “And to think it wasn’t too long ago that I thought you were just a spoiled, rude, beautiful woman.”
Nesta chuckled. “You don’t still think that?”
“The beautiful part, maybe,” he grinned. “And the spoiled part. But just because you’re spoiled by me.”
“We both are,” Nesta chuckled. “Me and that baby that’s passed out on my sister, drooling on her beautiful gown.”
“I love that baby,” Cassian whispered. “And her mama.”
“Would it be rude to tell everyone to go home so that I can take you upstairs?” Nesta whispered, her hands on his chest.
Cassian laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist. “We can't very well kick the people out before they’ve eaten dinner, I feel like you of all people should know that.”
She smiled and rested her head against Cassian’s chest. “I know, wishful thinking.”
He kissed the top of her head and smiled. “Everything is so crazy back there, I just wanted a minute alone with you.”
Nesta was gazing out towards where that cottage used to be, at the long driveway they had put in, that would lead right to the restaurant Nesta had plans for. The cottage was gone, but the memories still lingered, eighteen months later.
She leaned into his chest and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent. She wanted to savor the moment, wanting to remember every second, wanted to dedicate every inch of him in his wedding attire to memory. They only got one wedding day, and although it was busy and stressful and overwhelming, it was all about them, their love, their little family, and how far they had come.
Laughter and conversation floated from the back of the house, where the guests were gathered, eating and enjoying each other, celebrating.
“I guess I should go check if Sloan is still asleep on Aunt Feyre,” Nesta whispered.
“You should check if Aunt Feyre is sleeping,” Cassian countered. She’d had a rough pregnancy thus far. Sick, weak, and ready for her baby to be brought into the world.
“Come on,” she smiled. “Let’s go be merry and married.”
He followed her and they did just that, sharing their first dance, cutting the cake, tossing the bouquet and the garter - which just happened to end up in Lucien and Vassa’s hands - and then they were ready for their grand exit.
Since they got married in their home, they decided to take the truck down to the cabin, and Az and Elain would stay in the main house with Sloan. She was just now getting used to sleeping in her own crib and Nesta was not on board for throwing that off.
After a quick goodnight, tucking her in and letting her sleep in her “princess dress”, they were hurrying down the stairs.
“We’re just down the hill, call us if you need us,” Cassian explained before they walked out to where the truck and their remaining family and friends waited.
“We’ve got this,” Elain smiled and Nesta hugged her.
“Hang her dress up once she’s asleep, please,” Nesta said. “We were not getting it off of her awake.”
Azriel snorted. “Got it.”
Nesta hesitated. “And...you know...if you want to send me little updates now and then-.”
“We’re a quarter of a mile away,” Elain reminded her, with gentle eyes.
Nesta had never spent a full night away from Sloan. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her family, but the thought of anything happening to Sloan, after what they had been through, was unfathomable.
“I’ll keep you updated if you promise to go enjoy yourselves,” Elain followed. “Now, go!”
Nesta chuckled as she climbed into the truck. “Fine, fine.”
After another round of goodbyes and thank yous, they were headed down the driveway, toward the little cabin, where they would spend their first night together as man and wife.
The same place they’d spent so many of their early days. Thinking of that had Nesta smiling as they parked in front of the cabin.
“You’re so gorgeous.”
She looked over to where he was sitting behind the wheel. In a pair of nice, clean jeans, a crisp button down, a vest, and, of course, his boots, Nesta couldn’t get over how handsome he looked. Even Sloan had said so, announcing to everyone how pretty her daddy looked. She blushed and looked at her hands, the sparkling diamond on her finger and the platinum band sitting alongside it. Cassian reached across the middle console and turned her chin to face him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she smiled, leaning into his touch.
He opened to the truck door and she unbuckled her seat belt, moving to do the same. “Stay right there,” he ordered, hopping out and hurrying around to her side.
Opening her door, he slid his hands underneath her dress and scooped her up, making her giggle as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying you across the threshold.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
She laughed as he climbed the porch steps and said, “We don’t live here though.”
“We used to,” he smirked down at her. “Same difference.”
She rolled her eyes but definitely didn’t protest as he carried her up the porch stairs, kicked open the door, and carried her inside. He didn’t set her down until they were in the bedroom, and she gasped upon entering.
