Page 375 of Heat of the Everflame

“I’m sorry for worrying you.” His lip twitched. “In my defense, you worry me every time you leave a room. And half the time you’reinthe room.”

My eyes ticked to the jeweled handle peeking over his shoulder. I couldn’t resist cracking a smile. “I suppose it was worth it to get back that eyesore.”

His face lit up. “I knew you missed it.”

My scoff turned muffled as he pulled my tunic over my head and tossed it to the ground. I fisted my hands in his sweater and tugged him closer.

“Does this mean you forgive me?” he asked.

I gave a soft, vague hum as I unhooked the baldric carrying his sword. I ran my hands across his chest, enjoying the way his muscles rippled beneath the fabric in response to my touch. My hands drifted lower and found their way to his skin.

I froze, an old apprehension winding me tight, as if he might push me away like he had in Umbros.

His smile waned.

I held his gaze, needing the reassurance I found there. “I might have to make you earn it.”

I started to lift his sweater, but before I could finish, he reached over his shoulder and clutched the fabric, yanking it over his head in one smooth movement. A watery kaleidoscope of hues danced across his scar-covered skin.

“Fair enough,” he said. He brushed my hair back over my shoulders, then traced the crescent-shaped scar on my collarbone. “I earned your favor once. I’ll do it again.”

He dropped abruptly to his knees and hooked his fingers into my waistband. With a single, firm tug, my pants slid over my hips and pooled at the floor. I gasped at being so suddenly exposed, at the warm air swirling between my thighs.

Luther unlaced my boots and gently guided my legs free of my clothes. His hands cuffed my ankles, then lazily ran up my calves to curl behind my thighs.

“I seem to remember being here once before,” he said. His fingers squeezed in a reminder of the day he’d searched me for weapons at the palace. His eyes dropped, scouring my bare flesh. “I must say, the view has much improved.”

My breath turned shallow as he kissed a line up my leg, each one a searing, red-hot brand.

“Do you forgive me yet?” he murmured. I squirmed, and his grip on me tightened.

“Not yet,” I hummed. His lips skated up my inner thigh, and my vision went hazy, my fingers weaving into his hair. I couldn’t decide whether to pull him closer or push him away. If his mouth went any higher...

Without warning, he stood and spun me around. I swayed against the lust that had dizzied my head. He unhooked my bandeau, and the strip of fabric fell to the ground, leaving me wearing only my golden pendant.

He reached for its clasp.

“Leave it,” I said softly.

I couldn’t see his face, but Ifelthis smile in the energy buzzing between us. I turned at the sound of rustling to see him kicking off his boots and reaching for his belt.

“You’re never going to win my forgiveness if you keep stealing my fun,” I scolded, swatting his hands away.

I roughly palmed the front of his pants and massaged the hard length hiding beneath the fabric, smiling to myself as his eyes went glassy.

I leaned in and set a kiss at the center of his chest where his scar was at its deepest cut. He tensed, so I let my lips linger. I kissed the scar again where it traversed his shoulder, then again on his throat, then at the corner of his lips.

Luther let out a ragged breath. His fingers swept along a thin white line on my hips. “A spar with Teller.” A pink spot high on my ribs. “Thrown from a horse.” An arc on my inner arm. “A violent male with a hurt ego.”

His eyes darkened at that.

“You remembered,” I said in surprise, recalling the day in the palace dungeon when I’d told him the tales of all my scars, hoping to prove to him that his were something to be proud of, not hide away.

“It’s one of my favorite memories.”

I smiled to myself and unclasped his belt, then tugged down his pants, his arousal springing free. When I kneeled to pull them down his legs, his cock twitched at my nearness. His hand curved to the nape of my neck, his grip on me flexing as he battled his darkest cravings.

Holding his stare, I mimicked him with a trail of kisses along the inside of his muscled thigh. His pupils dilated, his hand tightening on my scalp. With a groan, he slowly pulled me back up.

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