Page 82 of An Honored Vow

His knife sliced through the laces on my trousers like they were made of air. In one motion, Riven tugged my trousers down my thighs, his lips never leaving my skin. He hiked my leg onto his hip, making quick work of my boot—it was still tied as he slipped it off.

I barely caught my breath before the second one was gone. Riven lifted me into the air, fingers dimpling my hips, and he lowered me onto his mouth.

I gasped and my gusts filled the room, trapping Riven’s hungry murmurs and my feral moans in his burl for only us to hear. The tip of his tongue circled around that tender spot, never quite touching it, until it had swelled to the point of pain.

“Riven, please,” I begged, my hips bucking against his chin.

He looked up at me, his teeth sinking into the skin of my upper thigh, disappearing beneath the curls. Then he licked me just where I needed and did not relent.

“Fuck,” I groaned as his speed increased. I grabbed the small table beside the bed we were not using and bucked my hips. My thighs squeezed Riven’s head, but I didn’t care if he could draw a breath. And neither did he. From the hungry way his hands roamed my body, clutching at me like I was life itself, I knew that Riven believed he could be sustained on me alone.

He grazed my skin with his teeth, intensifying the pressure building between my legs. Riven groaned and palmed my breast underneath my tunic. My head collapsed backward at the force of his touch.

Riven paused, concerned that he had hurt me. I grabbed his hand through my shirt and squeezed. “Keep going,” I rasped. I held onto Riven, letting his touch ground me as the first wave of pleasure shot through my body like a bolt of lightning.

I collapsed but Riven bent his knees for me to lean on as he continued his feast. The pressure built again. Riven scratched my skin as his hand trailed down my body and fell out of my shirt. His fingers laced through mine as he carried me through a second wave of pleasure. And then a third.

My head dropped forward, almost spent. But Riven had others plans. He pulled me into a kiss, letting me taste the passion he had coaxed from me. His tongue was hungry, his touch starved. His new body craved me just as much as his other forms had. Maybe evenmore so, now that Riven the Fae and Killian the prince could have me all at once.

Riven lifted me again, this time lowering me onto his hips. He pulled his own trousers down, just enough for me to feel the hardness of him. “I can return the favor.” I raised a brow at his half-removed trousers.

“No time.” Riven shook his head, jaw locked. He pulled at the hem of my tunic and I lifted it over my head. His eyes trailed over my naked body as he spoke. “I need to taste you as I have you.”

I leaned forward, flattening my palms on either side of Riven’s head. He turned, scraping his fangs against my forearm as I leaned down. Our noses touched. Riven’s chest stilled, waiting.

But I held us there, pinned to that moment as it stretched. The candle on the nightstand melted in a ball of flame as the carpet froze, my magic spilling out of me as the tension hit its peak.

Riven winced as my wetness touched him for the first time. His head craned up and I bit his neck, claiming him as mine. “Diizra,” he whispered, fully at my command. He fisted my hair and pulled me from his neck. His pupils were dark and wide with want. “I need you.”

I grabbed a handful of Riven’s hair too and pulled him upward so he sat beneath me and my legs wrapped around his torso. He lifted me by my hips one more time, only enough to line our bodies just so.

I moaned as he entered me, but Riven captured the sound with his tongue. His teeth nipped at my lips until they were swollen. His hand reached around my back as he thrust, and my nails left scratches down his. Somehow we were closer without the bond between us. This war had already taken so much from us that we were both split open. Raw and vulnerable. Starved and willing.

He kissed my scars and murmured sweet nothings against my skin. I ran my fingers through his hair and stared into the depths of his jade eyes. In that moment, we were not warriors protecting ourhome or leaders with the fate of our kin on our shoulders. We were just two people, and that was more than we had ever been.

I leaned back and Riven grabbed my hips, gliding me across him as my body gave way to another wave of pleasure. He was not gentle. His hand spanned the width of my thigh, inching closer to that tender spot.

I cursed as Riven touched me there. He nipped my breast with his teeth, claiming me in every way he could. His thumb flicked again, and I moaned his name.

“Fuck,” Riven grunted. His arm wrapped around me as he flipped us without missing a thrust. Riven’s hand laced through mine once more. “Keera,” he groaned as his teeth grazed my shoulder. “I will never tire of this. As long as you’ll have me—”

His words were lost as we both collapsed into a storm of pleasure. Riven fell on top of me like a heavy blanket on a cold winter’s night. When he came back to himself, he tried to push off me, but I held on. I liked the solidness of him.

Finally, I let Riven cradle me in the crook of his arm and chest. “That wasn’t a promise,” I teased, half-heartedly. I was too exhausted to speak, but I didn’t want our conversation to be left forgotten.

Riven tucked his chin against my head and stroked my hair in silence. My breaths matched his once more and the rhythm coaxed me to the brink of sleep.

“I promise,diizra,” Riven whispered, not knowing if I could hear his words.

But I did. “I promise too,” I said as I fell asleep with the hope that this one wouldn’t cost me.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

“YOU ARE CERTAINthis is what you want?” I stared down at the four Halflings in front of me.

Elaran twisted one of her curls through her fingers. “We’ve had the lecture three times now, Keera. Potential pain and suffering, death, and assassination.”

“Don’t forget the regret and added responsibility,” Dynara added with a smirk.

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