Page 99 of Moonmarked

And I understood. Just the thought of someone kissing him on those lips that were mine—God, I would drag them across Verenthia on fucking fire and let everyone see it, hear them screaming.Not even exaggerating here. I pictured the scene in detail in my mind.

But luckily Rune was here to kiss every other thought away, ignite me from the inside with a fire only he could control. Before two minutes were over, I was panting, losing control of myself, begging him to bring that hand that had gripped my ass lower, between my legs.

Our every movement was frantic, uncontrolled, filled with so much need and so much desire I was afraid we were going to burst into fucking fireworks any second.

Thenhis fingers were right there in my center, over my panties. I begged him to take me with every breath, and for once he obeyed. When I reached for the button of his pants, undid his zipper, and grabbed his hardness in my fists, he didn’t stop me.

Instead, he grabbed me and pulled me up, his hands under my thighs. He climbed on the seat of the chair on his knees, pressed me to the tall backrest, and put my feet on the thick armrests. Like that I had a little control over my body, and my hands were in his hair. I pulled him in for another kiss while he pushed up my nightgown and hooked a finger underneath my wet panties.

I froze with his bottom lip between my teeth, eyes squeezed shut and limbs locked as I waited.

Then Rune touched the center of me with the tip of his cock.

My back arched, my body moving on its own as if it just turnedonby the press of a button. But Rune grabbed my hips with one hand and held me in place as he guided himself inside me slowly, filling me inch by little inch.

Sucking in a deep breath, I didn’t even scream as he pressed me against the backrest, thrust his hips harder, filled me until I felt him in my very core.

I had no idea how it was even possible that I forgot what it was like when he was inside me, when we connected like this on every level, when we breathed the same and our hearts chased the same rhythm and we were really, trulyone.I always forgot until I was here, and then I decided all over again that this was where I belonged. My home was his arms.

Slowly, Rune guided my legs around his hips, one arm around my waist to hold me in place, the other fisting my ass. We still had our clothes on, but we didn’t mind. Rightnow, it didn’t matter. We needed to belong to each other on a deeper level, not just to enjoy each other’s touch.

“Don’t keep it in, wildling,” Rune whispered, leaning back a bit so he could look at me, bring those lips to mine. “Let these walls hear your voice. Let this room know exactly who you belong to.”

I did.

He moved against me slowly at first, knees planted firmly on the seat, my back against the backrest. Unless the chair toppled over, we weren’t going anywhere. Even when he picked up the rhythm, it wasn’t fast—it wasdeep.Even when I cried out his name, and he whispered mine as we held onto each other with all our strength, we didn’t rush.

I felt him in every inch of me, raw, unfiltered, the pleasure almost painful as it took me over completely, then set my very soul on fire. I touched the stars in the sky with my bare hands while he continued to move in and out of me, chasing his own flames.

And when he came, too, whispering my name over and over again, we didn’t let go for a long time—wecouldn’t.We stayed right there, holding each other until our breathing and our hearts slowed down all the way.

thirty-four

I looked at the dais,at the chair where we’d been sitting just minutes ago—the War General’s seat, according to Rune.

Now we were lying on the marble floor, my head over his arm, my leg dragged over his stomach, his hand locked around my thigh. I shook my head at myself for the fifth time, and said, “I can’t believe you fucked me in the throne room.”

And better yet—I couldn’t believe we were still there, lying on the floor, staring at the stars on the ceiling, not getting the hell out of here already.

But Rune was in no rush at all, so neither was I.

Pulling me closer, he planted a kiss on my forehead.

“When you came into the ballroom tonight, you looked like you were his,” Rune said. He didn’t sound jealous anymore, not in the least. He sounded curious instead. “But in here you sounded like you’re mine.”

My toes curled and I snuggled closer to his side. “You know I had no idea that he was going to kiss me, right?”

“Of course.” Rune kissed my hair again—no hesitation.

“I don’t know why he did it.” I had been just as shocked as Rune had looked.

“He’ll say it was the wine, or that he thought you might want him to, or that someone whisper-challenged him, but I’m not sure of the real reason.”

I shook my head—this was getting ridiculous. “Rune, I don’t want to do this,” I said, closing my eyes. “I don’t want to get in the way of the two of you—you’re friends, for fuck’s sake! I don’t want to hide anymore. I want to tell Lyall about us.”

Taking in a deep breath, I sat up because I might not have thought through what I just said, but it sounded exactly right.

“I want to tell him, Rune,” I said when he sat up, too, no sign of the man he had been at the ball or in this throne room when I first came in here. He was calm now, his eyes peaceful, the colors in them vivid. Even the way he held his shoulders changed when he wasn’t pissed off.

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