Page 145 of A Game of Veils

He’s barely touched me except with his gift-driven air currents, but then, we’d barely done anything intimate at all before now.

I reach out tentatively and grasp the front of Bastien’s shirt, with a slight upward tug in question. His pupils dilate. He unfastens the buttons by the collar to open it and hauls it over his head with my assistance.

When he drops the shirt to the floor, he stares back at me with an expression that’s almost defiant. Is he afraid of how I might judge him in comparison to his foster brothers?

It’s true that his shorter, slimmer frame isn’t as overtly impressive as Raul’s or Lorenzo’s. But the compact muscles that line his slender chest and arms look like they were carved out of marble. His pale skin shines in the lantern light, unblemished except for the sigil of Jurnus branded in the middle of his chest and the faint pink scar running over the edge of his ribs, where the cleric and the temple medics removed his lung.

He's absolutely gorgeous in his own way. I’d laugh at anyone who tried to say otherwise.

“Come here.” Curling my fingers around the back of his neck, I pull him to me.

Bastien’s mouth crashes into mine hard and hungry. He angles his head to deepen the kiss, and his tongue flicks between my lips to tangle with my own.

He’s got no lack of confidence in claiming what he wants from a woman once he’s sure of her interest—that’s obvious.

It seems as though he likes to be in charge in all sorts of ways. When our lips part, he casts his gaze toward the men on either side of me. At the glint of promise in his eyes, a fresh wave of heat washes over my skin.

He inclines his head to Lorenzo. “Let’s get her chemise off, Lore. Raul, put that mouth of yours to good use in something other than bragging.”

With no sign of offense, Raul guffaws and helps Lorenzo strip my chest bare. The massive man wastes no time bending down so he can suck the tip of my breast into his mouth.

The first flick of his tongue shocks an embarrassing mewling sound out of me. More bliss pulses through my chest with each rhythmic swipe, sharpening with the graze of his teeth.

I tangle my fingers in his hair, loosening the dark brown strands from his ponytail. “Raul… Don’t stop.”

Not one of us is dedicated to Ardone in all her sensual glory, but I feel as if I owe the godlen of love several prayers of thank you for this divinely ecstatic encounter.

Smiling in approval, Bastien captures my mouth again. His hand travels over my other breast with a swivel of his palm against my nipple to provoke a whimper, then on down my side to my hip and back up again.

Lorenzo fulfills the promise of that downward journey first. He trails kisses along my spine and the lower edge of my shoulder blade before slipping one hand around my thigh to test the aching dampness between my legs.

At the first delicate probe of his fingers against the crotch of my drawers, a moan tumbles out of me. Bastien breathes it in and kisses me harder.

“Fuck,” Raul mutters against my breast.

Lorenzo teases his fingertips up and down over the silky fabric until I’m swaying to draw him closer. With a grin and a kiss to my shoulder, he draws a small, torturous circle around the neediest part of me. “I love feeling you urge me on.”

Raul clicks his tongue at the other prince. “You shouldn’t leave her wanting, Lore.” He tucks his hand beneath the waist of my drawers—and all at once a velvety-soft pressure has formed against my skin all across my pelvis.

He’s caught the shadow there. It undulates against my core and delves between my thighs, stroking every sensitive part of me at once.

The heady sensation leaves me quivering. “Oh, gods…”

Raul keeps his other hand against my back to hold me steady. “Take it in, Princess. Imagine how much I could do for you in a dark room where there’s nothing but shadow to play with. Working over every slope and dip of your body at the same time…”

Bastien’s authoritative voice comes out electrifyingly raw. “You’re not the only one who can get her off. Make sure she’s ready for me.”

He sinks lower so he can close his mouth over the breast Raul abandoned.

Raul gives a mildly disgruntled sound, but the swath of shadows he’s maneuvering firms. He eases it between my folds, part of it still rubbing against my clit.

I gasp, my grip on his hair tightening. He steals a kiss and rocks his shadowy toy deeper into me. “Oh, she’s ready all right, Bas. Completely drenched for us.”

Bastien tugs my nipple between his teeth to earn himself a gasp of his own and glances up at Lorenzo. “Get those drawers off her.”

As I wriggle out of my last scrap of clothing with Lorenzo’s aid, I trail my free hand down Bastien’s chest again, all the way to the bulge behind his trousers. Touching his rigid length through his pants ignites a deeper flare of need between my legs.

My voice comes out more breathless than husky. “It feels like you’re ready for me too.”

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