Page 73 of Forged in Flame and Shadow

Chapter 23

Morgana

Leon’s still giving me a questioning look as I slip into the bathroom. I’m quick putting my plan into place. If I linger too long, I might start second-guessing myself—and I’m not letting that happen now.

Not when thisfeelsright, each thud of my heart drawing me toward him.

I emerge from the bathroom in the red dress I was wearing last night. I watch him watch me, his eyes taking in every inch—from the places the sheer lace clings to my thighs to the strip of skin where the neckline scoops downward.

“You said you wanted to rip this thing off me. I thought I’d give you the opportunity,” I say.

My knees go weak at the look he gives me, like a starving animal salivating over its next meal. He rises from the chair and stalks toward me in a way that makes my breathing go shallow.

Instead of pouncing, he circles me, examining me from every angle. I shift my weight from one foot to another and try not to be impatient.

“Changed your mind?” I ask finally.

He smiles hungrily. “No, I’m deciding where to start. Some presents are too good to unwrap quickly. There’s such a thing as savoring it, princess.”

Hearing him call me that again, inthatvoice, makes something coil tight in my stomach. It tightens further as he steps up behind me, his breath ghosting across my neck. I want him closer. I needhim to touch me. I’ve missed it, missedhim. Not just his body or his touch, but the way he made me feel. He’d become the steady thing in my unstable world, the rock I could lean on.

I want that back, and I know I have to risk letting him in again to get it.

I lean on him now, my back resting against his chest as he brushes lips across the point where my neck meets my shoulder. Then he reaches around and slides a hand across my stomach, up over my ribs, to slide beneath the loose material of the dress.

I inhale sharply as his fingers encircle my breast, and he pulls me fully against him. I feel the hardness of his erection pressed against my backside, and my mind spins away from me. I ache to have that hardness between my legs.

That thought stops short when I hear the whisper of metal being withdrawn from a sheath, and the cold tip of a knife comes to rest gently at my side. I shiver and go tense, not relaxing even when Leon kisses my neck again.

“Relax, princess, and stay still.”

The hand still inside my dress caresses my breast, lightly pinching my nipple.

“It’ll be hard to stay still if you keep—ah—doing that,” I say, caught off guard by another pinch that sends a spark of both pain and pleasure dancing through me.

He just laughs—a deep, low chuckle—removing his hand, and I feel the metal of the knife ease under the section of lace that starts just below my arm. I inhale, nervous, but in one swift movement he slices the fabric from top to bottom. It springs back, exposing half my body. Before I can even make a noise of surprise, the knife is sliding down the other side, splitting the dress apart. A few more knicks and he’s pulling the fabric off me until I stand completely naked.

He tosses the knife aside and spins me around. His eyes are almost black with desire as I straighten. I may be completely exposed, the air gently stroking my skin, but it’s impossible to feel self-conscious when he’s looking at me with such want.

That’s the other piece I’ve been missing—the way Leon makes me feel strong, not vulnerable. Invincible, even.

“How long I’ve waited to see you like this again,” he says, his voice so low it’s almost a feral snarl.

I step up to him, and his hands are instantly on my body, stroking across my waist and backside. Meanwhile,myhands start tugging at his leather tunic and shirt.

“Now let’s be fair,” I say teasingly. “You need to start taking things off too, or we’re never going to get to the good part.”

His hand dips lower to squeeze beneath my ass, and I gasp.

“I thought this already was the good part,” he grins, but lets me remove his clothes until my bare skin presses against his. Then he locks me in another searing kiss, lifting me to lay me outon the bed, guiding my arms up above my head. I obey. At this moment, I’d do anything he asked.

I feel safe with Leon. Even as he pins my wrists to the bed, even as he sinks his teeth into me and I start to come undone, I don’t fight my helplessness. It’s not scary to let myself fall as long as I know he’s there to catch me.

And giving in feelsso good. Leon seems intent on worshipping all of me, working his way from my neck down across my breasts and stomach, licking and sucking until every inch of my skin feels alive. When his mouth stops to linger between my legs, I can’t keep my arms pinned above me any longer; I drop them so my hands can twist in his hair as he devours me with a ferocity that leaves me shaking.

The first orgasm hit hard and fast, and I scream my throat raw. Afterward, Leon straightens up with a smug, satisfied smile, stroking a possessive hand over my thighs.

“I’ve missed those sounds,” he says. “The ones you make when you finally let go, the expression on your face when you drop the mask.”

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