Page 95 of Ashen Wings

“Yes,” he replies. “Keep your fucking blade on me, Nova.”

This lust isn’t a half dreamt fantasy or a raindrop of sensation. No, it’s the whole damn tidal wave, crashing through me until I’m crazed and fucking feral.

My thighs shake.

I’m on fire and frozen all at once. The world ceases to exist outside of the connection between us, and I need more. Astora help me, I need him more than I need to breathe—to live. I’ve plummeted past the point of madness, spiraling down down down.

“What is happening?” I’m burning and scorched, and only his touch will extinguish the flames. Only his mouth against mine and those beautiful, infuriating lips can begin to satisfy this need.

I’m melting for him, falling from the cosmos for him, and without that solid body pressed against me, I fear I may descend forever.

“It’s your body reacting to the bond, Nova. That’s all.” He grits his teeth, utter turmoil splayed across his face. My sanity, my rationality, my self-preservation all hang above hot coals, yet I’m ready and so fucking willing to let them burn. His grip locks around my wrists, gentle yet firm.

“I…” The words are stolen from me with another flood of desire.

My tunic shifts against my chest, scraping over my heavy, swollen breasts, and the resulting moan that escapes me is nothing short of primal.

Jace’s smouldering eyes drop from mine and land on the imprint of my puckered nipples.

“Fuck, Nova…” he breathes. His eyes rain over me, breathless and ragged, like he’s drinking every inch of me in.

“I know I’ve gone mad, because I’m still furious with you, but Jace…” The dagger pushes a little further into his sternum as I close the distance between us and press my aching body against him. “Gods above, I need you to touch me.”

“This isn’t real, Nova, it’s the bond.” He brushes a thumb over my chin. Those star-flecked eyes glaze over with a desire that damn near matches my own.

“I don’t care if it’s the offering. I don’t care that we’ll most certainly regret this tomorrow. I don’t even care that I have a dagger pressed to your chest right now. This is more than I can bear, and I need you to fucking touch me.”

“You don’t really want this,” he whispers—more of a question than a statement. His eyes scan mine for any sign of assurance. In response, my throat closes and tears well behind my irises. I’ve lost sight of myself, of anything outside of this moment, this sensation.

I need him more than I need air.

“Yes, I do,” I groan and lean further into him, desperate for any friction against my throbbing, aching, sex. “Please, Jace. I can’t bear it.”

My pleas are met by a man barreling toward his limit, and I’m certain I’ve guided him over the edge. He wipes a tear from my cheek, and something between us snaps into place. I feel the bond with my whole goddamned body.

“Please,” I try again. I’m not one to ever beg, but I’ll grovel at this man’s feet if he keeps staring down at me through those godsdamned perfect lashes. His thumb lingers on the dip of my chin, and I groan again, pressing my thighs together.

“Tell me what you need, starling.” He brushes his brow against mine.

My eyes flutter closed, and for a half second, the truth glimpses through me. I’ve wanted this since the day we met. The day I laid eyes on him. There’s no denying the flood of feelings in this heightened state. Yes, he’s infuriating, untrustworthy, and worst of all deadly, but I want this.

I want him.

Maybe it’s an idiotic, reckless, horrible decision, but I plunge into the darkness anyway.

No amount of magic or cosmic offerings fractures my resolve when I whisper, “Kiss me.”

The dagger drops between us.

Then, his lips crash against mine, hungry and wholly divine. He is the earth and I am the rising tide. He is the sky and I am the blistering storm. The world flares to life. Every place our bodies touch electrifies, and when he weaves his hands through my hair, I cling to the shred of strength left to keep from begging for more.

Jace inches a thigh between mine, but the sliver of space between us is still too much. He pulls my hair down my back, angling my neck to deepen the kiss.

Fuck, he tastes like starlight and sin, and I’m a glutton for both. He groans against my lips.

My back arches as his other hand skims down my jaw. Those perfect fingers, firm and steady, wrap around my neck, sending my pulse to the cosmos.

“Fuck, Nova… tell me you want this.” My knees buckle at his lust-coated whisper.