Page 153 of Ash and Feather

I gave him a sly smile. “At least I gave you a warning.”

His hand took mine, guiding it into a firm grip around his arousal. “One I’ve been thinking about all day.”

I smiled as his other hand came to rest against the back of my neck, pulling my lips down to meet his. I sank into the kiss, my body willing and eager to mold itself to his.

My mind, on the other hand, refused to surrender to oblivious desire so easily; seconds into our kiss, I felt the intrusive thoughts prodding—the same relentless, battering worries that had overtaken me during the aforementioned roof conversation.

And though I attempted to continue as though nothing had distracted me, Dravyn clearly sensed something was wrong.

I tried to bury my face against his chest, but he caught my chin and lifted it. His eyes locked with mine; he seemed to be trying to focus on hearing my thoughts. I didn’t attempt to block him out.

“Your mind is elsewhere.”

I sighed. “Politics, deadly battles, the looming conversation with my sister and all the potential impending, world-altering doom around us…all such horrible mood killers, aren’t they?”

He chuckled. Tenderly brushed a strand of hair from my eyes. Didn’t disagree. After a moment, he sat up, pushing me upright in the same motion before settling me in his lap and wrapping my legs around him.

I shivered, partly from the amount of skin exposed by my thin nightgown, and partly from the way this position left no space between the most sensitive parts of us.

He circled both the blanket and his arms more tightly around my body. It was more torturous than anything I’d started, the way he pulled me into his firmness and warmth and held me there.

His arousal was still very obvious, hard and occasionally throbbing against my center, yet he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to act on it. His touch was gentle rather than eager, taking the time to adjust the blanket so every inch of my chilled arms and shoulders was covered.

His eyes were full of concern rather than lust as he asked, “Have you gotten any rest at all?”

I shrugged.

His gaze slid toward the window, likely trying to gauge what time of night it was.

“I really didn’t mean to wake you. If I’m keeping you up, I can sleep somewhere else,” I offered.

“I don’t need sleep. I’ve told you before—it’s little more than a refreshing habit I enjoy.”

“Right, but I just thought...” I trailed off, unsure ofwhatI thought. I couldn’t focus on any one thing, no matter how hard I tried.

We kept still, wrapped up in one another, for several minutes after that. Time seemed to slow along with us, making the nightseem even more endless than before. My thoughts moved so quickly in comparison that it made me feel removed from the stillness, like I was floating somewhere far above this space—somewhere out of my body entirely.

“I won’t stop you if you want to go somewhere else,” Dravyn finally said. “But I would rather you stay.”

Stay.

The word slowed my speeding thoughts to a crawl.

He hesitated, giving me the chance to pull away, to leave.

I didn’t move. Didn’t protest when he tilted his lips toward mine.

“Stay,” he repeated, softly, in between kisses.

I smiled a little when he finally drew back enough to take in my response. “First, I make you suffer under my touch,” I said, “and now, I have you pleading for me to stay.”

He smirked. “Yes; I’m completely undone and overcome by you. I think we’ve established that.”

“And I’ve barely even tried tonight. Imagine if Ireallywanted to torture you.”

He took my hand, rubbing his thumb thoughtfully along my knuckles. “So ruthless.”

I mirrored his smirk.

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