Page 92 of Prince of the Sun

“Fine.”

Then I feel an arm wrap around my waist and pull me roughly backward. My butt lands against Daerios’s firm pelvis with a muffled thump.

“What the hell?” I hiss, wiggling furiously in an attempt to escape his clutches. “Let me go.”

“Nope.” His arm pulls me in tighter, so that my back is pressed flush to his chest. “I like having you in my arms. I think I’ll keep you awhile longer.”

I like having you in my arms. At those words, something within me thaws. My insides don’t turn to putty, nothing ridiculous like that, but the block of ice that I’ve carried around in my chest since I learned about Daerios’s betrayal melts a little. Just a little. Not enough that he could reach inside and split it open with a light touch from his deft fingers, but enough to make a difference.

“Fine,” I grumble. “But only because you’re, like, a thousand degrees, and I can’t sleep unless I’m wrapped up like a burrito.”

“Is that so?” he murmurs, his lips pressed close to my ear. “Well, then. Let me wrap you up some more.” His bottom arm snakes under my torso and wraps around my chest so that he’s holding me in a warm hug. One of his feet gently lifts my top ankle and threads itself in between my legs. In the span of a breath, our bodies become tangled together.

My breath turns quick and shallow. I can feel Daerios’s heart thumping against my spine, and each beat sends a shock of electricity down my back. His fingers run up and down my arms, causing goosebumps that have nothing to do with the chill. Despite myself, I snuggle in closer, wiggling my backside into his pelvis, which elicits a shocked intake of breath from Daerios. I shouldn’t be doing this. Shouldn’t get a thrill from the reaction my touch has on him, but I can’t help it. I do it again. His hands clench my arms as I feel his erection push up against my backside.

“Someone’s not very sleepy after all,” I whisper.

“How in the gods’ names do you expect me to sleep when you keep doing that?”

“Mmmm.” I wiggle once more, just to torture him.

“Two can play at this game,” he breathes into my ear. Before I can ask what that means, his hand slips under my shirt. His fingertips skim the skin of my stomach, building tension within my core as they move up toward my breasts. He touches me lightly, like precious china he’s afraid to crack.

“Daerios,” I whisper. “We should go to sleep.”

His hand reaches my left breast. His fingertips brush the curve of its bottom, drawing goosebumps and making me shiver. He cups my breast from beneath, long fingers wrapping nearly all the way around. His pointer finger traces light circles around the nipple. I inhale, shuddering at the sudden burst of sensation. As a reflex, my left hand flies up and under my shirt to grip Daerios’s wrist.Yes.His finger moves faster. I feel my nipple come to a hard peak.

My breath turns to panting. I’m hyper-aware of Cara and Berendir lying mere feet away from us. Are they truly asleep? I pray to God the answer is yes, because I don’t think I’ll be able to survive the humiliation if they can hear the ragged rasp of my throat.

This is a mistake. I know it is. I might want him right now, but Daerios betrayed me. The whole time we were getting to know each other, the whole time I thought we werefallingfor each other, he had an ulterior motive.

But then again, so did I.

Can one truly cancel out the other?

I don’t know. And at the moment, I don’t really care, because I can’t think. I can’t think about tomorrow, or the next hour, or even five minutes from now. All I can think about are the circles Daerios is tracing around my nipple, the way his fingers teasetheir hard peaks. My panties are growing wetter by the second, which is a damn shame, because I only brought two pairs.

“Still want to go to sleep?” Daerios whispers.

“No.” My voice is throaty, almost a cough. “Please, no.” Every follicle of my body has come alive, buzzing with heat and tension. I’ll never be able to sleep like this. In fact, I’ve never been less tired in my life.

“Please, what, baby?” His second hand snakes up my body and grabs onto my other breast, massaging it slowly.

“Please don’t stop.”

The words elicit a low growl from his throat. I arch my chest into his hands, pressing my ass into the hard length I feel beneath me. Then I start to move up and down, massaging my butt along his shaft.

“Oh, fuck,” he whispers. “Fuck. Quinn.”

“I want you to touch me,” I whisper.

His lips press to my ear, breath sending chills down my neck. “Say it again.”

“Touch me, Daerios. Please.”

“Why?”

“Because I need it. I need to feel you inside me.” I twist my neck so that my lips are closer to his. “Please, Daerios.”