Page 182 of Lady for Embers

“Plans mean shit, Scarlett. You know that. We can plan for every possibility and still face something unexpected.”

“All the more reason for you to stay back,” she insisted. “I do not want this. You have to know that.” She got to her feet, standing toe-to-toe with him. Reaching up, she framed his face, holding his gaze. Embers ?ickered in his irises as he stared back at her. “In a perfect world, you would be by my side, Sorin. We would take on Alaric and the Lords and all the seraphs together. We would take it all. But the world is not perfect. Not yet. And taking down these magical wards? That is one step closer to righting the balance. You know all the reasons this needs to happen.”

His ?ngers wrapped around her wrists and he tugged sharply, pulling her against his chest once more. “You do not understand what you are asking of me, Scarlett.” It was an agonized statement, and she could see the same on his face. “It goes against every instinct. Everything I am as a Fae and as your twin ?ame.”

“We will ?gure it out, Sorin,” she whispered, her ?ngers brushing over his cheekbone. “I swear we will ?nd an answer to your power, but until then... ” Her thumb slid over his bottom lip. “If I lose you again, then this was all for nothing. The world will not get a second chance. I will burn it all.”

His mouth crashed into hers, and she didn’t ?ght when his hands slid beneath her thighs, hoisting her up against him. There was no slow work up. This was fast and harsh and full of the anguish they were both feeling. It was tongues sliding together and teeth grazing skin.

She grunted softly when he pressed her up against the wall, her ?ngers tightening in his hair as his ?ngers tugged at her tunic. He made a sound of frustration to ?nd a band around her breasts, quickly taking care of it with a burst of ?ames.

“Sorin,” she gasped.

“Love, I am going to use my power as long as I still have it,” he rumbled into her mouth, his lips ?nding hers once more before they moved down her neck and to her now bare breasts. She tipped her head back when he took one into his mouth, his thumb ?icking over the nipple of her other. Her legs were still wrapped tightly around his waist, and he rocked into her, heat ?aring from every part of her.

He slowly moved back up her throat to her mouth again, then his brow fell against hers. “You speak of what will happen if you lose me, but have you thought of what will happen if you do not come back to me?” he rasped, amber eyes searching hers. His ?ames scraped against her soul, and her shadows wound around them, pleasure darting down her spine.

“What?” she gasped, trying to think through her lust-addled mind.

“What will happen if you do not come back to me, Scarlett Aditya?” Her hand slid from his hair, cupping his cheek.

“That’s an easy one, Prince. You will end the stars themselves to ?nd me again, ?re in your veins or not. You are mine, and I am yours.”

“All the way through the darkness.”

Then he was kissing her again, the rest of their clothing burning away amid his ?re.

“Stop burning everything,” she murmured against his lips. “We need clothing.”

“I’ll knit you something new while you’re gone,” he replied.

She hummed in response, bringing her feet back to the ?oor. “Make sure there are extra pockets for daggers,” she said, lowering to her knees in front of him. His hands trailed up her ribs as she went, brushing the sides of her breasts. His ?ngertips traced along her jaw as she looked up at him, wetting her lips.

Then, with a wicked smile, she held his gaze while she brushed her tongue along his tip.

His golden eyes went even darker, hips pushing forward slightly as he chased her mouth. “As many dagger pockets as you want, Love,” he said roughly, thumbing her bottom lip. “Whatever you want,” he added, the head of his cock pushing against her lips in an insistent request.

She huffed a laugh as she took him between her lips, sucking on him for a moment before trailing wet kisses along his length. She dragged her tongue back up the underside of him, and he groaned when she ?nally drew him in deep. He fell forward, one palm bracing himself on the wall above her, while the ?ngers of his other hand threaded into her hair, cupping the back of her head. His heavy-lidded eyes watched as she drew back, maintaining the pressure of her lips as she went. She swirled her tongue around his tip before her mouth slid back down him. Her other hand came up, gripping his base, and he cursed low under his breath, his hand beginning to guide her as she worked her ?st in tandem with her tongue. She could feel his thigh quiver the smallest amount under her other hand, and she slid her palm around to dig her nails into his ass, humming around him as he thrust deeper into her mouth.

Gods, she could get drunk off the taste of him— the cloves and honey and smokey taste of his blood and kisses merging with salt and heat of him. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t get drunk off the power of this. Of watching him come undone from her knees. Of watching his eyes falling closed, his breath getting sharp and uneven, his chest heaving as he muttered another curse when she felt him hit the back of her throat.

She knew he was close, his ?ngers ?sting tighter in her hair and pulling at the strands as he swelled even more between her lips, but then he was tugging her off of him. She protested as he drew her up to her feet, herding her back to the bedchamber.

“You are going to possibly face Alaric tomorrow. There are no guarantees about how everything will turn out. If you think I am coming anywhere but inside of you, you are delusional,” hegrowled, kicking the door shut behind him. She was already on their bed, leaning back on her elbows, watching as he prowled towards her. He stepped between her legs hanging over the side of the bed. Calloused palms landed on her knees, pushing them wider, before dragging up her thighs. His thumbs brushed along her aching center before his hands moved on and gripped her hips. She whimpered in protest again, but it quickly turned into a moan as he bent down, taking a peaked nipple into his mouth. She arched up into him, seeking any type of relief between her legs, but she found nothing.

He chuckled low against her skin, canines nipping at her other breast. “I know what you want.”

“Then give it to me,” she demanded breathlessly, reaching between them and wrapping her ?ngers around his cock and stroking him.

“Gods,” he barked as she dragged him along her slick center, some kind of a garbled sigh coming from her throat at feeling him press against her. He had a breast in each hand now, kneading them with his ?ngers as she ground herself against him, taking any friction she could get.

“Please, Sorin,” she said, her voice a keening thing as she arched up again when he rolled her nipples between his ?ngers.

Then he was looping an arm under her, rolling her on top of him as he fell back onto the bed. “Take what you want, Love,” he rasped, hands steadying her as she adjusted to the sudden change in position. She wasted no time doing exactly what he said. Her ?ngers closed around his cock again as she lined herself up and sank down onto him. Her head tipped back, eyes ?uttering closed at feeling him ?ll her.

“Fuck,” he spat, when she ground down on him even more, moving her hips in a tight circle, searching, searching...

Sorin tilted his own hips, and she gasped when the movement hit that spot she’d been seeking. Then she was rocking against him, feeling him drag along that spot over and over with every pass.

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