Page 93 of The Forbidden Fae King

Aldrin catches me again and again, with his strong arms and tendrils of air. Each time, he places me gently back on my feet as though I were the most precious thing in the world.

My head spins after a fall from my own height and my blood rushes. I allow Aldrin to hold me close to him while I regain my bearings.

“Can we do something else? Anything.” I pant out. “This is too hard.”

“Anything?” He raises an eyebrow at me, but just as my bloodheats, waiting for sensual promises to leave his lips that I know I’ll have to deny, he gives me an intense, serious gaze. “How about we practice your destructive earth magic?” He leans right into my ear. “Just try not to pierce me with a hundred needles this time.”

A slow grin forms on my lips. “I can’t make any promises. Perhaps you need a few needles to burst your overinflated ego.”

A laugh reverberates through his chest, still pressed to mine. “You are going to regret those threats.”

Before I have a chance to loosen more witty, teasing remarks, the ground rumbles beneath my feet. Thick, rough bark brushes against my back as a whole damned tree grows behind me. Its girth thickens and its canopy branches out overhead, as though it had been there for a decade. The casual use of so much magic is staggering.

“Redecorating are you?” I say, tipping my head toward it, but Aldrin ignores me. He grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me back slowly into the trunk, pinning me there.

My lips part and my breath catches. I should be afraid of a fae restraining me, but the way he touches me is far too seductive for me to think straight.

The look in his hooded eyes has heat pooling in my stomach, and lower. Then he presses his thick, muscular thigh between my legs and his broad chest crushing mine leaves no space between us.

Aldrin’s body forces me against the tree, but that isn’t enough for him. He watches my face for any signs of resistance as he takes each of my hands and holds them above my head, into the foliage of hanging vines.

My stomach flips and a small whimper leaves me as tendrils curl around my wrists and tie me to the tree.

I could break them easily by ripping my hand away. I could tell him to get off me and we would, but I don’t want to.

My breaths become ragged as Aldrin leans down, his lips so close to mine that I could lean forward and kiss him. He glides a hand across my cheek, then runs his thumb down my lips.

I gaze up at him motionless. Stunned and not wanting to break this moment.

His voice is soft and hoarse. “I have been wanting to test that blood oath I made to you, Keira.” His hand runs up the sensitive skin of my exposed arm, where the sleeve of my tunic has fallen away, until he touches his restraints. “You see, I cannot bind you with vines, I can’t even pin you with my leg, unless you want it. Now show me your autumn magic, and destroy these bindings before I lose control of myself.”

Aldrin pulls back from me, smirking, and the cool air rushes in.

“No,” I say.

He freezes. “No?”

I wield air to push him between the shoulder blades and force him back into me. “No,” I repeat. “I am enjoying this.” I know I have gone too far when Aldrin’s gaze falls to my lips and he brings his face so tantalizingly close. Panic rears up in me and I tense. “Wait—” My chest heaves as I try to summon rational thought. I cannot trust him, cannot allow him to get too close. He is fae. Ruthless. Brutal. Manipulative. Except he has shown me he is nothing like that time and time again.

“I - Aldrin, we can’t…we shouldn’t...” I pant, still arching my back and pressing into him.

“Then why is your air wield still pushing me against you?” He raises a single eyebrow at me, and the corners of his lips kick up. I can’t hardly hold onto my train of thought, much less answer him. “You don’t want to get too attached to me when you have to leave this realm. Tell me to stop, and I’ll stop.” Aldrin doesn’t release his grip on me.

“I don’t want to, but…” I close my eyes as he trails kisses up my exposed neck.

“Just once, Keira, to level the score. To satisfy a burning need. Once can’t do much harm.”

“Level the score?” I ask. My chest heaves as his kisses travel down my collarbone and toward my cleavage. He slowly pulls at the laces of my tunic to get better access, searching my face once more. I let out a groan as his lips touch my skin again. If they travel any lower, he will expose my whole breast.

“The last time we touched, your hand disappeared into my trousers, but I never got to return the favor.” To accentuate the point, Aldrin drags his thigh up my throbbing core and the friction shoots intense sparks of pleasure through me.

I cannot think straight when he touches me like this. “Just this once. To level the score,” I utter.

His amber eyes flash and his mouth is on mine in a heartbeat. Our lips and tongues collide with desperate need as he presses harder against me. I forget about my earlier protest and disintegrate the vines at one wrist so I can thread my fingers through his hair.

Those hands rove all over my body, slipping under the hem of my tunic to grasp at my breasts, while mine slide down to the curve of his arse.

Every inch of him is perfect.

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