Page 25 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

I listened to his soft steps behind me, imagining where his gaze fell on my body. First, it might have slid down my arms to between my shoulder blades, then down my spine to the small of my back. I imagined it caressing my backside, wondering what his hand would feel like if he cupped me there…

“Lie down, please,” he said quietly.

His deep voice yanked me from my rather inappropriate musings.

I turned to face him. “Lie where?”

“Right here.” He pointed at the chaise lounge.

“What for?” I asked, unsure whether it was trepidation or anticipation that I felt at his request. My face felt warm. My entire body heated. My mind, however, cautioned me that this inspection was going too far.

“I told you, Sparrow, I need to seeeverything.”His voice remained low, but it gained some new rasp to it that came from deep in his throat.

Everything?

It took me a moment to grasp what that meant.

“Are you going to look between my legs, too?”

His calm composure wavered, which was new and oddly satisfying to see.

He cleared his throat. “That is a part of the inspection, yes.”

I cocked a hip, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Why? What do you need to see down there? What are you hoping to find? Tentacles?” Apparently, anxiety made me say stupid things.

He didn’t laugh, however, just stared at me. His brow furrowed slightly as he blinked slowly.

Did he really believe there was a possibility of finding tentacles in my vagina? Had he not seen a naked woman before?

But then again, maybe he hadn’t. Not ahumanwoman, anyway. Since humans were sorarearound here.

I couldn’t possibly pass on this unexpected opportunity to torment him.

“What’s the matter, High General?” I inclined my head, faking a concerned expression. “You didn’t know? I guess they don’t mention that particular part of human anatomy in those scrolls of yours.” I gestured at the map of my world spread on his desk. “How does King Tiane feel about tentacles? Do you think they may dampen his joy at receiving me as a gift?” I threw my hands up into the air dramatically. “Maybe you should let me leave after all? Let me take my tentacles back to where they came from. And in return, I’ll promise never to come back to terrorize your royalty with them.”

I must’ve overdone it just a tad because the frown on his face smoothed out. He gave me an unimpressed look, shaking his head.

“Oh, but I had you there!” I laughed. “Admit it. For a second or two, you really wondered if human women had tentacles growing between our legs, didn’t you?”

It felt so good to gain an upper hand over him, even if just for a moment and only because of a silly joke. Until now, the power had been firmly on his side. It was exciting and satisfying to have it tilt my way for once, to rattle his cool demeanor.

He heaved a sigh but didn’t deny my victory.

“You really areunique, with or without tentacles,” he muttered under his breath, then ordered, “now get your ass up here. We don’t have all day.”

He sounded grumpy, yet a barely-there smile curved his lips. He tried to fight it, but it didn’t escape me. Now that I’d leveled the playing field somewhat, this whole “inspection” felt so much less humiliating. I even smiled to myself as I lay down on the chaise.

“Open your legs for me, Sparrow.” His voice dropped a notch. The force with which he spoke made his words sound like another order, not a request.

Was he asserting his power over me again? After I’d wrested some of it from him with my joke?

“Show me,” he demanded.

Breath caught in my throat at the velvety growl in his voice. This was Voron’s bedroom voice. It had to be. That must be how he talked to women before making passionate love to them—it had to be passionate. Through his cool exterior, I’d glimpsed the smoldering heat of desire in Voron’s steely eyes. And I could only imagine how bright it could burn if he let it burn unrestrained.

Now, I was thinking about Voron in his bedroom, climbing over a woman spread in his bed, with her legs open wide for him…

---