Page 139

Tait crushed my lips with his. At once, I curled my arms around his neck and parted my lips. His tongue was warm and soft. I dug my fingernails into his shoulders.

We staggered backward, and my back struck one of the stone walls keeping the hillsides of the palace sturdier against the high tides.

I broke the kiss, breathing heavy, heart racing. Tait’s eyes heated like a flame. One of his clever hands slid down to my waist. He bunched the satin of my skirt into his grip, then glided his calloused hands over the smooth skin of my thigh.

He hooked one of my legs over his forearm, keeping me balanced on one foot while giving his hand space to reach between my thighs. The tips of his fingers teased the tender skin around my core.

He smirked at me, one corner of his mouth raised. “What do I want?”

Gods. My palms flattened against the stone wall. “My…my screams.”

“Perfect woman.” Tait’s tongue dragged across the edge of my jaw. He added a second finger, pumping in and out of me. The motions were skilled: gentle and rough, slow and swift. As though Tait could read my every desire.

My breath caught. “Are you…Do you use your voice on me?”

He paused, simply gliding his thumb in small circles against my throbbing apex. “I’ve never used my voice on you. I only use my voice as a defense.”

“You’ve never wanted to know my heart?”

“Every damn day.” Tait curled his fingers, going deeper inside me. “But from your words, not because I took it. I would not invade you in such a way. I know how it feels to be controlled and manipulated. You won’t know that, not from me.”

In truth, I would not always mind if Tait read my desires, but I could understand why he used his sea voice with caution. “Then how—gods—how do you know exactly what I want now?”

“Because you’re mine.” Tait went still, lifting his head. “No. That’s not all you are. You are the reason behind every smile on my face.” He kissed the side of my throat. “You are the freedom from the burdens on my shoulders.” His mouth hovered over my lips. “You are the sunrise I seek in the storms of my soul.”

My chin trembled. This bleeding man.

Tait kissed me, deeper, fiercer. Passion bled from every brush of his tongue, every tilt of his head.

His fingers plunged in and out of my core. Each draw of breath came heavy and deep until my head spun with delight, and I thought my leg might give out. I arched my hips against his hand once, twice, until the burst of heat erupted and I shuddered and twitched through a fierce release.

Tait held me steady, my back to the wall, his arm around my waist until I could breathe again.

I looked at him, those blood-and-honey eyes, his stubbled jaw, the burn in his expression. A look of need, of peace, of possession.

My fingertips traced the edges of the skull-and-blades tattoo visible beneath the laces of his tunic. He gently lowered my leg from his grip and licked the two fingers he’d kept speared inside me with a satisfied groan.

The man thought himself sly the way he destroyed me with those hands, that mouth, with all of him. But I had grand plans to prove he was not the only one who craved a bit of control here.

I rested my hand on his heart and pushed him back. The edge of a bench hit his knees. Tait fumbled into sitting. “Vicious?”

Slowly, I unclasped the snap behind my collar, then slipped each shoulder free until the gown slid down to my hips. Gods, to keep that heat of passion alive in his eyes every bleeding day was a new task I was determined to complete before the sun faded over the horizon.

With my gown still billowed about my hips, I leveraged myself into a straddle over his hips. I cupped my breast in one hand and the back of his head with the other. “Put your mouth on me.”

Tait’s brows lifted. For a moment I thought he might remind me he had the control here, but instead, he dragged his tongue over the peak of my nipple. I shuddered.

He rolled his gaze to meet mine, lips near my breast, and whispered, “Whatever you desire.”

Tait did not keep his touch tender. He devoured me. My naked upper half would be spotted in marks of his kisses, of the occasional nip of his teeth. I could hardly wait to see each one. He pinched one breast and kissed the other. I sat on his lap, rocking and gliding along the hardness of his length, seeking relief.

After a moment, Tait cursed, hurriedly unlaced his trousers, and pulled out his swollen cock. Hands on my hips, he gathered my skirt and lifted me for a breath, then slammed me down on top of him.

A unified gasp escaped our mouths. My arm hooked around his neck; his rough palms splayed over my bare back. We remained there, locked together, lips parted and breathing each other in.

Then Tait thrust upward. The bench rattled.

I dropped each hand onto his shoulders. My gaze never left his when I rose up on my knees and met his thrusts with my own. Words seemed pointless. Everything was spoken with touch, with our locked gazes, the pants of our open mouths.