Whew! ♥ This chapter is hot, hot, hot! ♥ Looking forward to writing the next part of this and getting it up ASAP. Stay tuned, because I'll post it as soon as my pen drops from the page. Hope you like this instalment. :)

The world around us washed from view, and the birds' chirping faded into the wind rushing through tall stalks of golden grain growing under a hot sun. This was the same place where our journey began in Acklemar together.

Kellan crushed his lips to mine, again and again. He drove his tongue into my mouth with a raw hunger, that ignited my core. His tongue lapped the inside of my mouth, my tongue, searching the depths of me, making my knees weak and my lungs beg for air.

He was my forbidden fruit, and I wasn't going to stop kissing him for anything—not even air.

Kellan dragged his hand up my back, drizzling cool water over my hot sun-drenched skin.

I tilted my head back and gasped, breaking our kiss. All the stones on my necklace flashed at the same time and the parched wheat field melted into the roar of the ocean.

He glanced around at our new surrounding and chuckled, then laced his fingers in my hair, pulling me closer. With his hot breath caressing my skin, my toes curled in anticipation of his lips on my skin. As if answering my inner pleas, his tongue lapped the edge of my ear, making my entire body tingle.

I rested my cheek in his palm and tilted my head to the side, giving him access to my neck.

Without hesitation, he brushed my hair to the side and continued lapping my skin, leaving a wet trail in his wake. He paused for a moment with his lips hovering only a breath above my collarbone—letting the anticipation of his kiss build inside of me like a tsunami.

I whimpered in complaint and cradled his head, encouraging him to continue. "Don't stop."

Gently kissing up my neck, he paused and blew out a misty breath, sending shivers through every nerve ending in my body. When he reached my ear, he nibbled my lobe, panting heavily.

"I love you." He lifted his head, and his eyes glowed brightly against an overcast sky, laced with the mist of the ocean.

With my shoes stuck deep in the sand, I wiped the salty spray from his face and kissed his lips.

"I could kiss you all day." He held out a hand with two gemstones flashing on his bracelet and flayed his fingers. A nearby wave crashed into the rocks sending a stream of water high above us.

"You're stopping?" I looked up at him under my lashes and bit my lip.

"Never." He brushed my hair aside and kissed my lips. Now, shh.

Kellan shimmied his fingers under my shirt again, placing his hand over the ring. He pulled back just enough that I could see his lips turn up into a grin, then a surge of energy flowed through me, demanding his ring's waters come to him.

A roar of waves louder than the ocean behind us, thundered through me, rushing up my legs. The waters churned inside me, dousing the spiral flames protesting their presence. The waters within me whirled faster, making my hands tremble and my mind spiral in ecstasy.

Keeping his hand rooted in place, Kellan lowered his head and ran his tongue along my collarbone, lapping the water pouring from the knotted ring. He tipped his chin and swallowed. "Your turn."

Before I could say a word, he peeled off his shirt and scooped me up, so my legs straddled his hips. My heart raced, and the gemstones on my necklace flashed in unison.

The ocean scene flickered out of sight, and with our abrupt landing, Kellan stumbled on the uneven rocky terrain. Cotton candy colored clouds drifted over the far end of the lake, and a bright light glowed beneath the water's surface. The evening light reflected off his naked torso, and I ran my fingers over his chest, careful to only brush the edge of his sweep.

Kellan moaned and squeezed me tighter. Tease.

Me? I giggled and tipped his head to the side. Who's teasing? I ran my tongue along the length of his neck, leaving behind a glistening wet mark. Forming my lips in the shape of an "O," I blew softly over his tanned skin and goosebumps rippled his body. The link between us tightened, and his emotions seeped through our connection, making me wonder of how much power I had over him.

Too much. Kellan sucked in a deep breath and lowered me until my feet rested on a wobbly bolder.