Rose petals were scattered across the bed, candles were everywhere. Last time Nesta had seen Cassian's old bedroom in the cabin, it was being used as storage. Now, it was as beautiful as any honeymoon suite.
“I was busy this morning,” Cassian said, quietly, reading her thoughts.
He laid her down, gently, on the bed.
“It’s perfect,” she promised, smiling faintly.
Cassian went back out to grab their bag from the truck, then shut the front door, and she heard the lock move into place.
Nesta checked her phone quickly to make sure Elain hadn’t texted, even though they’d been gone less than five minutes.
“What the hell are you gonna do when she goes to school?” Cassian asked, grinning, as he came back into the bedroom, the duffel bag Nesta had packed for them tossed over his shoulder.
“I have years before I have to deal with that,” Nesta said, sighing, putting her phone on the nightstand. “Thank the gods.”
Cassian held out his hand and Nesta took it, standing and wrapping his arms around his waist. He did the same and leaned down to brush a kiss against her lips. “You’re such an amazing mother. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
Her eyes were bright, and she looked absolutely radiant as she looked up at him. “One of them?” She asked. “What else is on that list?”
“Your love for our family.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Your tenacity.” Her cheek. “Your loyalty.” Her jaw. “Your bad ass cooking.” Her neck. “And I can’t forget your tits.”
Nesta laughed and grabbed his face, pressing her lips to his. “Shut up and make love to your wife.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice,” he muttered, leaning down to kiss her again, but she was pushing against his chest.
He raised a brow. “Was that a tease? If it was, it wasn’t very nice.”
She snorted, and shook her head as she turned around. “First, you have to get me out of all these buttons.”
Cassian blinked.
There were a lot of buttons.
“Why couldn’t you have gotten a dress with a zipper?” Cassian mumbled, starting at the top to undo the long line of buttons, one by one.
“You don’t like this one?” Nesta asked.
Cassian laughed a breathy laugh. “When I saw you step out of that house, I cried.”
Nesta looked at him over her shoulder as the dress became loose.
“The dress is stunning, but you could’ve worn a paper sack and I would’ve still cried,” Cassian continued, meeting her gaze.
That gaze made Nesta feel like she was on fire.
The things this man could do to her with just a look, with just a word.
Her husband.
She felt the last of the buttons separate and she let her dress fall to the floor before turning to face him.
His eyes were wide. “Wow.”
Wow was right.
Feyre and Elain had taken Nesta lingerie shopping for her bachelorette party. Feyre couldn’t drink and the other two agreed to suffer in solidarity, but Nesta didn’t complain. Any time with her sisters was perfect, even if wine wasn’t involved.
Cassian dragged a calloused finger along the boning of the white corset and then down the strap of the garter belt.
Suddenly, Nesta felt self conscious in all of the white lace. She wasn’t a virgin, by any means, their daughter sleeping in her crib at the house was proof of that. But she wanted something traditional about their wedding night. Cauldron knew the rest of their relationship hadn’t been. She whispered, “Is it too much?”
Cassian swallowed hard. “Fuck, no. But as hot as it is, I want you out of it, more than I want you in it.”
She lifted a challenging brow. “Now you have to figure out how to take it all off.”
His grin was feral, but as he reached up to begin, she shook her head. “You first.”
Cassian chuckled, and shook his head. “Cruel, wicked woman.”
Nesta grinned as she sat on the edge of the bed, crossing one leg over the other, waiting for her husband to put on a show.
He kept his eyes locked on hers as he kicked off his boots, then he slipped off his vest. Loosening his tie, one by one, he popped the buttons of his white shirt open, shucking it off and dropping it on top of the vest and her dress. He reached over his head and pulled his undershirt off and dropped it on the growing pile of clothes. When he kicked off his jeans, leaving himself in nothing but the tanned skin Nesta loved to drag her fingers over, she expected him to begin on her own remaining attire. Instead, he surprised her by bending over, picking up their discarded clothes and laying them out over the chair in the corner. She watched him, her lips parted in shock, a small smile turning up the corner of her lips.
“Did you just lay our clothes out so they wouldn’t get wrinkled?” She asked, an eyebrow raised.
“I did,” he said, turning to her and closing the distance between them. He held out his hand once more and she placed hers in his and stood, her heels long forgotten. The top of her head barely came up to his chin. “Does that turn you on?”
