Page 155 of Ash and Feather

His fingers paused at the hem of my nightgown, tracing along the spot where silky trim met the pebbled skin of my thigh.

I sucked in a breath, eager for him to push the cloth aside.

Instead, he left the gown in place. His head dipped to kiss along the trail of heat his fingers had left before roaming higher, lips and tongue pressing and exploring me through my clothing. The combination of the soft, satin fabric and the warm, wet, heavy weight of his tongue felt sinfully good.

But I still wantedmore.

My hands grew restless, alternating between clawing at my nightgown and tangling in his hair. As I caught a fistful of hair, using it to press his mouth more firmly to my body, he laughed—a hot, delicious puff of air and vibration against me.

I heard his thoughts a moment later:Relax.

Keep still.

Let me do the work.

His hands found mine. Pinned them to the mattress. Held them there as he stretched over me, straddling a knee on either side of my body before leaning up to kiss my neck.

Bringing his lips to my ear, he whispered, “Just a reminder…this room isn’t fireproof like the ones back home. So you’ll have to control your magic.”

“Speak for yourself,” I purred back. “I’m planning to merely relax and let you take care of me, remember?” I stopped fighting the powerful hold he had on my wrists, keeping perfectly still as he bowed his head toward my chest.

He brushed his face across the swell of my breasts, pausing to admire the stiffened peaks straining against my gown. He took one of those hardened, silk-draped points in his mouth, glancing up at me as he sucked upon it. Our eyes locked. I felt his magic surge, and the room burned hotter for an instant.

He regained his composure quickly. But still, I couldn’t resist a small smirk, followed by a teasing brush of my tongue acrossmy lower lip—a gesture that caused his magical pulse to briefly jump once more, even as he obviously worked to keep his cool.

I had more control than it appeared.

We both knew it.

I was still willing to play along, though, when he softly growled out a command: “Keep your hands at your sides.”

I clenched my fingers into the sheets and did precisely that, leaving his hands free to let go of me, to move and take hold of the bottom of my nightgown instead.

He rolled it up to my hips, revealing the lace-trimmed undergarment beneath—one fashioned from silken fabric similar to that of my gown, providing no real barrier between my sex and the brush of his fingers, the heat of his breath, the hot lashes of his tongue. That tongue was relentless, licking and skimming until the fabric was thoroughly soaked.

When he slowed and started to pull away, I couldn’t stop the sound of protest that slipped through my lips.

His eyes flicked up to mine. Stayed there as he ran his tongue slowly, savoringly, over my most sensitive spot. “As expected,” he said, “you taste just as divine here as you do in the middle-heavens.”

My breath caught and my stomach fluttered at the words.

Then came his teeth, nipping around my swollen folds but carefully catching only the damp fabric of the garment that separated us. He pulled that garment partially down with his mouth, finished the job with his hands, and tossed it to the floor.

He slipped my nightgown off as well, adding it to the pile of fabric that shimmered in the light streaming through the window. The full, pale moon had dropped lower in the sky since we started, casting the entire space in a bluish, otherworldly light and causing our shapes to throw tall shadows against the walls. Caught between those shadows and the moonlight edging his form, he looked beastly and beautiful all at once.

I didn’t have long to admire him before he was leaning over me again, his gaze raking over me as he came.

“You are fucking immaculate.” His tone was soft, almost reverent, as he ran his hands and a few quick swipes of his tongue over my newly-bared body.

Then his hands trailed back to my inner thighs.

He eased my legs apart.

I couldn’t help but squirm eagerly under his hold, knowing what was to come.

He planted a chaste kiss just above the meeting of my thighs, but stopped there. “Relax,” he reminded me with a slightly wicked smile. “And arch your back for me, Goddess.”

His low, seductive tone made it nearly impossible to follow his command, but I somehow managed it.

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