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Then he lifted his head.

I panted, body alight like a flame had doused my flesh, and glared at him. “Why did you…stop?”

Tait lifted one beringed hand, never breaking his gaze from mine, then slowly twisted the large center ring. It was a flat band save for the rounded center, which held the royal house sigil. I could not gather a single thought as to what he had planned before the cold silver pressed to the trembling apex of my core.

White light blurred in my vision. Gods, oh, gods.

My chest rose frantically as breath burned through my lungs. Tait held his ring against my core, adding enough pressure, enough friction, to lead me to the edge and keep me there. A constant state of rolling pleasure from the crown of my head to the curl of my toes.

His tongue followed again, delving inside me while he kept his ring circling my core.

Too much. It was too damn much. I never wanted it to end.

My body writhed, lost to his touch, his kiss. My release shattered against his mouth. Tait flattened his other hand over my lower belly, holding me in place as his tongue went deeper, his ring pressed firmer.

My body tightened with such ferocity I could not unclench my teeth for the cry of his name.

Tait stood when the wave faded. He had no time to be smug about his wondrous mouth before I pulled on his wrist and he stumbled onto the bed. He was fully clothed, and I nearly tore the seams of his tunic when ripping it over his head.

Our mouths locked furiously. Tait fumbled to remove his trousers with one hand while yanking the skirt of my chemise even higher over my waist. I was not certain the trousers were even free of his ankles before I reached between us and gripped his thick cock.

“Mira,” Tait gasped against my neck. He did not attempt to slow his body and rocked in my hand, gliding his length between my fingers over and over. “Gods, I need you.”

His mouth covered one nipple and sucked hard on the peak until the flesh stretched and ached. I ran my thumb over the crown of his length. Tait shuddered and let out a rough breath that parted his lips enough that he was forced to release my breast.

“Don’t stop,” I insisted. “Take what you want from me. Hard as you want.”

“Gods, Vicious,” he mumbled, then rolled me onto my side.

Tait fit himself behind me, hooked his arm beneath one knee, and lifted my leg so it nearly touched my shoulder. I was split open, waiting, dripping, wanting him.

“Now. I need you. Now!”

Behind me, Tait flattened his chest to my back and aligned his cock with my entrance. In a rough thrust, he slid inside. No pause, no waiting, our pace was frenzied. The old bed groaned beneath our frantic thrusts and movements.

Tait bit down on my neck, his tongue lapping at the tender flesh. I reached behind and cupped the back of his head, clawing at his hair. Sounds of our sweat-soaked skin slapping together filled the room, along with our rough, desperate pants.

Each motion, each touch, spoke a thousand words, revealed how greedy we were to devour the other.

My stomach turned to sweet knots. My brow furrowed when warmth gathered in my mind in a tangle of pleasure. Then I spilled over the edge.

Tait pressed a kiss to the side of my head, holding his lips there, grinding his hips until there was no space between our bodies. All at once, he stilled. A breathy moan released against my hair. Hot pulses of his release surged into me, enough I felt the rush of some drip over my thighs.

When it ended, Tait eased out of me. He turned my chin and claimed my mouth for himself. “Do you, Vicious?”

I grinned. “Aye.”

He kissed me softly. “Same. Very much the same.”

I’d not anticipated the unease of sailing again, even though the Ever Ship, in all the thousands of turns the Ever had existed, had never met the depths of the sea. To the stun of the Ever King, I’d been swift to request the ship dive beneath the surface as long as Livia and I could tolerate it.

If the ships already sailed under the sea, in my mind, bespelled storms could not sink it.

I did not think Bloodsinger minded much. Beneath the tides meant a swifter journey. Only when Livia grew pale did he ignore my request at once and return to sailing in the sunlight.

Tait did not bluster when I, unbidden, followed him around the deck for his post duties. I’d not even realized I’d been doing it until he gently led me belowdecks to the galley, insisting Sewell had need of assistance with the nightly meal, and Tait did not wish for me to be involved in the filth of washing chamber pots.

Of course, after he left, I registered the man never scrubbed chamber pots. He was the damn first mate, second only to the king on board.