“You have no idea,” she breathed, leaning up and wrapping her arms around his neck.
His quiet laugh made her grin widen as he picked her up, those legs wrapping around his waist. Instead of the bed, he pressed her up against the wall, his hand running up her thigh, across the lingerie that she had so carefully picked out for him.
Nesta’s phone vibrated on the nightstand just as Cassian's lips touched hers.
He sighed, fully aware that she wouldn’t be able to focus on them before she read whatever it was. After carrying her to the side table, he looked at her phone and said, “Sloan is sound asleep, her dress is hanging up, and Elain says all as well. She also says to enjoy yourself.”
“Fine,” Nesta breathed, her arms around his neck tightening. “The baby is well taken care of, you're right. You have my full attention.”
“Do I?” He asked, quietly, his lips finding the side of her neck. He nipped at the tender skin, followed by the brush of his tongue to soothe any pain he’d caused with his teeth.
“No,” she said, that little whine slipping into her tone that meant she was getting impatient. “But you know I’ll be worrying about her the whole night.” He chuckled, gripping her ass a little harder, kneading the flesh in his hands. “She’s always on my mind, too, but we deserve this. A night to ourselves.” His cock was between them and he ground her against him so that it was pressed against her lace covered sex. “A night without a baby monitor or a late night feeding. Just time to appreciate each other. Very, very intimately.”
“Then you’d better hurry up and get me out of this lingerie - and not in the brute way.” She added, seeing a familiar, destructive spark in his eye. “This was very expensive and I’d like to be able to wear it again.”
Cassian raised an eyebrow and asked, “Planning on having a second wedding?”
Smirking, Nesta said, “I actually planned on wearing them for our anniversaries, but if you’re objecting…”
His lips found hers and he cut her off. Cassian pulled back a hair and breathed, “No objections here.”
She groaned, leaning into his touch, into his lips as he slowly undid the hooks of her corset. She knew he was growing frustrated, knew he was becoming impatient, but that only humored her more.
Eventually, the corset came free, and even Cassian took his time, per her wishes to keep it all in good condition, removing it from her skin and placing it on the bed behind her. With gentle, calloused fingers, he ran his fingertips down her skin, starting at her collarbone, down between her breasts, down to the garter belt.
“You know,” he whispered, bringing his hand back up to cup her breasts. “We can start with that on.”
Her lips pursed into a seductive smile. “Now that you can see my tits?”
He nodded, slowly, his eyes darkening as she reached down to grip his cock.
Nesta didn’t hesitate as she dropped to her knees and stroked him slowly. The low curse that tumbled from his lips, only urged her on further and she glanced up at him as she ran her tongue along the length of him, from base to tip, and swirled it around the swollen head. His hands wove into her hair as she took him in her mouth.
He grunted, “I hope you aren’t too attached to this hairstyle.” She glanced up at at him, cock in her mouth, eyes asking the question for her. “Because I’m about to fuck it up, especially if you keep doing that.”
The words were more of a growl by the end of his sentence, when Nesta began to bob her head.
Cassian’s head fell back as he began to do what he said he would. With every bob of her head, Cassian’s fingers dove deeper into her hair, the intricate braid coming loose, the curls fading into mere waves. He breathed curse after curse, each one becoming more desperate.
Nesta watched him the entire time, through her black-painted lashes. She thrived on the ethereal expression on his face, how his brows scrunched together and his lips remained open.
“Nesta,” he growled. “Nes.”
She hummed with him inside of her mouth, which only made that low growl return.
Those fingers in her hair pulled back her head. Her lips remained, perfectly still, just around the head of his cock. Her eyes were wide, humored, as she looked up at him.
His chest was heaving.
“I love the sight of you with my cock in your mouth,” he breathed.
To say that they got to take their time with each other the last year and a half would be a complete and utter lie. Now, they would take their sweet, sweet time with one another, with no interruptions.
He could see the smile in her eyes as she gripped the back of his thighs and took him deeper and deeper, until her pink-painted lips could almost leave a print on his skin. He groaned, hunching over her and when she gagged lightly, his fingers found her chin and pulled her mouth off of him. A soft gasp for air left her as he gripped her shoulders and tossed her onto the bed.
