“You have no idea how much I want you to never leave this room,” Kilian murmured against my collarbone.
“Then show me,” I rasped.
I felt him smile against my throat. “You’re so fucking sassy. I wonder how you’ll argue with me when your mouth is otherwise engaged.”
“You’ll never know if you keep talking–”
His mouth claimed mine in a brutally decadent kiss. I gasped as my lips opened for him, his tongue sweeping against mine in slow circles. One hand palmed my waist as his fingers sank into my hair, cradling the back of my head against the door. Every lick of his tongue against mine, every inch of pressure against my body felt intentional. Purposeful. Kilian Valhan kissed like the world was ending tomorrow. And I suddenly understood the difference between a pleasant kiss and a world-shattering one.
Thisdid not feel like it had with Ayden. I felt this kiss in every charged atom of my body. It was safe and warm and undeniably right. He tasted like snow and air, and I couldn’t breathe fast enough.
“I want this off.” I unhooked his bandolier, and the weapons crashed to the floor between us, but I didn’t care. My fingers reached blindly for the buckles on his breastplate, deftly unclipping them. I ran my hands up the sides of his neck, sinking my fingers into his hair like I had so desperately wanted to in the tavern. I tugged at the silken strands and he groaned like I knew he would, my mouth absorbing the sound.
I did it again. I wanted to know what other sounds he was capable of making. I wanted it all.
Kilian rocked against me, and hot, aching desire shot through my veins. He grabbed a fistful of the loose-fitting tunic I’d donned over my cuirass in lieu of a long-sleeve. “I hate this tunic.”
“Then burn it.” I lifted my arms as he pulled it off, exposing my arms, my neck, the gear I wore beneath.
“This fucking corset will be the death of me.” Kilian broke our kiss to stare down at it.
My chest was heaving like I had just run a marathon, and I felt lightheaded from the kiss. I didn’t have the heart to correct him on the difference between a corset and a cuirass. To be fair, this one did have laces in the front instead of buckles.
The dizziness became progressively worse as Kilian dipped his head to kiss the swell of my breasts. His tongue trailed idly along the curves and back up to my neck, where he sucked the skin until I gasped.
“Do you know how to undo it? The gear,” I managed to get out.
His eyes snapped to mine, and there was dark humor in them. “Don’t insult me. Although, I don’t think I have the patience to untie this one. You’re not too attached to it?”
I shook my head once and he grinned. He reached for a short blade sheathed at his side, bringing the sharp tip to the seam of the cuirass. He carefully cut at the laces, the knife slicing through the material quick and clean. And when he was done, he threw the dagger aside and peeled it right off my body.
He drank me in. I was surprised to find that instead of feeling self-conscious, I feltseen. “You’re so beautiful.”
His head dipped once more and my eyes shuttered, as I surrendered to the wave of raw hunger. Every touch was electrifying. My body felt like it was on fire. I dropped my head against the door as Kilian’s hips rolled against mine. All his rage and all of mine combined into a supernova. The throbbing in my core was building, kicked into hyperdrive. I threw my hands against his breastplate again, finishing what I had started. The armor crashed to the floor, leaving only his loose undershirt in place. I reached for the hem, tugging.
I pulled, but the shirt didn’t budge from where it was tucked into his pants. Frustrated, I ran my fingers along the seam ofhis leathers and he pushed against my hand. I stroked again, softer this time, and he pressed his lips to my neck, muttering my name. My fingers worked the top button of his pants and then the zip. I felt the soft cotton band of his underwear and then the tip of him.
I slipped my hand beneath his underwear and Kilian swore. I grasped him tentatively. Sliding my hand across the velvety flesh, I marveled at his length, the wet bead that formed at his tip, the soft moan that rent from him as he thrust forward in my hand.
Iwas doing this. Never had I felt more powerful than I did now, with my fingers wrapped around Kilian Valhan as he came undone. For me. Thunder rumbled and lightning crashed through the window outside. Darkness, heady and fragrant, cloaked me, its kiss the most sensual death.
His hips rocked faster, and I stroked harder. I wanted to taste his skin, swirl my tongue around–
“Don’t think those things,” he said. “I swear the thought of your lips around me is enough to make me–”
I squeezed him and his eyes grew wide. “Did I ever tell you how fucking invasive this link is? I can’t even think about sucking you off in peace.”
His lips were on mine then, a clash of teeth and tongue. There was nothing measured or practiced in this kiss. I felt his muscles tensing and his spine straightened as he tipped his head to the ceiling, exposing the broad column of his throat. I kissed it, sweeping my tongue over his pulse.
Kilian came, his hips thrusting hard against me. Darkness swathed the room, and through the windows, purple lightning danced along the summits.
He dropped his head to my shoulder, his chest heaving.
He was so fucking beautiful. Every inch of him, from the delicate tips of his ears to the inky curls spilling against my skin and the hard, unyielding lines of his muscles. I wanted to be the one to make him lose control like this every single night for the rest of my life.
It was probably what Elena had wanted as well.
Until she had died in the Mortal Trials.
