Page 37 of Ash and Feather

“So, you’re saying I can have you this way whenever I like,” he whispered into my ear. “I just need to picture you up against the wall like this. To imagine myself touching you, tasting you, taking you…and you’ll come crashing into my arms.”

He leaned back, allowing me to catch my breath.

“Whenever you like?” I coyly lifted a brow. “Let’s not get carried away.”

He gave me a crooked grin. “I’m afraid I already have.”

“Well, perhaps summon me to a more spacious and private location next time,” I suggested, glancing around. “Especially if you intend tohaveme once I arrive.”

“I think this stairwell will do just fine, personally.”

“It’s rather narrow,” I said, stretching the tips of my fingers outward for emphasis.

“I love a challenge.”

“You do, don’t you?”

“Part of the reason I fell in love with you,” he murmured, lips once more against my skin. “And also? You underestimatemy ability and willingness to fuck you in just about any and all locations.”

My breath didn’t merely catch this time—it left me completely for a moment, leaving me briefly dizzy and glad for the firmness of his body against mine, holding me up.

“And the door below us is locked, for what it’s worth,” he added. “Only you and I hold the key to this tower. It’s private enough.” His tongue flicked against my pulse before he drew back to meet my eyes, a wicked smile now in place of the crooked one. “Though the sound does tend to echo in here. So you’ll want to be mindful of that.”

“Maybe I want it to echo,” I whispered back, thrilling at the way the words made his eyes darken even further with desire. “Maybe we could be loud enough for the other courts to hear us—make themreallyhate me.”

It was reckless, foolish talk, but magic was still circling around us and within us, still making me feel stupidly elated—and bold.

Bold enough that I wasted no more time fighting against what I wanted.

I dropped my hands below his waist, sinking my fingers into his thighs, yanking him harder against me while adjusting my weight so his arousal slid more completely between my legs.

His head tilted back as a groan left his lips. He pulled away from me slightly, allowing my legs to drop. Once my feet were firmly balanced on the floor, my hands moved deftly over his clothing, undoing buttons and clasps and buckles.

He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, then reached back to do the same with mine, making quick work of it and everything underneath. He was no longer forcibly pinning me against the wall, but I was still completely enveloped in him, held there by his power, his heat, by the sheer size of his body.

I ran my fingers along the hard ridges of his stomach, down to the waistline of his pants, pulling them off far enough to allow his cock to spring free. The fire between us again made me bolder than usual; I took him in my grasp without hesitating, stroking until his head fell back once more and curses replaced the appreciative groans.

One of his hands cupped one of my breasts, his thumb teasing its center into a stiff peak. The other hand curved against the small of my back and dragged me away from the wall. He started to lead me up the stairs, in between kissing and caressing and fondling, but after climbing the first few steps, he stopped.

For a moment, he seemed to be considering picking me up, throwing me over his shoulder, and carrying me up to his bedroom. But as his gaze swept up and down the stairs around us, a better idea appeared to strike him.

A betterchallenge, maybe.

He went to the steps just below the landing we stood on, taking his coat and shirt and spreading them along the stone, creating a softer floor to kneel on. Then he returned to my side and pulled me back into another series of breathless, fervent kisses, while guiding me toward this spot he’d created.

Once there, his hand raked through my hair, grabbing a fistful of it and tilting my head back, aligning my ear with his mouth so he could whisper, “On your hands and knees for me, Goddess.”

I pressed back against him, making the hand fisted in my hair clench tighter as he buried his face into my neck and barely suppressed a raspy growl.

“On hands and knees doesn’t seem like a position befitting of a goddess,” I teased.

It took him a moment to collect himself enough to say, “Give me a few minutes to worship you while you’re in that position, and I think you’ll change your mind.”

The words sent more pleasant lightheadedness washing over me, leaving me breathless and dazed, so I didn’t resist when he moved to put me into the position himself.

His one hand remained tangled in my hair. The other traveled along my body, smoothing down over my stomach and towards the apex of my thighs.

Then it went lower.

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