Page 72 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

She stuck her pencil into her hair, as if there was no better place to put it, then touched the carved figurines nested in the velvet-lined compartments inside the table.

“Are these the game pieces?” she asked, thankfully oblivious to his disturbing thoughts and to the achy pressure gripping his cock under the table. “Will we need all of them?”

“Not today. Just take out the green and the brown ones for now.”

Just like some of the colors in her eyes.

“This one looks like a king.” She lifted a game piece carved from malachite.

He forced his attention from her face to the game piece in her hand. “Yes. That’s one of them.”

“Is there more than one king in this game?”

“Thirteen, just like the thirteen kingdoms they represent.”

“I thought they were High Lords.”

“In real life, they are. But this is a game,” he said and murmured to himself, “supposedly.”

She examined the figurine. Her other hand moved from her neck down to her chest, her fingers tracing the outline of his necklace under her scarf. He didn’t need to strain his imagination to envision both the necklace and her body underneath the scarf.

The necklace he had worn his entire life before giving it to Sparrow. Every bead of it was familiar, the stone pendant polished by the friction against his skin.

Her chest he’d had the pleasure of seeing completely bare twice by now. She looked very different from the women he’d known. And maybe that was part of what heated his blood and made his cock stand to attention in her presence?

Voron had trained himself to ignore all the naked female bodies at the king’s events. He’d been doing well, content with only an occasional quick release, courtesy of a court lady’s hand or mouth here and there. He hadn’t expected the reaction his body would have to naked Sparrow.

What was worse, her curves teased him with fantasies that went beyond fucking. He could so easily envision resting his head on her chest or cradling her soft, pliable form in the curve of his body before drifting to sleep.

The confusing part was that he had no experience on which to base those fantasies. Even back when he was still allowed to fuck freely, he never cuddled. Sex in a war camp had been hot, messy, and lightning-fast.

What would sex with Sparrow be like?

He knew she was curious about him, too. The woman couldn’t hide a thought to save her life. He’d caught plenty of heated glances she furtively cast his way. Knowing that she might be just as willing to explore his body as he felt about hers didn’t make his predicament any easier.

He sighed inwardly.

“Voron?” Her voice snapped him out of his hot, sweaty thoughts. “Are you all right?”

“Of course.” He blinked, retrieving his dirty mind from her cleavage. “Why, little bird?”

Had she asked him something?

“How about this one?” She held up another figurine. “What’s this one supposed to be?”

“That one is a High General.” He licked his lips.

“A High General?” Sparrow stroked the game piece.

He stared at her fingers, wishing desperately it was his cock clutched in them instead of the figurine.

This woman would be his ruination if he wasn’t careful.

“What is the High General’s role in this game?” she asked.

“To defend the kingdom from its enemies. And to bring glory to his king.”

“To his king?” she echoed. “But how about himself? What does the High General get if he wins?”

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