Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Jack
Idrew her raven hair over one shoulder and traced the silken line of her slender neck with my knuckles, committing the softness of her skin to memory. Her breath deepened, her lashes lifting slowly, eyes catching mine in the mirror’s reflection.
“There’s no coming back from this,” I murmured against the delicate point of her ear. “Tell me you want this.”
She nodded.
“I need to hear you say it, Syl.”
“I want you to claim me, Jack.”
Something inside me snapped, something I’d kept caged far too long.
Still, I forced myself to slow down, to savor this journey, to explore her as though time itself failed to exist, as though the hourglass held endless sand.
Because I knew the instant our lips touched, my self-control would shatter beyond repair.
I kissed the curve of her neck, letting my mouth linger at her bare shoulder as my fingers eased the sleeves of her white gown down her arms. The fabric slipped free, whispering to the floor, pooling at her feet like fallen snow, leaving her entirely bare beneath my hungry gaze.
She went utterly still, her eyes dropping as if she couldn’t bear to see her own reflection.
“Look at yourself, Syl,” I said, brushing my lips along her cheek and lifting her chin gently with my fingers, my breath catching when her eyes locked on mine, then drifted lower, to the swell of her breasts, her peaked brown nipples, and lower still…to the soft, pink shadows between her thighs.
Fuck.
My lips parted, my mouth gone dry, tongue aching for the taste of her, the way the frozen meadows ached for the gentle warmth of spring.
Color bloomed across her cheeks when she caught the heat in my gaze, when she felt my heart thundering against my ribs. My hands settled at her waist, thumbs brushing over bare skin. “You’re a fucking goddess. The only one I would ever kneel for. The only one I’d ever worship.”
She let out a soft, breathless huff of laughter. “Winter forbid the gods hear you.”
“The gods can curse my soul for all I care,” I said quietly.
My hands traced the lines of her body, the strength beneath the softness.
Her skin pebbled wherever I touched her, and the sounds she made stole my own breath.
She relaxed into me, her back resting against my front, eyes fluttering shut as my fingers circled her nipples, as my palms cradled her breasts.
Frostfire simmered just beneath my skin, threatening to scorch my flesh if I lost control. But fuck. Watching her naked in the mirror—pliant beneath my hands, under my control—stirred something feral and primal, a ruthless urge to claim her, every inch of her.
The way her lips parted.
The way her breath trembled.
The way her hips rolled back into me, pressing hard against my arousal like she’d always known exactly where she belonged.
I nearly dropped to my knees before her as my fingers gently curled around the delicate column of her neck. “You see what you do to me? Seeing you like this, stripped bare for me, needy, wanting… You have no idea the power you wield over my mind, Sylvi. My body. You alone could unmake me.”
Her eyes darkened as my fingers traced lower, slow enough to pull a sharp gasp from her lungs, gentle enough to make her spine shiver.
“Jack,” she breathed, lids sliding shut as I dipped my fingers between her legs, her slick warmth welcoming me, her core clenching around me.
“Open those eyes…watch me as I fuck you with my fingers.”
Her entire body flushed as her pleasure crested, moans spilling from her lips and echoing off the walls. “That’s it,” I said, voice rough. “You’re so fucking wet. So fucking close.”
Her arm looped around my neck as she rocked against my hand, chasing release.
“Maybe…” I whispered, withdrawing my fingers, “I don’t want to let you come just yet.”
She spun around, shattering the spell cast over the mirror, her hands gliding over my chest, over the scar carved by that fucking arrow, dragging me back to the memory of the wolf prince who’d dared to stake a claim.
My nostrils flared, hoarfrost stirring deep within me, but I forced my unseelie magic down.
I would not let savage jealousy taint this moment.
“Two can play this game, Your Highness,” she said sweetly. Her fingers caught the waistband of my linen trousers, tugging at the laces with playfulness, her smile innocent and wicked. “You don’t get to have all the fun.”
A grin curved my mouth as I fisted a hand in her hair. “Do your worst, elskan. My body is yours.”
She moved behind me until I was the one facing the mirror.
Her hands swept over the jagged lines left behind by my mother’s punishment, fingers gentle, yet callused from years of sparring and wielding steel.
Each touch was followed by a kiss, just as she’d done in the tent by the lake, an unspoken promise to replace pain with pleasure.
