Page 55 of A Sky of Emerald Stars

“He’s a fool if he thinks those fluttering lashes are real,” Grae said. We both looked over at the two of them, and Klaus had pulled Briar closer, the two of them dancing as if they were the only people in the room. “Maez is going to kill him,” Grae muttered.

“She told Maez what she was doing, but... Maybe we should intervene?” I turned to move into the crowd of Ice Wolves when Grae’s hand landed on the crook of my arm and he pulled me back.

“Give them a few more dances, little fox. She trained her whole life for this, remember?” he murmured as I let out a littlewhine, folding my arms across my chest. “And stop staring at them like that. Come on—let’s go rub elbows, find ourselves some more allies.” He paused, studying me. “You’re going to have to stop glowering.”

“I wasn’t taught how to hide my feelings like you and Briar,” I bit out. “I was taught how to use them tokillpeople.”

Grae grimaced, sucking a breath through his teeth. “Okay, maybe we’ll work up to the elbow rubbing.” I tried to mold my expression into a hardened neutral one, but I was certain it was still far from pleasant. “Calla.”

“I can’t help it,” I muttered, worrying my lip as I watched my sister swirl around the ballroom. “We need this. It’s too important to fail.”

“You staring at them won’t do us any favors.” Grae stepped in front of me, breaking my line of sight. “You need to relax. Let Briar work her magic.”

I grabbed a flute of sparkling wine from a silver tray, swigged the whole thing back in one gulp, and set the glass back down before the server had time to zip past.

“That’s not relaxed,” Grae said from the corner of his mouth.

I was buzzing with nerves now, bouncing on the balls of my feet. “Distract me then.”

Without missing a beat, Grae’s lips landed on the shell of my ear, his warm breath making my skin tingle. “I hear the greenhouses are beautiful this time of evening.”

I turned in his light hold and found his brow arched expectantly, his dark eyes hungry.

Touché, mate.

I bit the corner of my lip at that look and he reached out and tugged it free with his thumb, and Gods, I wished he’d done it with his own teeth.

Hunger curled low in my belly as I whispered, “Lead the way.”

The words had barely escaped my lips before Grae’s fingers threaded through mine and we practically ran out of the ballroom and down the quiet hall. I couldn’t contain my giddy laughter.Would it always be this way? Would I always feel so ravenous for him? My mate.

Gods, I hoped so.

His desire for me was clearly just as keen judging from the way he kicked the greenhouse door open and dragged me inside, my laughter pealing off the glass ceiling.

“Wait,” he commanded. His hands frantically fumbled with his belt as he turned to the glass door.

“Slow down,” I laughed.

“No—it’s not like that. Although I don’t have any interest in slowing down once I get started,” and I nearly melted even as I squinted at him in confusion while he removed his belt until he started looping it through the door handles and tied them closed. I let out a surprised giggle as he turned around with a feral grin. “No interruptions,” he rumbled, making my core clench.

He stormed toward me, not stopping as he stooped and hoisted me one-handed up and onto his shoulder. I let out a surprised squeak, holding my crown to my head, as we plunged deeper into the gardens. Broad leaves whacked into us like we were trekking through a jungle.

“Where are we—”

My words were silenced as Grae set me down against the back wall of the greenhouse. Behind the glass was a wall of glittering snow. In front of me was the thick foliage we’d just walked through, obscuring the path. We stood on a semicircle of white stones, cushions dotted around it. A beautiful space that looked designed for quiet contemplation, which was the furthest thing from my mind. Starlight beamed down from the glass roof, refracting and sending skitters of moonlight dancing across the plants as if we were floating in the middle of a constellation. It was magical, the perfect angle that could only be seen from this very spot.

“How did you know this place was here?” I asked.

“This used to be a favorite hiding spot when I’d visit Taigoska as a child,” Grae said, his hands encircling me and pulling me against his chest as I reached out and rubbed a soft leaf between my thumb and forefinger. “I dreamed of showing you one day.”

I released the plant and trailed my fingers up Grae’s biceps and into his dark hair. “What else have you dreamed of showing me?”

My words unleashed him, and then we were a flurry of mouths and desperate hands. I loved this. The frenzy, the unending need for him.

I dropped my crown to the ground and carelessly knocked Grae’s off as his tongue plundered my mouth. His fingers dug into my belt, frantically unbuckling it. I moaned into his mouth, and he snarled back, our Wolves howling to each other from inside our minds.

He yanked down my trousers as I hastily kicked off my boots, stripped bare from the waist down. Grae didn’t waste a second, dropping to his knees before me. His hands kneaded the flesh of my ass as he pulled me toward him. My eyes fluttered closed as I felt his hot breath tickle through the hair between my legs. One single inhalation and then his tongue was licking up my folds and parting my flesh. I groaned, one hand fisting in his hair as my other slid across the slick glass behind me. Condensation beaded across the pane from our wildness. My palm mark squeaked across the wet glass as Grae’s tongue circled my pulsing clit.

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