Chapter 45
TREW
Ireached up, cupping her face with one hand, tracing the line of her cheekbone with a delicate touch. Her skin was warm, and when she leaned into my palm, I fell apart.
“Tell me to stop,” I whispered hoarsely, giving her one last chance to retreat.
“Don’t you dare.”
I kissed her, softly at first, a question pressed against her lips. She answered by easing her fingers through my hair and pulling me closer, deepening the kiss until it turned desperate and consuming.
Her magic flared, mixing with mine until the air around us shimmered with heat. I could taste a hint of wine on her lips and feel the rapid flutter of her pulse where my thumb rested against her throat.
When we broke apart, both of us breathing hard, need darkened her eyes.
“More,” she said, and the single word shattered what was left of my restraint.
I kissed her again, harder this time, sliding my hands down to her waist. She melted against me, and I guided her back until she laid across the cushioned bench, a few strands of her golden hair spilling around her face.
“You’re so beautiful,” I said against her throat, kissing along the delicate column. She arched beneath me, a soft gasp escaping her lips.
I reached her gown’s neckline and paused, meeting her eyes. “Isi?”
“Yes,” she breathed, her fingers clutching at my shoulders. “Please.”
I tugged the green fabric down, exposing the pale curve of her breasts to the moonlight. She was perfect, all soft skin and gentle curves, and when I lowered my head to kiss the newly revealed flesh, she moaned, sending fire racing through my veins.
Her back arched off the bench as I lavished attention on her sensitive skin, her fingers tangling in my hair. Every soft moan, every trembling breath, and every movement of her body beneath mine drove me closer to the edge of madness.
“Say my name,” I demanded against her skin.
“Trew, please—”
I lifted my head, capturing her mouth in another searing kiss.
She opened for me, her tongue meeting mine in a fiery tangle, her fingers tightening in my hair until the bite of pain was pleasure itself.
Her magic surged against mine, a volatile, untamed current that crackled through the air, making the camellias tremble around us.
The cushions shifted beneath her as I pressed her deeper into the bench, levering my body over hers, one hand braced near her head, the other sliding slowly, deliberately, back down to cup the weight of her bare breast.
I stroked my thumb over the hardened peak, and a soft cry escaped her.
I broke the kiss only to trail fire down the elegant line of her throat, over the rapid flutter of her pulse, and lower still, following the path my hands had taken already.
Moonlight glistened on her exposed skin as I sucked the taut peak into my mouth.
She gasped, the sound jagged in the quiet garden.
I circled her nipple slowly with my tongue. Then I drew her deeper, sucking gently as a groan rumbled in my chest. She writhed beneath me, her fingers scrabbling at the fabric of my tunic. Every arch of her body, every breathy whimper, made tension coil low in my gut.
I laved the other peak with the same heated attention, gently rolling the one still damp from my mouth. Her hips lifted, and she ground herself against my thigh. Moonlight traced goosebumps across her flushed skin, and her magic flared brighter, hotter, humming in the charged air between us.
I traced my fingers down to her hip and bunched her skirt higher and higher. Her breathing stuttered as I slid my hand over the curve of her knee, then the soft skin of her inner thigh. Higher until I could run my knuckles across her damp undergarment.
I met her gaze, and she nodded, giving me all the permission I needed.
With a flick of my finger, the garment dissolved, giving me complete access to her heat and wetness. I stroked my finger down her seam, then returned to the top, dragging my thumb across her clit. She cried out, her voice echoing in the garden.
The broken plea skittered along my nerve endings. I ran lazy circles around her clit, teasing with a light touch, while she thrust her lower body against my hand.
Her back arched again, lifting her off the cushion, seeking more contact. I slid a finger inside her and nearly came on the spot.
“Wet,” I growled. “Wet for me.”
As I pumped my finger in and out of her, keeping my thumb on her clit, her entire body trembled.
She was slick and swollen, the moonlight glistening on her pale, silken curls, and I couldn’t resist.
I would kill to taste her.
But first, I teased her until her thigh muscles became rigid ropes straining against my arm, until her musky scent surrounded us.
She was close, trembling on the edge. But instead of pushing her over, I removed my touch completely.
Her eyes flew open. “No. Don’t you dare stop—”
I smiled and pulled her upright while my erection throbbed beneath my pants.
When I was kneeling in front of her, I met her gaze.
“Legs up,” I barked.
I helped lift them from the ground. She braced her shoulders against the cushioned backrest as I hiked up her skirt to the top of her hips.
Her silhouette against the moonlit drove me mad.
Glorious breasts exposed. The mound of her sex lifted for my touch.
I tugged her forward until I could spread her wide in front of my face. A feast laid bare for me to devour.
Her thighs quivered against my shoulders.
