Page 109 of To Save a Kingdom

Biting her lip, Aliya smiled as she leaned into him. “Hopefully you know your way around a corset?”

Spinning her until her back was to him, he chuckled as his hands went to the nape of her neck and started working their way down her spine, releasing the small buttons holding the outer shell of her dress together. “I suppose we’ll find out, won’t we?”

The silk and velvet fell away, pooling at her feet. There was a whisper of metal against leather and the sudden release of pressure as Elessan used a dagger to slice through the bindings along the back of her corset.

“Hey!” Aliya went to turn around as the stiff, binding material released and she took what felt like her first full breath since that morning. Catching the boning with a foot as it dropped to the floor, she kicked it across the room. Good riddance.

Elessan chuckled. “I can sense your never-ending love for restrictive human fashions.”

“Ugh.” She groaned, but the noise turned into a squeal as he bent and scooped her legs out from under her. With a heave, he tossed her onto the center of the bed.

Air whooshed from her lungs as she landed on her back. “Hey, what was that for?”

His eyes sparkled as a mischievous smile ghosted his lips. “Do you trust me?”

She blinked, the heat in her core guttering before flaring back to full force. “Yes…”

The breathiness in her voice made it sound like more of a question than an answer but the way his eyes were scouring her body, she didn’t care.

He held up two lengths of rope she hadn’t noticed. “Put your hands above your head.”

Wait, what? She furrowed her eyebrows, but he just stood there, waiting.

“You have this convenient four-poster bed, and I think it’s time you got to relax a little.”

She eyed the cords and the pillars at the top corners of her mattress. “Tying me up will help me relax?”

He leaned over her and kissed the side of her temple. “If you don’t like it, I’ll untie you.”

Aliya chewed on the inside of her cheek as she studied his face. That didn’t sound very calming, but she didn’t have a ton of experience in the sexual arena, and she had just proclaimed her trust in him. “Okay.” She fought to keep the nervous tremble from the word as she stretched her arms above her head.

Tying them secure enough she couldn’t get out but not too tight to hurt, he fastened each wrist to a bed post.

“See this loop here?” he asked, gesturing to the shorter end of the rope.

“Yes?”

“It’s a slip knot. If you don’t like what I’m doing, pull it, you’ll be free and I’ll stop.” He captured her eyes with his. “Alright?”

Something in her chest relaxed. This was okay. She had a way out, if she changed her mind. And he wouldn’t do anything to injure her.

“Are they too tight?”

Tugging on the ropes, she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Something dark sparkled in his eyes as his voice dropped in pitch. “Good.”

Crawling over her, he kissed beneath her ear—the spot guaranteed to make her melt.

Moaning, she arched her back until her breasts and stomach rubbed against him. Pausing, she frowned. “Hey, wait. You forgot to take your clothes off.”

Making a sound deep in his throat, he worked his way down her neck and across her collarbone. “Later,” he mumbled before taking her breast into his mouth and sucking.

Pleasure shot straight to her core.

Aliya gasped, bucking as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, seeking more friction as the rough texture of his trousers ground into her inner thighs.

Tilting his head until he met her eyes, Elessan released her and clicked his tongue. “Oh, no… none of that.”