Page 73 of Ballad of Sea and Sky

“I’m not suggestingwedo anything,“ he teased, throwing my own words back at me with a wicked grin. He kissed below my navel as he pulled at the makeshift skirt. He looked up, his eyes a bright gold and his gaze feral. “I absolutely fucking insist on demonstrating my ownfavorableterms with you. For ouralliance,of course.”

I laughed, a thrill running through me at the heat, theintent, in his gaze, and I didn’t protest as he lowered his mouth to me, settling between my legs.

“I intend to thoroughly ruin you now, Marina,” he purred, sliding a finger through me and finding me already wet. “No one will be able to undo what I intend to do to you tonight.”

“And what is that?” I gasped, my head falling back as I felt a warm, firm finger stretching me with glorious pressure.

Caspian grinned, his teeth glinting at his eyes met mine. “Feast.”

He lowered his mouth to me, his tongue teasing the sensitive flesh that ached for him, already throbbing with need from just a single finger. I moaned, the sound making him chuckle as he explored me, his tongue lapping teasing circles around me until I was practically vibrating with pleasure.

“I think you like this, Urchin,” he teased, a second finger joining the first as he pumped gently into me. “Don’t you?”

“Yes,” I gasped, gripping the bed as I forced my eyes to meet his. “Please.”

“I am nothing if not your obedient servant,” he murmured, his mouth covering me as his fingers pumped inside me, his tongue flicking an aching rhythm over my center as pleasure began to spiral through me.

I bucked against him, needing more friction, more everything as he worked me, one of his hands skimming up my body to tease a taut nipple.

“More,” I demanded, release so close and yet still just out of reach. My hands went to his hair, his wings, sliding between soft strands and feathers as I sought sensation. “Cas.”

Something about his name on my lips pushedmeover the edge, as if it were the answer to a question I hadn’t known needed asking.

I shuddered against him, his hand a firm pressure at my hip as he kissed me through the release before sliding his fingers out of me.

I lay boneless as Caspian prowled up to meet me, catching my jaw, and pulling me into a kiss that tasted of us both. I let myself melt into him, as he tucked me in close, holding me tightly as if the night might try to steal me away.

Would it be like this every night if I chose to go with him? No, I reminded myself. He hadn’t promised romance. But perhaps it would happen anyway.

“Were those satisfactory terms?” he teased, finally breaking away long enough for me to catch my breath. “I would hate for you to be left wanting in whatever bargain we may or may not strike.”

I laughed, kissing him again. “Very satisfactory,” I agreed. “A convincing argument indeed.”

“You know that I meant what I said, Marina,” Caspian said, suddenly serious as he seemed to drink me in. “If you decide to go back, I won’t stop you.”

“I know,” I said quietly, praying to the seas that he knew it wasn’t because of him that I would choose to go home. Perhaps I should tell him that, but the words seemed to stick when I tried to let them out. “You’re an honorable male.”

Caspian laughed, pulling me down to his chest. “An honorable pirate. That’s almost as rare as a rebellious princess.”

“So whenwillyou do more with me?“ I asked, eliciting a chuckle that rumbled down my spine. “When do I getallof you?”

“Greedy,” Caspian teased, nipping my earlobe.

“That’s not an answer,” I pushed, curling into him.

Caspian sighed, the sound filled with more longing than I had expected. “Believe me Urchin,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the space beneath my ear. “If we make it that far, I’ll make it worth the wait.”

Chapter 27

Youaredistracted.

“I’m trying,” I snapped after the sea washed through my mind to rid it of Morar for the fifth time.

It was the morning after Caspian’s demonstration of ‘favorable terms,’ and truthfully I hadn’t thought of much else. The concentration required for dealing with the lake spirit was difficult to grasp on the best of days, and nearly impossible with the memory of lips and tongue and feathers from the previous night.

Very distracted, Ran argued, snorting irritably.By your mate.

“He’s not my mate,” I corrected automatically, even though Caspian wasn’t around to hear the argument. What we had done didn’t change anything. He had to go back to his people, and I to mine. This couldn’t be anything more than it was.