“Shhhhh.” A hand closed around her throat.
“Take her inside. Youknow where to put her.” A distant voice slipped between the cracks of her growing awareness.
She knew that voice. It was Caelith.
She tried to stir, but her body wouldn’t listen. It was too heavy, too distant, floating somewhere separate from her mind.
“I want one more go at her.” His words barely reached her, their meaning drifting through the fog in slow, tangled threads, slipping out of reach before she could grasp them.
Her lashes fluttered, and she caught a glimpse of Caelith outside the carriage window, tucking his shirt into his trousers with languid ease.
“Yes, my Lord.” Another figure moved into view.
A short, round man in House Greymane livery bowed before turning toward the carriage.
The door opened with a creak, and cold air kissed her overheated skin. A hand—rough, impersonal—closed around her wrist.
She barely felt it. Nor did she resist when he lifted her arm, let it dangle for a moment, then fall.
“You sure you want another go? I could just drop her somewhere in the city,” the man called over his shoulder. “She seems done for the night.”
“No, I want to fuck her here.”
There was an ache between her legs, thick, sticky wrongness seeping intoher.
She blinked, and there was a flash of movement.
A vial gleamed between Caelith’s fingers as he pulled it from his pocket with a pleased smile. “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll liven her back up.”
The man chuckled. “It’s your dick, my Lord.” Rough arms slid beneath her, lifting. The world tilted, and pain cracked through her skull as her head struck the carriage door.
“You’re going to enjoy this.”
Then—a drop. Something warm and viscous landed on her bare chest, sliding over her skin in a slow, treacherous path.
A tremor rippled through her, and another drop fell, then another. A hand followed, fingers spreading the strange, oil-slick substance over her skin, gliding across her collarbone, down between her breasts.
“Ahhh.” A strangled sound broke from her throat as her heartbeat quickened, and searing bliss shot through her, radiating from the spots where the liquid touched. Her muscles clenched, her head falling against the pillow as she gasped.
Goddess. This didn’t feel right. And yet—
Ecstasy licked through her, overwhelming, consuming, a wave of need unlike anything she had ever known. Her body arched of its own accord, seeking him, wanting him, despite the dim, frantic whisper in the back of her mind that told her something was wrong.
Caelith? That wasn’t right. Was it?
The rough edges of his palm skimmed lower, parting her thighs, fingers greasy with the same oil that had set her nerves alight. He dragged it over the throbbing wetness between her legs, drawing a choked cry from her lips, the pleasure so intense it felt like pain, like she might shatter beneath it.
No—this wasn’t normal. Was it? Her body wouldn’t react this way unless—unless he was her mate? Great Goddess, it felt so good it hurt.
A fingertip grazed the sensitive curve of her breast, the barest brush of contact, yet it sent a pulsing jolt straight through her. Her nipples tightened, desperate for more, for anything that would satisfy the burning demand clawing through her.
He shifted, lowering himself over her, his weight pushing her deeper into the luxurious bedding beneath them. She could feel him, hard and waiting, teasing at her entrance. Her thoughts blurred. The air around her warped, sensations melting together, drowning her, and somewhere, deep beneath the haze, something inside her screamed—
Her limbs were leaden as if she were pulling herself up from the depths of a dark, endless pool. The throbbing in her skull was relentless, a dull, rhythmic pounding behind her eyes.
She groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead, trying to make sense ofwhere she was.
The sheets beneath her were impossibly soft, liquid silk pooling around her while plush, oversized pillows cradled her head.
