Page 110 of Heat of the Everflame

“I should,” I agreed.

Neither of us moved.

A crackling energy buzzed in the air between us, my heart thundering against my chest.

“Looks like we’re finally alone,” I said, barely above a whisper. I leaned closer until my chest brushed against his. The movement jostled my towel, causing it to slip an inch. Luther’s hands stilled.

“Diem,” he breathed.

A desperate urgency took over. I closed the distance between us and poured my need for him into a feverish kiss, fingers knotting in his hair and clutching at his sweater.

Whatever had been holding him back vanished as our lips collided in a fury of taste and tongue. He hauled me into his arms, then staggered forward until he had me pinned hard against the wall. My back arched in teasing defiance, crushing my body to his.

Large, commanding hands worked their way up my thighs and slipped beneath the edge of my towel, kneading my flesh and easing my legs apart. Every touch sent me spiraling, writhing, pleading. My hips rolled against him and drew a groan from us both.

“The nights I have spent dreaming of you,” he murmured against my throat. “Ofthis.”

Eager sounds whimpered out of me as he tasted his way across my skin like he might devour me, consume me. My mind had gone hazy, unable to think past the throb of hunger that grew with every rough sweep of his hands and insatiable press of his hips.

The grinding of our bodies loosened my towel, and it fell to the floor, leaving me naked in his arms. Luther let out a low, animalistic sound. He pulled me away from the wall and set me on the washroom’s marble countertop, then leaned back for a better view.

I flushed and wrapped my arms over my waist. I’d never been ashamed of my body, but the partners I’d been with before were all mortals who shared the same scars and curves. The partners Luther was surely used to—well, I couldn’t bear to think about that.

“I lied,” he said, his voice stilted. “Before.”

My shoulders hunched. “About?”

“I saidlookingwould be the least of what I would do once we were alone.” He gently peeled my arms away until I was bare once more, his eyes full of wonder as they drank me in. “But this...you...” Muscles leapt on his throat. “I could look at you forever, and it wouldn’t be nearly long enough.”

My skin felt too tight, ready to burst, my body incapable of containing the firestorm of emotion sparking inside.

The newness of it left me unsteady. Lust, I understood. Lust, I could control, I could wield like a sword and shield. But these feelings I had for Luther... this was no mere lust. This, I had no idea what to do with.

My godhood, on the other hand, knew exactly what it wanted. Thevoicepurred and paced, hissing at me to stop being a coward and take what I desired. The corner of Luther’s mouth quirked up in a knowing smile, and sparks of light danced at my fingertips as my magic swirled in blissful response.

I summoned my courage and looped a finger into his belt. “What if I want you to do more than justlook?”

He fixed me in a predatory stare. This Prince was a hunter, and I felt every bit his prey—trembling, waiting, wondering if I’d make it out of this alive.

His hand brushed against my knee, then began a slow trek up my leg. His thumb trailed with exhilarating pressure along my inner thigh. As he neared my hips, his touch dangerously close to my core, my lashes fluttered and my gaze dropped down.

His hand stilled. “Look at me.”

I did.

He nudged my knees. “Open.”

I did.

“Wider.”

I did, and my mouth went dry. There was nowhere to hide. Everything was bared to him—everything.

His other hand rose to my chin and tilted it up. “That’s my girl.”

A confusing excitement seared through my blood. It would surprise precisely no one to learn that, with my previous lovers, I’d craved control. Henri once teased that I treated sex the way I treated a fight—never retreat, never surrender. I made up for it with enthusiasm, and my partners had always been more than happy to submit.

With Luther, I had expected the same. He was so committed to serving me, I’d imagined that when we finally crossed this line we’d been dancing, our dynamic would stay the same: a headstrong Queen and her obedient Prince.

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