Page 64 of A Thread of Breath and Bone

Holding himself up on his forearms, he kisses me tenderly, brushing my hair from my face. “I love you. Just take deep breaths. I’ll go slow.”

I nod, wrapping my hands around his nape and bringing our mouths together in another kiss that threatens to undo existence as I feel him notch himself at my entrance. He waits a heartbeat, his tongue hungrily tasting me before he moves.

He reminds me to relax and breathe. I find myself lost between pain and pleasure, both of them melding together into a confusing mixture. He tells me to take one last deep breath and sinks into me, burying himself at the hilt and filling me so fully. He doesn't move, he only kisses me while his hands knead my full and aching breasts.

After a bit, I rock my hips, signaling that I’m ready. He doesn’t hesitate. It isn’t long before I’m drowning in the throes of pleasure, an inescapable heat building in my core. When his teeth clamp down on my nipple, I come apart for the second time tonight, shocked at how heat floods my body, pulling an obnoxiously loud moan from my lips. He demands I open my eyes. When I try to bury my face behind my hand, he pulls it away, telling me his room is sound shielded and he wants to hear all of me.

Minutes become hours, hours become a blissful eternity. One orgasm turns to three, then four. With every high, the fall is harder as Ryker learns my body, becoming a master at pleasuring me.

We sit in the center of the bed, me on his lap, our gazes locked. With every roll of my hips, I fall more in love—as if it is even possible. My mate. My perfect other half.

His hands rest on my hips, helping me roll them as he moves in and out over and over again. Everything about this is slow, sensual, and filled with so much emotion, I want to cry. Our eyes are the only way to communicate the depth of what we feel. There are no sufficient words. Not in the common language or Elvisiah…at least none that I know.

Time blurs after that. The night becomes a soft, hazy memory of whispered words, shared laughter, and the kind of closeness that feels less like passion and more like home.

When the black sky becomes a soft shade of morning gray, Ryker wraps me in his arms as we both drift in and out of a dreamless sleep.

Some time later, I wake to soft kisses along my spine before drifting back to sleep. Later, it’s the slow glide of his hands along my legs. Another time, I wake to find him asleep on my stomach.

There’s something impossibly sweet about the quiet ways we find each other through the night. It couldn’t have been more perfect if I had planned every detail. Ryker knows how to love me exactly the way I need—like some part of his soul was always meant for mine.

We don’t wake again until the sun is high in the sky and we hear his mother’s voice in the hall. I stir beneath the weight of Ryker’s body. I’m on my stomach, and he’s asleep with his head on my lower back. He grumbles, moving behind me and tugging me to his chest, and then falls silent as we both listen, straining to hear the chatter outside.

“This is for Princess Raea,” Queen Priana says. “And please make sure they’re both dressed and back at the palace four hours past midday for a meeting.”

The sound of her heels clicking on the wood fades away.

I blush, burying my face in my palms. It seems we aren’t fooling anyone.

Ryker tugs me closer, my back to his front, and bites playfully on my shoulder. “Good—” He pauses, sitting up to glance at the clock. “Morning. Though it’s almost lunchtime.”

I roll over, running my palms up his bare chest. His body shivers beneath my touch, pulling a smile to my mouth. “Hi.” I grin, brushing my hands over his shoulders. I cup the nape of his neck, teasing my fingers through his hair.

The deep, rich blue of his silky sheets deepens the shade of his eyes and is a mesmerizing contrast with his honeyed skin. A moment later, his mouth is on mine as he presses my back into the sheets and shifts his body weight over me.

“I want to wake up like this every day for the rest of eternity,” he says between kisses.

I smile, feeling content and sated as I stretch my arms above my head. His lips skate down my jaw, hovering over a sensitive spot on my neck. His teeth scratch over the sensitive skin. My body erupts in goosebumps only egging him on. His mouth continues south to my collarbone, sucking lightly before moving to my breast.

His tongue swirls around my nipple, moving to the other one to give equal attention as I lie writhing beneath him. His gaze meets mine with a glint of mischief as he sinks lower, his tongue trailing fire down my stomach and further south.

He lifts a leg over his shoulder, then the second.

“You don’t have—” My words die as my protests flitter away.

He licks me in long, languid strokes, sucking on my sensitive bundle of nerves. I grip his sheets, breaking eye contact as my hips move. Internally, I’m drowning in pleasure, going deeper and deeper with every lick and suck. I feel him smile when I gasp. One arm flattens my hips, pinning me to the bed, his other hand sinking into me, stroking me deep while his mouth teases me apart.

“Open your eyes and watch, Raea,” Ryker says, his voice deep and velvety.

I peel my eyes open, making eye contact as he sinks between my thighs again, heat building and building. His fingers plunge faster and faster as his tongue flicks. My legs begin to tremble, and before I can stop myself, I’m grinding on his face, his morning stubble scratching my thighs. My hands slide into his hair, and I don’t even care that I’m holding him in place.

He growls, and just when I think I’m going to break, he commands, “Eyes open, Raea. Come for me, love, so I can taste you.”

With a few more flicks of his fingers and another tease of his mouth, I feel a tether snap, and I stop sinking, only to be pulled to the surface. When I break through, I shatter. Heat floods my whole body, my toes curl, and I become boneless beneath him as I strain to keep my gaze locked on his. He lets me off the hook as my head falls back and I feel him lapping up my arousal.

When the last of my orgasm subsides, he’s inside of me a heartbeat later, seeking his own release. It doesn’t take long before he falls beside me with a lazy grin. “I’m going to be dreaming about that every night until I can have you in my bed again.”

I giggle, turning onto my stomach and kissing his shoulder. “Shameless, arrogant⁠—”