Page 47 of Down from the Tower

I glance down. The material is soft gold, not a curse from Midas but simply thread spun into the gold. I eye it before glancing at the gauzy layers beneath.

I know I’ll breathe better if I take it off, it’s just so far out of my comfort zone…

He’s already pinned me down, and I liked it. I need hard lines to keep my head on straight.

Zarev waits, crossing his arms as he taps his foot. I bite my lip, eyeing him before clutching the dress again. “I don’t want to look… easy out here.”

“Princess, people can see me too. All I have to do is not hide behind the shadows.You won’t look out of place in Sherwood. There’s killer flowers, mimics, beastly wolves and shifters, not to mention the ogres. You fit in fine. Even if someone did try something with you, I imagine you could melt another face off and get away.”

I flinch at the reminder, but he does have a point. I don’t really know how to control it, but maybe if I felt like I was in danger I could activate these powers again.

Modred’s been missing all morning. When I woke up Zarev was already putting out the fire and collecting his things, but he denied sending the spirit on into the afterlife. I’m not sure how that works, but I imagine it’s something I’d notice since I can apparently see the dead.

That’s another thing that’s too freaky to think about. I never noticed that people were dead before, but now I don’t know what to make of it.

Swallowing, I give a sharp nod. “Okay, fine. You may have a point. But you need to undo the corset.”

He twirls a finger. “Spin around.”

My hair is pulled into a messy ponytail, and I distract myself by combining my fingers through the tangles to work on a braid. It works for all of a minute before I feel Zarev’s touch on my back.

My spine stiffens, then arches at the touch. His hands are still warm, something I’m beginning to think never changes with him. His touch is strong as I feel his palms glide down my back before the straps of the corset pull tighter, making me drop my hair with a gasp.

“I have to undo the tie to loosen this,” he explains, his breath on my ear. It sends shivers down my spine, and it finally snaps into place that I’m letting this man undress me in the woods.

All alone.

He’s back to pulling on the corset, and my mind scatters. There’s another moment of tension before it loosens, and I take a deep breath when my ribs no longer feel like they are being squeezed to death.

He makes quick work of the rest of it, deftly pulling the straps and loosening it up. When it’s loose enough to pull free from me he grabs both sides before pulling it from my skin, and on instinct my hands reach up to cover my chest. He’s at my back, and there’s fabric in the way to keep him from seeing everything, but I still can’t help the embarrassment.

His chuckle is deep, and when his chin brushes against my shoulder I gasp. “No hiding now, Princess. You’ll need those hands at the ready in case something jumps out.”

His heat lingers at my back, and before I can overthink it I step back into his embrace. He doesn’t pull away, the stubble along his jaw scraping lightly over my skin. It makes my breath hitch, my hands clenching over my chest.

I feel his tongue dart out, licking the sweat along my neck, and I whimper at his touch. “You’re wound so tight, Princess. This isn’t your father’s court. We aren’t playing games for the masses. You have a freedom out here in the world that you wouldn’t find in Tressa. Enjoy it.”

My heart slams in my chest, his words sounding all too real. He has a point that none of this could happen back home, even in the tower. Here I’ll find freedom to be myself, no matter how short lived my time out here is.

I don’t know if I’ll go back to my tower, or even Tressa, but right now, there’s a world of choices around us.

And my first choice is to give into Zarev, because I need to feel his frightening touch again.

Arching back, he hisses against my skin. I swallow my fears, letting a carefree version of myself blossom. This could be my only chance while I’m outside the walls. “You teased me with your shadows once. Show me that again.”

All at once, I feel the ghostly grip as the shadows bloom from nowhere, the gray-black wisps twisting around in front of me. They brush along my thighs, some buckling over my feet to pin me in place. I gasp when they wrap around my middle, spinning me much too fast to face him, the shadows at my feet twisting to allow me to bend to his whim.

Facing him, our closeness is all too real. I gasp when he leans in, forehead pressed to mine, his shadows tightening all around me. “Last chance to take that back, Princess.”

I grit my teeth, willing my hands to heat and remind him that I have power too. But at the last moment, Modred’s melting face pops into my head and I grab my braid and throw it around his waist instead.

I don’t expect much, not with how loose my head feels today. But my hair is strong, and it whips around Zarev fast enough that I can grasp it on the other side, and I drag him closer to me until there’s no space left.

He growls, his lips brushing mine when he speaks. “I knew you had a dark side to that sunshine.”

His lips slant against mine, and I fight to lift onto my toes and deeper the kiss. He tastes like smoke does when it brushes your lips, the scent of the woods a part of him as we kiss.

While I have to keep my hands in place, the shadows let him explore. One of his real hands fists around my throat, and I moan against his mouth at the pressure, his other arm moving to grab my leg, pulling us backward into the nearest tree. My back hits first, the shadows shifting to cushion the feel of bark behind me, and his hips snap into mine.

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