Page 86 of A Broken Throne of Bronze

But when Viridian holds out his arm, I take it. He escorts me upstairs to my bedchamber.

“Goodnight, Little Fawn,” he says, his voice a soft caress.

“Goodnight,” I murmur, my own, a whisper of longing.

Back in my chamber, I peel off my dress and change into my nightgown. Slowly, I take my hair down. Unpinning my updo, my auburn locks start to tumble freely over my shoulders.

I glance at the wall while I work. Knowing his room shares a wall with mine, I wonder how Viridian feels to lie so close to me, yet so far, at the same time. Does he wish he were in my bed, holding me, the way I do? Is he looking at the wall that separates us, thinking the same things?

Moving to my bed, I sit, still removing the braids from my hair. When I’m finished, I lay back onto my pillow and rest my hands on my abdomen.

Closing my eyes, I imagine Viridian’s lips on my neck.

Chapter Twenty-One

Abright haze distorts my vision.

I’m back in Slyfell, at the stables I’d snuck out to so many times. Someone is kissing me, his hands roaming up and down my body, driving me wild with the faintest touch. My body throbs with need. I throw my head back, my mouth forming an “O” shape. All I see is a head of dark hair while my lover moves his mouth down to my neck. Licking and sucking, he lightly nips at my skin with his teeth.

My breath quickens. He keeps going, moving his lips down to my collarbone, and then to my shoulders. I can barely contain my moans, my breath escaping from my parted lips.

My lover’s arms slide down my back. His hands find my thighs, grabbing my rear when he picks me up. Instinctually, I wrap my legs around his waist as his mouth finds mine. His tongue claims my mine for his own, and I melt against him.

He presses me against the wall, pinning me in place with his hips. One of his hands stays under me to support my weight, while the other grabs my throat. Lightly squeezing.

Molten desire thrums through my core, heating me from the inside out until I’m hot to the touch.

“Please,” I beg, panting. “I need you. I need you right now.”

My lover makes quick work of his pants, and enters my needy, needy sex with one rough thrust. I gasp, digging my fingernails into his back.

He pulls his length out of me almost completely before thrusting up into me again. White-hot pleasure sends shivers through my body with every deep, hard thrust.

As I near my climax, I can feel myself start to tremble with anticipation. Pleasure builds and builds and builds until it feels like I’m about to burst into a million pieces.

My lover slows his thrusts, drawing out the sensation until I almost can’t take it anymore.

“Please,” I manage to say between moans, “please, let me finish.”

But he doesn’t quicken his pace. Instead, he draws his head back, and his burning gaze locks with mine.

Amber eyes stare back at me.

It’s Viridian.

Viridian is the one touching me like this.

My mind struggles to make sense of it all. How he’s the one here with me, and not Loren.

But I can’t concentrate. The only thing I can do is moan.

Somehow, the heat of Viridian’s amber stare on me while I’m utterly exposed, bare in the throes of pleasure, heightens the sensation I feel. Without breaking eye contact, he quickens his thrusts, the full length of him entering me over and over and over.

Splintering, I cry out and grab both of his arms.

Viridian works himself through my climax, finally removing his length from my wetness.

He secures his hand behind my head and moves to kiss me.

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