Radiant by Arveldis

Radiant

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Tying her evening robe loosely about her, Celebrían stepped onto the balcony that girded her quarters and rested her arms on the marble railing. Twilight fell over the valley, shading everything in dusky purples and blues, and silver-wrought lanterns glimmered among the dark boughs of trees. The notes of a distant lute drifted through the stillness, and the fountain beneath her balcony splashed softly.

Celebrían breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with the cool air and focusing on the peacefulness of the moment. She felt the tension leave her neck, her shoulders, her hands that loosened their grip on the railing.

So focused was she on relieving herself of the day’s troubles that she did not notice the soft footsteps that struck the marble floor behind her, until arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

“Weary day?” Elrond’s voice was quiet.

“Very.” She leaned against him, and he stroked her ribs with his thumb.

“Erestor told me there was a disturbance in the library.”

“It was one among many. It is a wonder how much havoc two children can wreak. I was certain I would not find the house left standing this evening.”

Elrond’s mouth curved against her skin as he kissed her neck. “Let me watch the twins tomorrow. You have had little time to rest of late, and I would not see them weary you more.”

“Would you? I would welcome the respite.” Celebrían reached up to slide her hand against his cheek, and he turned his head to press a kiss to her palm, lingering.

“Of course.”

“They have become more unmanageable lately, testing my will at every turn. Glóredhel says that it is to be expected at their age, and that it will pass in a handful of years, if not sooner because they are peredhil. She is not certain how closely their growth will align with that of full-blooded Elves.”

“Well, we shall hope that it passes sooner.” He turned her in his arms and studied her face, brushing her hair behind her ear. “They have taken much from you.”

“Nothing that I haven’t given freely.”

“And yet I deem that you have given more than you should, as is your wont,” he said with a fond smile. He scooped her up in his arms, and she gave a small gasp of surprise. “You must rest, at least, even if you do not wish to sleep yet.” He carried her to their chambers and placed her on their bed, brushing her cheek with the pad of his thumb before he turned to leave.

She caught his wrist and tugged him down to join her on the bed. “Stay with me. We have had little time together of late, and I want your company.”

“Gladly.” Elrond stretched next to her on the bed, tracing the planes of her face with his fingers. “Do you wish to talk about the day’s troubles?” The deep shadows of twilight spilled over his face and caught in his dark hair. The light that slipped in from the balcony was scarcely more than a lightening of shadows.

Celebrían shook her head and ran her fingers along the neck of his robe, hooking her forefinger inside the collar as she shifted closer and slid her foot between his legs. “I want to forget about the day.” She met his gaze.

His answering hum was low, and in the space of a moment he had moved so that he half-covered her, his unbound hair spilling onto her shoulders. He caressed her jaw with his thumb and covered her lips with his, achingly gentle as his mouth moved against hers. Her eyelids fluttered shut as his tongue swept across the seam of her lips and parted them. He tasted of miruvor. “Like this?” Elrond whispered against her lips as they broke apart.

Breath uneven, she could only nod her head, her nails scraping against his neck as he pulled away. Yes, yes.

His fingers trailed down to the back of her neck as he moved to kiss the corner of her lips, the line of her jaw, the lobe of her ear, the column of her throat. “And this?” he whispered as his mouth brushed over her clavicle, his warm breath fanning over her neck and sending shivers skittering across her skin.

“Yes,” Celebrían breathed against his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair. “Make me forget.” She ran her foot along the inside of his calf.

“I will, meleth nín.” His teeth tugged gently on the space of skin next to the hollow of her throat, and she curled her toes in the silky sheets. Warmth twisted and coiled within her, and she felt the blood racing beneath her skin, rushing to her fingertips, her face, her throat where he blew softly over the mark he had just made.

Elrond pushed open the neckline of her robe and continued to kiss along her collarbones, first softly, then firmer, then grazing the line of bone with his teeth, then softly again, until her chest felt aflame. An ache began to grow in her core; she wanted his touch everywhere.

He ran his knuckles along the side of her breast, teasing her skin through the light silk of her robe, and Celebrían nearly whimpered. She pulled at the laces at his throat, wanting more. Catching her hand in his, he laughed softly. “Dartho, mell nín. Have patience.”

“It is difficult to when you seem intent on staying my relief.” Her voice was mercifully steady, but only just.

“I should be a brute if I did not want my wife to feel as much pleasure as I can give her.”

She hooked her leg over the back of his knee to draw him nearer, thrilling at how his eyes darkened with the movement. “I am fortunate to have such an attentive husband, though I think perhaps he relishes too much in my need.”

He bit her lip then, and she curved toward him on instinct, clutching the front of his robe. She felt him tug at the belt of her robe, pulling it free and pushing the garment off her shoulders so that it lay beneath her in a silken pool. “Bain bethril nín,” he murmured as he gazed upon her.

Celebrían reveled in his gaze and reached down to pull his hand up to her breast, which he cupped in his palm and swept his thumb over the swell, just as he knew she enjoyed. He repeated the motion on her other breast, drawing loose circles on her skin. The ache in her core grew in pressure as he did, and she pressed into his touch. She pulled again at the laces at his throat and succeeded in undoing them.

The breath of Elrond’s soft laughter ghosted across her skin. “Almost,” he whispered, "almost.” He dipped to kiss the valley between her breasts, then pressed a kiss to the side of each as he cupped them in his hands. His thumbs traced tight circles around the puckered flesh of her areolae, until her skin burned with awareness at his touch and heat twisted impatiently within her.

He bent to kiss the tip of one breast and circled it with his tongue, slow and languorous, then did the same to the other, until she could no longer stand the desire mounting within her. She pressed her foot against his leg more insistently, and at last, he gathered his robe and drew it over his head, baring himself before her.

“Is this what you have been so impatient for?” he teased, rubbing his thumb over the strip of skin beneath her breast.

Celebrían wrapped her legs around his waist in answer and drew him to her until their bodies were flush against each other. His skin burned as hotly as hers, and she mentally cursed him for having such control when she did not.

Her fingers curled into his neck as he joined with her, and the desire within her thrummed to a shattering note. All the while, his fingers traced her body with maddening dexterity, touching each place he knew she loved to be touched, and he whispered endearments in her ear as the pressure within her crescendoed and then broke in a heady wave, leaving her breathless and slick with sweat.

He finished soon after and settled next to her again, fingers tracing over her bared hip. “Are you satisfied?”

“Quite.” Her body still hummed with the echoes of the previous moments. Her skin, though, was beginning to notice the coolness of the night air, and the sheen of sweat that still coated her made her feel cooler still. She drew closer to him and pulled the light covers over them. “You are most skilled, meleth nín.” Tracing the shape of his lips with her thumb, she leaned forward to kiss him, slow and lingering.

He smiled against her mouth. “You look so beautiful beneath me,” he said softly, twining a strand of her hair between his fingers. “Radiant.”

Celebrían tucked her head into the curve of his neck and drew circles on his chest with her fingertips. “You make me feel radiant,” she murmured.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he wrapped his arm around her and drew her close. His heart beat steadily beneath her palm, and she drifted off to sleep in the warmth of his embrace.

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Chapter End Notes

Translations (phrases courtesy of Tara's Sidarin Phrasebook and a surely mangled piecing together of individually translated words from Parf Edhellen):

meleth nín: my love

dartho, mell nín: wait, my beloved

bain bethril nín: my beautiful wife