Page 61 of To Save a Kingdom

Well, she couldn’t argue there.

He turned her around, placing her back to the wall. Then their bodies were flush, his chest pressed against her breasts as his hungry lips met hers.

Heat flooded her, exploding until every nerve ending was on fire. She curled her fingers into his arms with a groan.

As he broke the kiss, they were both panting.

“El, we shouldn’t—”

“Shh.” He put his hand over her mouth. “Tonight, you’re not the queen, and the realm’s problems aren’t yours. Right now, I’m just Elessan and you’re you, and all that matters is us.”

His words had her knees melting.

He planted light kisses along her jaw and down her neck that sent bolts of lightning across her skin and straight to her core.

She moaned, arching her back. Then his fingers were there, untying her corset laces.

Blinking as the constant pressure around her ribs eased, she glanced out the window.

The window, where anyone in the courtyard below would be able to glance up and see them.

“El.” She shifted, one hand moving to hold her dress up before it dropped and gave the guards a show. “Stop. Everyone will see us.”

He growled deep in the back of his throat. “Let them see how lucky I am.”

Bracing one hand on the windowsill, she pushed herself away, out of view. “No, I’m the—”

“Don’t you dare say you’re the queen,” he said, catching both of her wrists in one of his hands, he held them above her head. But he did move them to the side, so she was out of sight. “Tonight, you’re just Aliya.”

Just Aliya.

How often in the last two weeks had she wished for exactly that?

Her corset and dress fell, pooling at her feet as his teeth grazed her collar bone. The resulting shiver chased all thoughts from her mind.

“Wrap your thighs around me, sweetheart.”

Not ‘My Queen.’ He’d taken to calling her that lately, but she preferred his original pet name, and the simpler times the endearment evoked.

Letting him take her weight, she secured both legs around his waist, only to find at some point he’d managed to shed his trousers. His erection pressed between her folds.

She groaned as he slipped inside her, and the delicious stretch and friction drove her into an ever-heightening spiral. This angle had him deeper than any position they’d tried before, if such a thing was possible.

“El.” She curled her wrists, desperate for him to release her so she could run her fingers over his silky skin.

He grazed his fangs over her earlobe. “Not yet. If I let you go now, this will be over too quickly. You can have them back after we make it to the bed. Now, brace yourself.” He pulled out and thrust into her again as stars exploded on the edges of her vision.

The world faded.

His free hand slid down to cup her breast, rolling her nipple with his thumb before his hand continued its downward trajectory.

She moaned. “El…”

He growled, a far-too-satisfied masculine sound that had goosebumps rising on the back of her neck.

“Do that again,” he said as his hand finally made its way between her thighs. He pinched the tense bundle of nerves as he plunged in again.

“Oh gods, El!” She rocked her hips, seeking more friction, more of him.