47
Aspen
We crashed to the bed. My weight landed on his torso, our lungs puffing for oxygen, sweat enameling our flesh. Trembling, I splayed my thighs around his damp waist, and one of his shaky arms banded along my tailbone.
With his body still attached to mine, we let the convulsions rattle through our systems, the quakes taking a long time to fade. In the interim, I listened to the drum of his pulse matching my own.
As the top of my head burrowed into Aire’s throat, he combed his fingers through my hair, the brush coaxing a sigh from me. So alive. So peaceful. The circulation flowed to my toes, and the knight’s limbs plaited with mine like roots.
And everything felt safe.
Content to stay like this, we whispered into the night, our hands wandering over each other. Aire’s knuckles sketched my ass, the edge of my breast, the ledge of my cheek. I ran my mouth along his throat and beneath his earlobe. We could do this forever, discovering more places to touch and taste.
As Aire swept his lips across my hairline, I must have dozed. At some point, I awakened to a moonlit room, the candle wicks having melted to their bases.
Flopping toward Aire, I balanced on my elbow and watched him sleep.
His muscles swelled with every intake, and the rumpled blanket barely covered the ramps of his hipbones, the outline of his cock pushing through the sheet.
The knight’s expression was serene, a row of fringed eyelashes fanning from his eyelids.
Damn. My heart might break from the sight.
Moreover, this knight needed sleep. If I didn’t leave this second, I’d take a seat on Aire’s cock again and wake him up.
After slipping out of his arms, I shuffled from the bed. Locating his shirt on the floor, I threw it over my head, the oversized sleeves drooping past my wrists.
In the living room, I padded to the hearth. The remnant logs glowed like coals, so I fed more wood to the hearth and rekindled the blaze. As it ignited, I grabbed a throw blanket from the sofa and camped on the rug beside the flames.
The couples in our clan talked about how extraordinary it was to fall in love.
They recounted the terrifying sensation that comes right before the fall.
But they hadn’t warned the rest of us how it cracked open a person’s soul like a shell, exposing them without any hope of hiding. And then set them free.
I mashed a smile against my upturned knees. While I studied the dancing embers, the floorboards creaked.
A drowsy, masculine sound tumbled through the room.
The planks shuddered, and warmth enveloped my back as Aire lowered himself behind me, the cliff of his chest pressing into my spine.
His forearms winged around my midriff, and he rested his chin on my shoulder, the better to nuzzle my jaw with those hot lips.
In a voice as rumpled as a quilt, Aire murmured, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Goosebumps trickled across my flesh. I scooted deeper into him and teased, “You mean, you can’t guess, when you know me so well?”
“Those shivers of delight? The sense of serenity? Yes, I discern that.” Playfully out of character, Aire snarled into my neck until I chuckled. “However, there’s more. I would know what occupies your mind.”
“That I like being in love.”
His mirth ebbed, replaced by a whisper. “I like it too.”
Declaring my feelings had shaken me like a cage bursting open, a hundred feathers flapping in the breeze. I couldn’t catch this action, couldn’t take it back, even if I wanted to. By now, it was long out of reach. And that was okay.
“Which part do you like best?” Aire flirted into my ear.
“Hmm.” I pretended to mull it over. “For one thing, I didn’t think it was possible to come three times back-to-back.”
My soldier threw back his head and boomed with laughter. “I should have known.”
“What?” I defended, chortling as he spun me around and yanked my weight onto his lap. “It was a compliment, you big lout.”
As my thighs flanked his waist, Aire squinted through his mirth. The rare visual robbed me of speech. His features were relaxed, sated, and coy as hell.
So this was how happiness looked on him.
The high bridge of flesh rubbing against my slit grew firmer. No pants, it seemed. I’d missed out on watching this defender of the peace waltz into the room naked.
Aire gathered me to his chest. “A squire can’t make you come in rapid succession.” He palmed my ass. “A commanding officer can.”
“Cocky Noble Knight.”
“Brazen Creature.”
But then he paused and tucked a strand of hair behind my earlobe. “Do you mind that nickname?”
I quirked an eyebrow. “It’s a bit late to ask.”
Sheepishness flitted through his gaze, a rueful muscle sliding across his jaw.
“I attributed it to you so long ago, out of exasperation at first, then much later out of fondness. Yet I was wrong. I did so without permission, assuming you were used to a variety of monikers. But while half of them were self-assigned, the others were inflicted against your will.”
The genuine concern staring back loosened another knot in my chest. As a child, the names I’d been called by Rhys and the Masters needled me. Now I considered them with less upheaval, having brushed off those old wounds.
By comparison, Aire’s nickname for me hadn’t been a source of aggravation. Not after those initial antagonist years.
Even so, I loved that he cared. Toying with the ends of his hair, I made my choice. “I like Brazen Creature. At least when I’m being naughty.”
His worry melted. A deep chuckle skipped across his tongue. “And when you’re taking my breath away? Such as now?”
“Aspen,” I whispered against his mouth.
“Aspen,” he repeated.
“That’ll do.” My fingers tiptoed across his tattoos. “And what about you? Does Noble Knight suit, or would you fancy something else?”
Aire shuddered. My touch delayed him from answering, then he reared back. “You mean business, I see.”
“Even exchange. Like swapping orgasms.”
His voice turned gruff. “If you keep fondling my tattoos, the comparison can be arranged in the next five seconds.”
“Oh?” I perked up, scooting my ass nearer to his thickening cock. “You wouldn’t tease a woman, would you?”
“I never tease.”
“I beg to differ. Your teasing lasted at least an hour earlier.”
A lusty chuckle escaped Aire’s throat. “Before this conversation—as well as my erection—takes a sinful turn, allow me to do the honors.” He set a palm to his smooth chest. “I officially accept the title of Noble Knight.”
The endearing gesture prompted me to do the same. “And I officially accept the rank of Brazen Creature.”
Then I reached between us for a handshake. However, Aire’s expression said, Fuck that .
With a famished snarl, he yanked me firmer to him, my tits burrowing against his flesh.
Seasons strike me. This man.
Playfully, I gave our agreement extra consideration. “Though, Brazen Creature versus Aspen will also depend on the type of sex we’re having. After tonight, I won’t complain if you use them interchangeably—”
I yelped as he flipped me over, my ass hitting the rug. Hovering over me in the firelight, Aire vaulted my legs apart with his waist, his cock poised against my cunt.
Those eyes flared like blue matches as he rasped, “Who the fuck said we were finished?”