Page 15 of A Sun Scorched Bloom

Lea felt the rough bark cutting into her back as she writhed in anticipation, crying out Gray's name as his fingers continued to tease at her entrance.

The echoes of an explosion rumbled the ground, fire rising above the trees in the distance somewhere between where they stood and the castle they had fled.

"Dammit." Gray paused, squeezing his eyes shut and withdrawing his hand as he straightened the top of her dress. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead as he set her on her feet. "We have to go," he said breathlessly, his chest still heaving with the desire coursing through him.

Lea's body refused to comply, to do anything but nod as heat continued to bloom inside her. She allowed Gray to grab her hand and pull her toward Obsidian, quickly unbuckling a rucksack bundled at his side. He yanked a sword from the baggage, and the blade seemed to glow in response as Lea recognized the weapon Thomas had gifted her before the wedding.

"How did you–"

"Erik retrieved your things. I knew you wouldn’t want to leave without the letter your mother left you. He found this on your bed. It seemed… important," he said curtly as he strapped it on her hip before hoisting her up onto the horse. "I assume it’s from Thomas?"

"It is." Lea confirmed, her stomach twisting in knots. "It was a wedding present."

"It was no doubt intended to kill me should I be the monster Thomas believed I was. But it is a powerful weapon. Do not hesitate to use it," Gray ordered before jumping up behind her and kicking Obsidian’s sides. As they raced through the narrow opening to the woods, shimmering magic brushing against her skin and intensifying the ache building inside her, Lea felt Gray pull the pins holding her hair away from her face.

Freedom looks good on you,he’d told her months ago as they’d traveled to the castle. She had been a prisoner, an unforeseen complication in his plans. Had Gray suspected even then that this is where fate would lead them? That only months from that time, she would be racing away into the unknown with her mate at her back, his large palm pressed firmly against her stomach, and her hair once again flying in the breeze behind her?

Chapter 9

Lea

Obsidianranasifhe had galloped blindly through these woods a thousand times, dodging branches with the grace of a bird dashing through the leaves of a tree. Rain fell in sheets that washed away the soot and grime from their skin, blocking their sight more than a few feet in front of them. Lea was drenched, her hair sticking to her face and her white and silver wedding dress turning nearly translucent as water soaked through the fabric.

Lightning flashed. Wild, dark gray lightning that seemed to warn anyone who might approach that they would not escape its long, electric fingers. She’d seen this lightning before, this intense power, but it still took her breath away as it crashed protectively around them.

Gray’s chest was firm against Lea’s back, his arms holding her with a worried defensiveness that peeked through the expression of stern calm he wore on his face like armor. He was afraid. She could feel it without question as she reached toward their bond filled with the buzzing anxiety plaguing his mind.

"We’re going to make it, Gray," she whispered, knowing he would hear her despite the wind racing past their ears.

He nodded, nuzzling his lips into her neck. "There is another clearing, a small one, about an hour west. We’ll stay there for the night."

Lea’s heart raced, thumping erratically in her throat. "Will Alaric be able to find us?"

"He won’t expect us to travel toward the Wicked Wood. Even if he does, I’ve already enchanted it to keep us hidden."

A shiver wracked Lea’s body, but from the cold or the danger in his voice when speaking of the woods, she wasn’t sure.

"Use your magic to warm yourself," Gray instructed, handing Lea the reins and pulling his cloak around her front.

"But you said to hide our magic, that the king—"

"I can shield us from my father. Not everyone, not the entire rebellion, but the two of us. I’ve been entering these woods for months, leaving traces of my magic. They won’t be able to determine which are recent, and which are pointless trails leading nowhere. We’re safe, Azalea. Now, warm yourself."

"I’m fine."

"Your beautiful, peaked nipples are telling me differently, Little Flower," he growled, the desperation in his voice causing them to harden further.

Lea arched against him, pressing her breasts forward as the wet, almost sheer fabric pulled tight across her chest.

"Azalea," Gray rasped, tugging her more tightly against him, his arousal unmistakable as she settled even deeper between his thighs. "Warm yourself," he whispered, lowering his hand to her leg and running his fingers along the goosebumps peppering her skin. "Or I can’t promise we will make it to the next grove. It is the worst form of torture to see you shiver, and as much as I’d like to use my body to warm yours," Gray shifted forward, his hard, thick length pressing against her back, "we need to get to safety. Warm yourself,please."

Lea’s shivers intensified as his shadows snaked around her body, pushing the fabric of her dress higher and higher, frigid air stinging her skin as he exposed her bare legs. She somehow pulled her attention from the electricity following his touch, the need growing between her legs, and sought out her day magic. It was nestled right next to her night magic in her chest, a bright, warm sensation that she forced into opening its eyes and waking. She allowed it to spread throughout her body, into her fingers and toes, then through her back and into Gray’s body, trying to warm them both.

"Good girl," Gray rasped into her neck, his teeth biting ever so slightly against her rain-drenched skin. "Now I can do the wicked deeds I dreamed of doing on our wedding night—all the things I’ve been longing to do since I saw you standing there as my bride." Gray grabbed her thigh firmly with one hand, his other raising to the low neckline of her dress as his cloak fell away and his shadows wrapped around the reins. He growled as he looked down at her glistening body, circling her peaked nipple with his thumb. The sensation of the lace against her breast coaxed a moan from her throat, and he grabbed the fabric and pulled it down so firmly that the seams broke apart at her shoulders. The dress pooled around her waist as her breasts sprang free, bouncing as Obsidian continued to race into the darkness.

"I dreamt of this as we traveled to Auropera," he rasped. "Alone on the road for so long, with your perfect ass nestled between my thighs. Pictured this in my mind as I came with my own hand, night after night, trying to ease the desperation I felt for you." Gray continued his assault against her neck as he slid both hands upward, cradling her breasts and teasing her with his calloused fingers. Shadows wrapped around her legs, slowly climbing higher.

"I couldn’t sleep—could think of nothing else—after watching the way your breasts bounced in front of me with every gallop forward. I pictured my cock between them as they moved up and down. You have no clue what torture I’ve endured on our journeys together."

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