Page 23 of To Hunt a Ruby Remedy

The enchantments were commonplace in all parts of the kingdom. If you didn’t want to make a man permanently infertile, the contraceptive talisman had to be used by the woman. Most healers made them as necklaces or rings.

Scarlette looked at the plain disc with its hole and tugged a small section of her hair free. She braided it with nimble fingers, then took the charm and threaded it onto her hair. She knotted it in place and tossed the entire section of hair over that shoulder, baring her breast completely.

I couldn’t resist any longer. Giving into temptation, I lowered my mouth to her breast. Scarlette arched into me and held my head in place. She went up on tiptoe, but it wasn’t enough. I placed my hands on her thighs, just below her ass, and urged her to jump. She wrapped her legs around me, and I was hard pressed not to fall at the pleasure of her core pressed against my aching erection.

I spun around and toppled onto the bed, switching my attention to her neglected breast and rocking against her wet heat.

“Ranulf.” Her fingers scrabbled at my shirt, tugging it up. I’d have to stop what I was doing to pull it off, and I didn’t want to. “Ranulf, I need skin against skin.”

There was so much soft skin to explore. I ran my hands down her thighs, then back up. Then higher. She locked her legs tighter around me.

“Naked, Ranulf.” She writhed when I pinched her nipple. She tugged at my hair until I met her eyes. “Either strip, or start talking to me, damn it.”

I kissed my way up her chest and to her throat. My words came in short bursts between kisses. “You are so beautiful. Sunshine given form. A ray of brightness cutting through the fog. I want to worship you as the goddess you are.”

She moaned.

I slid a hand down between our bodies and rubbed at her clit. “I have never wanted anyone the way I want you. Your smiles bring me joy, and I want to give you that same pleasure in return.”

I kissed her mouth and added a touch of magic to amplify the sensations caused by my fingers. She splintered in my arms, but I didn’t stop. I stretched her release out for as long as I could before gentling my touch and dropping kisses on her eyelids and the tip of her nose.

Finally, she blinked her eyes open again. “I didn’t expect you to choose talking.”

I grinned. “I know.”

I ached with the need to be inside her, but watching her come undone in my arms was worth the frustration. Knowing I had brought her to that point was a potent feeling, and at least half her enjoyment had come from the words. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to string any together once I was inside her.

She traced the shape of my lips with a finger. “You should smile more. It suits you. Though maybe it’s better that you are usually scowling and silent. You are potent.”

“You haven’t had too much already, have you?”

She shook her head.

“Good, because I’m not done.” Rising from the bed, I stripped off my clothes. Then I returned to my spot between her thighs.

Scarlette splayed her hands against my abdomen the moment I was within reach. “I’ve wanted to do this since I first saw you.”

“Instead, you pushed me into the river.”

“Not today. The first time I saw you, Ranulf.”

I kissed her. “Me too. Why do you think I was so insistent that you leave? I never stood a chance of resisting you. You are going to destroy me, Scarlette.”

The words were unvarnished truth, and I wondered if she understood that I was referring to more than the physical. Then she tilted her hips and took my cock in her hand, and my thoughts splintered. She squeezed once, then notched me at the entrance to her body. “We’ll destroy each other.”

I surged into her, succumbing to the physical sensations. Scarlette would do more than wring me dry. When she left, she’d take her all the joy and laughter with her, leaving me once more in the shadows. But I couldn’t focus on that now. At least here, in bed, we were equal in our need for each other.

I thrust into her, the pressure building. She met my movements with her own. Her hand tangled in my hair and pulled me down for a kiss that was as wild as the rest of our joining. I felt myself coming apart and managed to pull enough magic to flick a burst of pleasure through her. It was enough to send her hurtling into her next release. I joined her, her pleasure intensifying my own.

I collapsed, careful not to put my entire weight on her. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me more fully onto her. After a few heartbeats, I pulled out of her and flipped us so that she sprawled atop me. I reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear once more.

“Ranulf?”

“Yes?”

“I know I gave you the choice of naked or talking, but do you think we could maybe do both for a little bit? Staying just like this, but talking? I have so many questions.”

“I was wondering how you had taken everything so in stride today. Ask your questions, Scarlette. I’ll answer.”

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