“I’m going to give you what you need, Minx.”
Then I leaned in.
I stroked my tongue through her folds slick with desire.
Her shuddering cry tangled with the wind whispering through the camellias.
Taste flooded my senses, rich and thrillingly hers.
Far better than wine. I became a conqueror savoring the spoils of war.
Licking deep. Tracing elaborate patterns around her quivering entrance before surging upward again to find the hard nub.
Her whole body arched. “Oh!”
I trapped her against the cushions with one hand.
The sweet core of her was slick and welcoming.
I tasted every ripple of her response. When I pushed my fingertip inside her tight channel, she moaned again.
With the tip of my tongue driving hard circles against her clit and the slow thrust of my two fingers within her soft walls, she shattered, giving way to shudders.
Her hoarse groan echoed in the garden.
My cock surged forward, shooting everything I had inside my pants, my sharp bark echoing in the night.
Her legs clamped hard on my temples as her internal muscles seized around my fingers. Tremors raged as her orgasm sent cries up her throat. I pushed her through the spasms until she lay against the bench, limp and boneless above me.
Completely wrecked.
Utterly beautiful.
And all mine.
I rose and sat on the bench, pulling down her skirts and tugging her into my arms. I held her while she sighed and snuggled.
“That wasn’t in my plans for the evening,” she said.
“Disappointed?”
“Not one bit.”
“Embarrassed?”
“Not that either. It was amazing.”
I couldn’t stop grinning. “It was.”
“You too?”
“Couldn’t hold it back if I tried.” Seeing her come undone… I’d kill to see her fall apart like this every day for the rest of my life.
“So now I’m without an undergarment, and you have a wet spot on the front of your pants.”
“Nothing that magic can’t take care of.” A flick of my finger and my pants were dry again. Stiffer than before, because magic couldn’t eliminate what we’d done, but no one but us would know.
“I’m still missing my panties,” she pointed out, looking up at me with one brow raised.
“Keep your skirts down, and no one but me will know.”
“And leave you thinking about that for the rest of the night?”
“I’ll take you to your chambers. You can put on a new pair.”
“Where are the ones I was wearing?” She peered around.
“Maybe I placed them underneath my pillow.”
Her laugh snorted out. “I’m not sure if I should call that sick or arousing.”
“Oh, it’s definitely arousing.”
She grinned up at me. “I think you’re right.”
She slid off my lap, and I hated to let her go.
I helped her straighten her gown.
“I don’t want to ask where you learned how to do a lady’s hair,” she said with a huff after I’d turned her around, pinned her between my thighs and smoothed her coiffure into its original shape.
“I’ve dreamed about running my fingers through your hair. Messing it up and then making it look gorgeous again.”
“Dreamed?”
“All the time.”
Turning between my thighs, she poked my chest. “I’m not sure what to think of you, Trew.”
I snatched her finger and brought it to my mouth, kissing the tip. “When you think of me next, you’ll be thinking of me sucking on your clit, my fingers buried deep inside you. You’re going to take my cock so well, Minx.”
Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. “You’re much too confident.”
Never confident enough when it came to her.
I rose and took her hand, and we left the private garden, strolling along the path leading back to the ballroom.
When we entered the gleaming room, Kira strode over to join us, her narrowed gaze flicking between me and Isi. A knowing look appeared in her eyes, and her eyebrows shot up.
I stiffened, a subtle tightening of posture that betrayed nothing else, but inside, irritation twisted through me.
“Behave,” I growled.
Kira exhaled fast, her lips twisting. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.” Her thoughts blazed on her face, and I didn’t have the patience to placate her tonight. “I see you’ve found someone to distract you from courtly duties.”
“Not distracted,” I said. “Focused. Entirely.”
Isi looked between us and started to drift backward. “Maybe I’ll get something to drink. Give you two—”
“No,” I barked, tightening my grip on her hand. “Stay.” I lowered my voice. “Please.”
That one word made anger flare in Kira’s eyes. She knew I never asked. I’d long since learned a king must always demand.
Isi blinked and said nothing, but she remained by my side.
Kira’s lips curved into a subtle challenge. “Do you have time for the kingdom tonight, King Trewyn?”
“Speak or go away, Kira,” I snarled. “I have no interest in playing games.”
“The Skathe have attacked again.”
Everything else vanished. Torchlight, music, laughter, green silk, golden threads in her hair. All of it collapsed into a single, jagged spike of alarm.
A snarl ripped up my throat. “Where?”
“Greenhaven, on the southwestern border. Word is it’s bad.”
I turned to Isi. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”
She nodded, shooting a concerned look between me and Kira.
I gave her a quick kiss and strode across the ballroom, calling out to Kira over my shoulder. “Prepare the dragons.”