Page 80 of How to Claim A Shadow King

The absolute stillness that settles over Malakai is breathtaking. The feral storm inside his eyes shifts, replaced by a look of such profound tenderness that it steals the remaining breath from my lungs.

He doesn't look smug, or disappointed, or anything but… in love.

"Aveline," he breathes. “You could never disappoint me. Never. Especially not in this. You tell me what you need, and if it’s too much, we stop.”

Tears well in my eyes, tears of gratitude, and I nod. He kisses me again, deeply, sweetly, and I taste salt on our lips.

Slowly, Malakai undresses me.

His large hands move to the laces of my boots, unthreading them with absolute care before sliding my undergarments down my legs. Each article of clothes is replaced by soft kisses. The sole of my foot, which makes me laugh. My ankle, which tickles. My knees, which makes my breath stutter. My inner thighs, which makes me forget to breathe at all. He plays with the small thatch of blonde hair there until I’m whimpering, begging for more.

Finally, Malakai discards his own clothes until he is entirely bare, his heavily muscled frame bracketing mine on the sheets.

He’s beautiful, and I take my time kissing his skin too, reveling in the way he sucks in a breath as I explore.

Carefully, we untie my overdress, and he lifts the thin blouse over my head, releasing my breasts.

“I quite like these,” he tells me, grinning.

I tip my head back and laugh. “You know, I did get the feeling you might.”

When his mouth finds mine again, the kiss is slow, sweet, and filled with a deep, consuming devotion. His hands map every single inch of my bare skin, his calloused palms tracing the curve of my waist, the swell of my hips, his touch leaving a trail of liquid fire in its wake.

"Let me show you, my queen," he finally murmurs against my lips. "Let me teach your body what it means to belong to the night."

He slides down the length of my body, his dark hair brushing against my stomach, sending a violent jolt straight through my core. I gasp, my fingers knotting frantically into the velvet sheets as Malakai parts my thighs.

He doesn't rush.

He rests his warm hands securely under my hips, tilting me up toward him, and then his tongue finds the sensitive, swollen center of my core.

A choked sob tears out of my throat.

This is nothing like last night.

Oh gods, it’s so much better.

He licks, and sucks, and plays with me in ways I didn’t even know were possible. The sheer, explicit intensity of the sensation shatters my composure entirely. Malakai worships me with a heavy, deliberate hunger, his tongue sliding over my clit in slow, rhythmic strokes that turn my bones to water. The burning heat of his mouth against my soaking flesh is incredible.

His fingers slide inside me, stretching me gently, preparing my body for him while his mouth continues to drive me ruthlessly toward the edge of sanity.

I writhe against his mouth.

My head tosses back onto the pillows as the pleasure builds into a suffocating, blinding crest. The shadows of the room surge upward unbidden, wrapping around my ankles and wrists, anchoring me to the bed so he can feast on me as an orgasm rips through me.

Malakai drinks down my whimpers, holding me securely against his face until the trembling in my limbs finally begins to subside.

He slides back up my body, panting heavily, his normal composure completely unraveled.

My magic wakes up with a vengeance. It pours from my skin in shimmering waves of liquid sunshine, illuminating the dark bedchamber in a magnificent, golden glow. I have never felt so entirely powerful in my life.

The poised duchess is gone.

Now?

I am a queen commanding her god.

I reach down, my fingers wrapping around his wrist, tugging him closer. "My turn."