She laughed quietly as her back hit the mattress which turned into a moan as Cassian’s mouth found her, through the sheer, white lace. Her eyes rolled back in her head as he lavished her, but when she heard a tearing and cool air on her sex. He was grinning up at her between her legs and it was very hard to stay mad at him when he was there.
“I told you to be careful,” she whispered, chest rising and falling rapidly.
He breathed, “I’ll buy you a new pair.” With a deliberate slowness, he dragged a finger between her folds and circled her clit. She whimpered and he said, “You’re already so wet for me.”
“Did you expect anything less?” She gasped, as she sprawled out on the bed, gripping the comforter between her fingers.
“No,” he replied, slowly, his thumb still moving at an agonizing pace. “I know what you like, Mrs. Nazari.”
She moaned, quietly, a hand coming to cover his as he circled her clit, ever so slowly. “What is it that I like?”
“To be teased,” he said, knowingly, cockily. “Then you like me to build it up, slowly.”
His thumb against her clit moved just a little bit faster.
Her eyes fluttered shut as she gasped and her back arched off the bed.
“Don’t move,” he said, wrapping an arm around one of her thighs. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her mound. He breathed, “Move and I’ll stop.”
Slipping her fingers into his hair, still tied at the back of his head, she chuckled, the sound husky and bedroom soft. “No, you won’t.”
“No,” he crooned, his mouth so close to where she needed him. “I won’t. But I’d appreciate it if you played along.”
With that, he ran his tongue between her folds, savoring the essence that was his wife. Her grip tightened on his hair, close to painful, and he groaned as he devoured her.
He couldn’t get enough of the taste of Nesta Archeron.
But the taste of Nesta Nazari…
His eyes fell shut as he reached down and gripped his cock, stroking in time with the flicks of his tongue.
She breathed his name, begging him, trying so very hard to stay still, but struggling. Every time she whined his name, though, it only made him hold her down tighter.
She was yanking on the strands of his hair, too, making him groan over and over again, into her pussy, the vibrations of his low voice tightening her grip.
It wasn’t until her entire body was tensed around him, beneath his hands, that her grip loosened and she came with a curse into the quiet room.
Cassian stroked her, gently with his tongue, his hand dropping from his cock as he looked up at her through dark lashes, his lips wet.
“Please,” she breathed, tugging on his hair, not in the same needy desperation as she had momentarily before, but in urgency, an urgency that he reciprocated. “Cassian, please.”
He trailed feather soft kisses up her body, pausing to pay special attention to her breasts, biting and pinching and squeezing and licking. Nesta was almost ready to come again by the time he reached her lips and was positioning himself at her entrance.
His breath was hot against her mouth, her body on fire with the need of him, the want of him.
“Please,” she whispered, a quiet plea, but he could hear her desperation.
And he mirrored it.
He didn’t bother inching his way inside, didn’t bother taking it slow. She was soaked, and he needed her.
After grabbing her hips, he pushed himself into her, all the way down to the hilt, where he stayed, his head falling back, and let himself bask in the feeling of simply being inside of her.
She did the same, the nails of one hand digging into his ass, the other his back, and she didn’t try to muffle the cry that left her as he plunged deep inside of her. He pulled out, almost all the way, and snapped his hips into hers again, the wooden frame of the bed slamming against the wall. Nesta moaned his name, every syllable, every breath urging him on and on. He repeated the motion again and again and again, one of Nesta’s hands tangled in his loose hair, the tie lost somewhere in the sheets.
Cassian cursed, low and rough, as his head fell against her chest and he pulled a peaked nipple into his mouth, and her back arched off the bed once more.
He wrapped an arm around her waist before she could fall back against the bed and gripped the headboard with the other. Nesta’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, completely at the mercy of the roll of his hips.
“I’m close,” she breathed, the words tumbling from her lips.
“I know, sweetheart. I know.” The words weren’t cocky in any way, just proof that he knew Nesta’s body better than his own. He could have gotten himself to the edge, but tonight, his goal was to make Nesta feel like a goddess.
And that began with making her cum as many times as he possibly could.
“Cassian,” she pleaded, her nails digging into his skin.
He kept that pace, his rhythm, didn’t even hesitate for a second as Nesta cried out and she shattered around him, her knees shaking on both sides of his ass in the air. The noise that came out of her was something between laughter and crying, purely from joy, complete ecstasy.