I trembled beneath her touch, chest rising and falling as she reclaimed every scar, every reminder of what I’d endured. Frost and shadows crackled at my fingertips, and when I met her gaze in my reflection, my eyes burned with blue fire.
Her hands slid over my abdomen, one slipping beneath the waistband of my trousers.
And when she gripped my length and drew me free, a growl tore from my throat, like boulders grinding down a mountainside.
My breath shattered as I watched her stroke me, her fingers gliding over the head of my cock, a bead of moisture slicking her thumb. “Fuck…”
“I love how hard and warm you feel, Jack,” she whispered. “But I love the way you taste even more.”
Before I could stop her, Sylvi sank to her knees.
My lids grew heavy as I devoured the reflection in the mirror. Her full breasts, the curve of her hips, her mouth greedy and unrestrained, as though she could never get enough of me.
Hungry little thing.
“Fuck, Syl,” I groaned, threading my fingers through her thick, black hair, tugging on it like it was the only thing keeping me from collapsing. “You keep doing that and I…” I couldn’t even finish those last words.
She only hummed, saliva glistening at the corners of her mouth.
I was absolutely not going to last. Fuck, she felt so good. The way she sucked and licked me had to be forbidden. I rolled my hips into her mouth, hard and fast, until it felt like I was about to surrender my life, my entire existence, to her.
“As much as I love what you do with that mouth,” I ground out roughly, “I’m not letting you end this game before we’ve barely begun.”
I caught her shoulders and hauled her back to her feet.
She had the nerve to pout.
I brushed my thumb over her swollen lower lip. “I love how much you enjoy having my cock sliding in and out between your lips.”
She smiled wickedly.
“Fucking Hel, Syl. Do you have any idea how long I’ve fantasized about this moment?”
“How long?” she crooned, her voice soaked in need.
“Too fucking long.” I crashed my lips against hers, and we devoured each other, teeth clashing, tongues tangling. I drank her in, every gasp, every whimper, until my lungs burned and my body shook.
I lifted her into my arms and carried her to the bed, laying her gently on her back. I climbed over her as she parted her thighs, an invitation that nearly undid me.
Gods, I wanted to roll my hips into her, to bury myself there and never come back, but there was no way I’d take her without first drawing out every last shudder of release.
“Jack…” she breathed, her fingers knotting in my hair as though anchoring herself. “I want—” Her words were torn, her chest rising and falling fast.
“Go on,” I urged, my voice a growl. “Tell me what you want…” My hand slid lower, gliding through the slick heat between her thighs, stroking until her cry split the air. Her hips bucked, her body clenching as if begging, demanding, more, as though her very soul reached for me.
“I want…” she gasped again, trembling, “your tongue.”
Fuck. Gladly.
Kneeling between her thighs, I let myself drink in the sight of her—hair spilled in dark rivers across the pillow, lips swollen, cheeks flushed. The morning sun slanted through the frost-rimmed windows, scattering gold across her bare skin. She looked like ice and flame entwined.
I traced her clit with one slow, teasing circle. “Is this…where you want me to lick you?”
“Yes, please,” she begged more urgently, her thighs falling wider.
Leaning over her, I took my time. Kissing along her jaw, her throat, the swell of her breasts.
I lingered there, tongue circling, torturing, sucking until she writhed beneath me.
Then I moved lower, carving the soft lines of her abdomen with my mouth, until I reached her waist and slid my tongue down between her legs.
I paused for one torturous moment before spreading her open with both hands and feasting.
Her taste ignited the magic in my veins.
Each moan that tore from her lips, every sharp breath as I flicked those sensitive nerves, fed the frostfire burning in my blood.
Her nails raked along my scalp, pulling me closer, urging me to dip my tongue deeper, faster, until I was half-feral with the need to lose myself in her completely.
Fuck. I couldn’t get enough of her. I devoured her like a starved leopard, tongue sliding along every silken fold until her cries made my skin ripple with electric frost. Until the very cabin trembled with her ecstasy.
Her body quaked as her orgasm crested, my magic surging hotter with her release. Icicles raced wild over the bedposts, crystalline blooms unfurling along the beams, frost threading the windowpanes in glittering, living vines.
She convulsed against my mouth, legs shaking with aftershocks.
My chest heaved as I pulled away, lips slick with her taste, the tip of my cock dripping with pre-cum and aching to be inside her. I kissed my way up her trembling thighs, her belly, her breasts, her mouth, savoring every inch of her as if the gods might never allow me to touch her again.