Page 41 of King of Storms and Feathers

As she rose onto her knees over me, I gentled my touch, coaxing the release from her. “Let go,” I urged.

“I can’t.” She shook her head. “Stop,” she commanded, as if I was the slave and she was in charge.

My hand froze, my cock straining toward her heat. “Why?”

“Aren’t you afraid…”—she caught her breath—“that your precious Sayeeda might appear like a golden wraith and catch you defiling a servant?”

“Why should I care? Ari has seen the worst of me countless times.” I grinned, feeling her body clench around my fingers as I trailed a palm along her sternum between the ripe mounds of her breasts. “Also, I instructed her not to visit until later.”

“Because you didn’t want your lover to see you touch another?” she asked, her voice rough with unfulfilled need.

I slid my fingers from her heat and braced my hands on her hips, holding her in place.

Confusion danced over her features, and for a moment, it plagued me, too. She thought Ari was my lover?

“There’s no need for jealousy,” I said, a strange sensation, similar to pride but a thousand times stronger, swelling in my chest. “You’re all I crave. If you kiss me as you did before, you can eat as many grapes as you wish and every piece of fruit on the platter over there.” I hitched my thumb toward a low table near the windows.

“I’d rather starve.”

“So be it,” I said.

This would have been a good time to reveal that Ari would soon arrive with a meal for her, but I pressed my lips together.

“Tomorrow,” I said, scratching the stubble on my chin, “I think I’ll chain you to my dining chair.”

“Is that the only way you can keep a girl’s attention, King Arrowyn?”

I laughed. “There are many ways to keep your attention, Leaf.”

“Resorting to brute force to get what you want is a character flaw, not something to brag about.”

“Do you think so?” I said. “In my opinion, wielding lightning that can liquefy bones is a skill to be proud of. Is that not brute force?”

“I’ve never seen you use magic,” she lied.

I hadn’t forgotten the night she’d spied on me in the throne room.

“And you believe that means my power is insignificant? I am the King of Storms and Feathers. Do you really think I would be the weakest of my people?”

“It’s possible,” she said, pretending to contemplate the idea. “You don’t look particularly strong, and I’ve seen many fae use storm magic in your court. What makes you so special?”

Laughter boomed out of me. “A courtier’s magic can roast a nice duck; mine razes cities.”

“And again, nothing to be proud of,” she said.

I wrapped my hand around her throat, preparing to teach her a lesson in manners with my mouth, my fingers, and the organ currently trying to tear its way out of my pants.

“My King,” called a silvery voice from the level below. “May I enter?”

Gold be damned. Trust the Sayeeda to arrive early and at such an inopportune time. Again.

Sighing, I pushed the girl off me and swung my feet onto the floor, bracing my elbows on my knees. “Your arrival is more than a little premature, Ari, but, yes, come in. Why not? Feed the feral human a delightful feast from my kitchen before she bites my nose off my face.”

Ari appeared in the river room. “Bite you? From where I stood, it looked as if you were kissing each other with equal enthusiasm.”

Leaf’s face flushed scarlet.

“Indeed,” I said, getting to my feet and stretching. “Be sure to lock her in her cage before you feed her.”

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