Cassian slowed down, but he didn’t stop. He leaned back, watched as Nesta’s chest heaved, watched as her eyes fluttered, watched as her parted lips turned into a grin.
Her palms rested flat on his chest as he slowly pushed himself in and out of her.
When her eyes finally focused on him again, the flush high on her cheekbones, she grabbed him by the back of the head and crashed her lips into his. He groaned, hitching her leg up, and holding it against his side. She whimpered into his mouth, his thrusts rolling deeper and deeper, until she was a writhing mess beneath him again.
“Fuck, Cass, please,” she breathed, her fingers digging into his arms, rooting herself to the moment, to him, the feeling of him being inside of her.
He felt her walls begin to tighten around him, but her hand pressed against his chest, differently than it had a moment before, and he smirked knowing what she wanted. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rolled them until she was on top, body flush against his, and he just laid there for a moment, letting her take over.
He was more than willing.
Nesta was instantly comfortable, in her element, staring down at her husband as she rode him. When Cassian brought up his knees, she leaned back against them and he watched his cock disappear inside of her as she slowly bounced up and down it. Before he could do it himself,
Nesta took his hand and brought it to her sex, where he began to circle her clit, slowly.
“Tell me what you want,” she breathed, eyes bright as she rode his thick length, just a little bit faster, her breasts bouncing as she moved atop him.
He leaned up, bracing his weight on a hand as the other gripped the back of her head and kissed her with a gentleness she wasn’t expecting. He gazed in her eyes, and breathed, “I want to worship you, in every way imaginable, every night, for the rest of my life.”
Her head fell back as he let his lips drag down her neck and she breathed, “Fuck, I love you.”
His teeth found her skin and his hips met hers thrust for thrust. It wasn’t long before they were both short of breath and Nesta’s moans were filling the cabin.
Nesta only grew louder as Cassian approached his climax, holding onto her tightly, his teeth still grazing her collarbone.
And then he moaned, his own sounds filling the cabin, sounds that Nesta never grew tired of hearing. He came in her, moving her hips with his hands as he rode it out. Nesta’s breath shook as she found her release, too, and they both came to a halt, her still nestled into his lap, him still inside of her, his face buried into her neck.
Cassian waited until his breathing had evened before he leaned back and looked at her. Without a word, she brushed his damp hair out of his face, and kissed his forehead, softly.
“I love you,” he breathed, a look so vulnerable in his eyes that it made Nesta’s heart ache.
Things had not been easy after Tomas had kidnapped Nesta. There had been many nights Nesta awoke, drenched in sweat and tears, Cassian’s arms banded around her because she’d been thrashing so hard she’d almost harmed herself. Even after his death, Tomas haunted her. It was almost six months before she had been able to sleep all the way through the night.
Without Cassian, she wasn’t sure she would have survived the time after Tomas’ attack. This man was her rock, her anchor in the storm. The constant light in a world that once used to be so dark.
She whispered, “I love you too,” unwilling to shatter the silence they sat in, the only sound their shared breath.
After a moment, Cassian stood, lifting Nesta, still nestled deep inside her. He carried her into the bathroom and set her down in the large garden tub. The second he pulled out, their mixed releases spilled from between her legs. Cassian watched it, eyes still dark with lust. His cock was already growing hard again and he turned the tub faucet on and stopped the tub up. “Let me go grab you a glass of wine and a much needed glass of whiskey and when I get back, I’ll give you a massage.”
“Lemonade,” she corrected him, turning to look over her shoulder, to watch him leave.
Cassian stopped in the doorway and turned to face her with an arched brow. “Lemonade? We just got married, and you don’t want wine?”
She gave him a soft smile as she slowly shook her head. “Oh, I would love a glass of wine...but, lemonade will do.”
His surprised face turned into one of confusion, and she slowly watched, perfectly humored, as that confusion turned back into shock.
And awe.
“Really?” She hardly heard him, he spoke so quietly, hardly getting the word out.
Nesta’s nod was all he needed to start tearing up, and instead of leaving the room, he was back in the tub with her, his wife, hovering over her giddy frame as he kissed her, softly, slowly, tenderly.
In the past few years, they had been through hell and back, but every day gave them another reminder that they had conquered hell and made it out alive.
Cassian would continue to go through whatever hell life threw at him, too, as long as he went through it with Nesta, the mother of his children.
His wife.
The love of his life.
