He rested his arm behind his head, leaning back against the pillows.
Esmyra’s mind faltered, finding herself drawn to the slow rise and fall of his chest, and the way his muscles flexed beneath the smooth skin. She tried to focus, really, she did. But there was something about him right then that pulled at her in a way she couldn’t ignore. Heat stirred low between her thighs and her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she sat here, staring at him.
Draevyn caught the way her eyes lingered on him, and a subtle heat bloomed across her cheeks. A slow, knowing smile curved his lips as his gaze held hers.
After a breath, he shifted, finally breaking the silence. “I meant every word I said that night on the ship.”
Her head tilted. “What do you mean?”
“That this is your choice. No one else’s. The only person who gets to decide your path is you.”
He paused, searching her eyes. “I love you for who you are. Not for what you were born into, or for the power you possess. But foryou. For the woman who’s survived storms I can’t imagine and loves with fearless loyalty. And no gods, curses, or kingdoms will get in the way of that.”
Warmth flooded through Esmyra. Draevyn’s love was so fierce and unwavering that it should’ve overwhelmed her, but every time the man looked into her eyes, she only found herself aching to drown in it more.
She wanted to drown inhim.
Draevyn sat up next to her and grabbed her hand, his callouses rough against her palm as he pressed his forehead to hers. “If I had to go through it all again I would. Because every second of that torment was worth it if it meant finding you. In this lifetime or the next, I’d endure it all. Without hesitation.”
Her eyes darted back and forth between his, but she found herself unable to speak.
“A phoenix is nothing without his flames. And you, Esmyra, are mine.”
Wildfire. She knew the word wasn’t spoken aloud, but she heard it all the same. Was that why he’d given her that name all that time ago?
Unable to hold back any longer, Esmyra closed the small space between them, her lips pressing softly to his. His hands came up to cradle her face gently, thumbs brushing her cheeks. The kiss was sweet, almost delicate, like the first touch of sunlight after a long, frigid night.
This wasn’t like before. It was nothing like the fierce, desperate ravaging of one another driven by raw need. This was something more profound—a claiming, a sealing of two battered hearts and souls.
It was the promise to never let go.
But beneath that gentle beginning, a deeper hunger stirred, growing with each breath and every brush of their lips.
Her hands found their way to his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath her palms. His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her into him and matching her fervor with his own.
The world narrowed until there was nothing but the two of them, and their love fierce enough to defy the gods.
His hands slid from her face, tracing down her neck to rest firmly on her shoulders, pulling her into his lap as the kiss deepened. The gentle press of his lips grew more urgent, their tongues brushing with a hunger that ignited something wild within her.
Esmyra’s arms wrapped around his neck, fingers threading through his hair as every nerve in her body awakened to the heat of his touch. The world outside faded completely. There was only the softness of his skin, the intoxicating warmth of his breath mingling with hers, and the steady rhythm of their hearts beating as one.
His hands roamed lower, skimming over her sides in a slow, reverent path. When his fingers found the edge of her shirt, he slid it over her head with a tenderness that belied the hunger in his eyes.Every inch of newly bared skin was met with the warmth of his palms, the faint drag of his fingertips, as if memorizing her body.
Her breath caught from the way he looked at her now, as though she was something sacred. Something heworshiped. The blanket slipped further from his body in the movement, the bare heat of his chest meeting hers in a rush that stole her thoughts entirely.
“Wildfire.” Draevyn whispered her name like a promise against her lips before kissing her again, deeper this time.
His grip tightened around her waist, lifting her up as a deep growl rumbled from him. She let out a breathless laugh that melted into a gasp.
The world seemed to tilt when Draevyn lowered her onto the mattress, his body following her down in a slow, deliberate press. His lips trailed from her mouth to her jaw, then lower, brushing the sensitive curve of her throat. He lingered there, tasting the rapid pulse thrashing beneath her skin, before his mouth continued its descent.
Esmyra’s thoughts scattered, any trace of composure dissolving beneath his touch. Every brush of his lips on her skin seemed to reach straight through her soul, tugging at something deep and primal.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly, the tension between them thrumming. The beat of her heart roared in her ears as she clung to him without thinking, her fingers sliding through his hair, over his shoulders, anywhere she could reach him as he moved his way down her body.
Esmyra’s back arched when he kissed along her collarbone, his hands braced on either side of her, caging her in. The blanket pooled around her hips as he shifted lower, his mouth brushing over the swell of her breast with maddening slowness before sucking her nipple into his mouth. His tongue caressed her in long, teasing strokes, setting her entire body on edge before they even truly began.
She let out a tiny whimper and felt him smile against her breast.
