Page 44 of Flame and Starlight

“On the count of three!” I yelled into the abyss.

“One!” His voice rang out in my ears.

“Two,” I whispered back. But I knew he heard me. My fists clenched and unclenched.

“Three. Go.” The authority in his voice had me running. I leapt off the edge, and my arms and legs involuntarily swung in circles, trying to keep me up like treading water. My stomach dropped as I dropped, dead weight flying through the air towards Asher like a rock. “Wings, Alys!”

I mentally kicked myself before stretching them out, forcing them to open in the wind soaring past me. I gritted my teeth, and my nails bit into my palms. But I slowed, and the wind banked me left at neck-breaking speed, whipping pieces of my hair out of its knot.

“Move them with where the wind is trying to take you!”

“Fuck!” I swore and moved them as best I could to try and make them take me back towards Asher. I didn’t need to push as hard as I thought I did. Once I relaxed a bit and leaned into where I wanted to go, they listened, and I could finally take a moment to enjoy what was happening.

My stomach still dropped when I looked down and my knees felt a little fuzzy, but the view was beautiful. Snow-covered peaks pushed up into the winter sky, and thousands of evergreens below us were blanketed in the stuff, glittering in the midday sun. I soared around in circles, leaning this way and that, trying to get the feel of how they needed to be used. I breathed in the icy air and knew I could get used to this. Asher swooped in, taking me off guard, and collided with my body, grabbing me around my waist.

“Give them a rest or you’re going to be really, really sore tomorrow.”

I smiled wide, unable to help myself, and tucked my wings back against me as he dipped and swerved us through the sky.

“That was amazing.”

He pulled my hair down and watched it blow in the breeze before running his thumb across my cheek. I felt my face flush at the intensity in his blue eyes. He smiled.

“I love it when your cheeks blush.”

He kissed me. His lips were a feather against mine, and I was the one that pushed harder, asking for more. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck, and my legs did the same around his waist. He growled and forced my mouth open to his. Suddenly we were on solid ground, and he pushed me up against a tree. Both of our wings wrapped around us, rubbing up against themselves.

I moaned and rolled my hips into his hardness. Electricity shot through my core. I could feel every ounce of desire that scorched his veins. His hand was rough as it pushed its way under my jacket and shirt and found my breast. I leaned my head back against the tree and sighed, granting him access to my neck, which he immediately took. We were like two horny teenagers, grabbing at each other like it was our first time.

We were a tangle of limbs and mouths. I laughed while his hands dropped their assault down to my hips and butt. I grabbed his face and brought his lips back to mine. I would never get sick of the way he tasted or the way he kissed me. He put me down on my feet and turned me so that I was pushed up against the roughness of the bark. His face nuzzled into my wings, causing me to rub my thighs together to try and quell that insistent pulse there.

I pushed my butt back into him, trying to find him. His hands stilled me and slowly pushed my pants down to my knees, and cold air licked at my skin. His arms snaked around my waist, and he cupped me, pressing the heel of his palm into the apex between my thighs. I moaned, and my legs would’ve given out had he not been holding me up. A finger slipped inside. I was heated and soaked for him.

“So wet for me, little duck,” he purred in my ear. He pulled his hand away, and I looked back at him to beg for him to touch me, but the second our eyes met, he was inside me. His eyes were clouded with lust, and I knew he saw the same in mine. He pulled out slowly and then pushed back in with one rough thrust. His hand found my throat, and he pulled me back against him, swallowing my mouth with his.

This was nothing like the night before. He was driven purely by his need for me. His free hand cupped my breasts through the layers I wore and pinched hard on my nipples. I arched back into the sensation and waited as each harsh thrust pushed me closer to the edge.

“Look at me,” he said, his voice as rough as his body. I opened my eyes and watched him watch me. When those same fingers trailed lower and pinched the bundle of nerves at my core, the pressure built to a painful high.

“Asher,” I moaned, and he pulled my face away from his, opening my neck up to him.

His mouth landed on my pulse point, and he bit down. The initial pain where he drew blood mixed with the pleasure of his torturous thrusts forced me to come apart around him. He sucked at my neck, and my release kept coming with each pull his lips made at my neck until I felt tears start rolling down my face. He groaned my name as he pushed his own release inside me and relaxed his mouth’s hold on my neck.

I fell back against him, exhausted. I opened my eyes and saw in his that they were shining brightly at him. I blinked a few times as he brushed the tears off my cheeks.

“Did I hurt you, Alys?” His eyebrows were knitted together in genuine worry.

“No. No, Asher. You definitely did not hurt me.”

“Your taste,” he purred as he licked the sensitive spot at my neck, “is intoxicating.”

I smiled and leaned my head into his, planting a kiss in his hair. I gently pulled myself off him and pulled my pants back up around my waist. I wanted to go home and have a bath.

“I thought blood was the vampire’s forte,” I joked as I tied my pants back on.

“It’s a Fae thing, too,” he said with a wink at me. He pulled his own pants up and continued to explain. “It’s a very personal, sensual thing to us, sharing blood.” His eyes turned dark. “If anyone else were to…” He trailed off and took a breath. “It’s personal.” A wicked smile graced his lips. “It’s also part of the mating ceremony.”

I choked on my own spit. “Excuse me?” I said in between coughs.

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