The thought that I could send him into bliss brought a smile to my lips, and I feathered a finger along his sweep. A faint tingling sensation vibrated through our link, and my breath caught in my throat. The cord between us yanked taut, making me light headed and dizzy with a primal urge to lick every inch of him. I reached up on tiptoe, lowered my lips to his sweep, letting his sweep's water drip over my tongue. The sweet aphrodisiac rolled through my senses, heating my insides to a boiling point. I had to have him, today, tomorrow, always. No more stolen moments or wishing I'd done something differently. The rock beneath my feet jiggled, and I wrapped my fingers around his bicep to steady my footing. No more playing it safe.

"Our promise made,

Is one soul deep," I whispered.

Kellan's eyes shot open. Wren, wait!

I plunged my lips into the water streaming from his sweep and recited the rest of the ancient rite in my head before he could stop me.

Until my last breath,

My heart you'll keep.

All the stones around my throat flashed, and my fingers quivered, curling around his arm. The scene flickered and faded once more, and we fell into the darkness, landing with a soft bounce.

When I open my eyes, Kellan was straddling me, and my back pressed against a mattress of his bed at the Water Circle citadel. I slid my hand over the comforter and up his leg.

He chuckled, plucked my fingers from him and interlaced them with his, then pinned my hand to the bed above my head. "You really are something." He placed his other hand next to my head with his chest hovering only inches from my lips. But before I got the chance to run my tongue over his abs, he leaned back and rubbed the outline of my knotted traveler's ring inked on his bicep. "If your promise ring doesn't get us both killed, then I'll happily spend the rest of my life with you."

I thumbed the marking on his bicep—an inky outline of colorless clouds and stars. His sweep now wrapped his shoulder and hugged the ring. I pushed up to my elbows and crushed my mouth to his, tasting the salty ocean on his lips.

He pulled back and held a finger to my lips. "Listen, my little vixen, our bond's strong enough without us completing the final act right now. Restraint might be the only thing that keeps you alive if we run into the Fire Circle."

Restraint? I groaned and flopped back on the bed, frustrated. "You peel your shirt off, kiss me until my insides hurt, and actually expect me to behave?" The sweep's waters I'd swallowed threaded through my muscles like a drug intoxicating my senses. I clutched a handful of the comforter in my hand, scrunching the fabric into a ball.

"Glad I have that kind of effect on you, but I didn't expect this." He lowered his gaze to the mark and held out his arm, rotating it as if to get a better look at it. "That's for sure."

"But it's not colored in." I grinned, running my fingers back and forth over the ring, hoping he'd change his mind and complete our commitment to each other right now.

He lifted my fingers from his arm and let out a long breath as if trying to collect himself. "That's because you and I are virgins. And if you keep doing that with your fingers, while lying sprawled across my bed, that won't be the case for much longer." He hopped off the bed and padded halfway across the room before facing me. "I'm going to take a shower. A long, cold shower." He winced and adjusted the front of his pants. "Can you try not to zap off somewhere without me while you wait?" He took another step backward. "Please?"

The tether between us tugged me toward him, and I swallowed, trying to ignore its demand to follow him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. In the last five minutes, you transported us to the Lagos Ocean, Dakarta Lake, and the Citadel, and I was kind of hoping you'd be here when I got back. You know, come to think of it, the last time you were here you disappeared too."

"Go. Have your shower." I chucked a pillow at him. "I'll just lay here sexually frustrated and unsatisfied."

He walked away, laughing. "It's for your own good."

"I'll tell you what would be good," I hollered after him.

"Wren..." He chuckled, looked back over his shoulder and grinned. Trust me, I know. He rounded the corner out of sight.

The cord linking us yanked hard, cinching its grip around me, pulling tighter with each step he took farther away. He doesn't have more restraint than me. I nestled into the navy bedspread, determined to stay my ground and watched my hands tremor against the pillow. 

♥└(^o^ )Ｘ( ^o^)┘♥

You likely? Hope so, more coming in the upcoming week! I'm writing ALL weekend so let's see where this goes! Until then, VOTE, COMMENT and show your love.