Page 129 of Fear the Flames
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what you do to me. Goodnight, angel.” He leans forward to kiss the back of my neck.
“Goodnight, soldier,” I murmur as sleep pulls me under again.
ChapterFifty-Two
Afaint yellow glow bounces off the water in front of me, accompanied by a chilly wind. I turn onto the colonnade that wraps around the side of the lake next to the castle. White columns covered in green ivy rise into the air. Hundreds of candles are sprinkled throughout the surface of the lake, resting on top of gold lily pads. The candlelight dances along the crystals on my dress, making me shimmer as I walk. My gown hugs my body in all the right places, and a slit travels up to the top of my thigh, exposing one of my dragon daggers. Thousands of tiny silver crystals litter the nude fabric, making me look like a star-filled sky. The sleeves cling to my arms but pool around the underside of my wrists, stretching toward the floor. I decided to keep the heating patches on my ribs, so I don’t feel the bones of my corset as much as I normally would.
“Thank you for taking me here. It’s gorgeous,” I say to Braxton, who proposed the detour before we head to dinner. As gorgeous as the lake is, my eyes keep drifting toward the sky in hopes I’ll catch a glimpse of one of my dragons.
“My niece had mentioned it was happening. I thought it might be nice for you to see it now, in case the dinner runs late,” he replies.
“You have a niece?”
“Yes, you stitched her in the medical tent. She keeps asking me for a moonstone necklace.” His amber eyes crinkle in the corners as he talks about her. A smile slides on my face when he mentions the moonstone pendant I’ve worn every day since leaving Imirath. I found it on the journey to Aestilian and never took it off. It was the first thing that was ever truly mine.
“It would make a lovely birthday present,” I suggest.
“We’ll see if she can wait that long.” His laughter trails off, “Is that Commander Veles?”
I whip my head forward, following the path his eyes lay in front of me. A docked gondola shakes in the water as a tall figure clad in black loads something that looks like a picnic basket onto it. The gondola is dark brown, with floral vines wrapped around the curved wood. As if Cayden can sense my gaze on him, his head snaps up, and our eyes collide.
Despite the chill in the air, his desire-filled gaze rakes over me and sets my body ablaze. His hair is styled, just as it was the night of the ball, only now he has a cut under his eye, which makes him look even more like a dark prince than he did that night. His expensive-looking black suit jacket hugs his muscular frame, and the sword, which hangs low on his hips, taps against his leg while he bounds up the dock to cut the distance between us. He looks like a wolf stalking his prey. The desire is plain on my face, and the closer he gets, the tighter my corset feels. It’s like he tightens it with every slow footfall. His eyes dance down to my parted lips while we stand toe to toe. His hands stay at his sides, as do mine, but the need to touch him is overwhelming.
“Good evening, beautiful,” Cayden’s deep voice caresses me. “Thank you for guarding Queen Elowen, Braxton. I can take it from here.”
“See you inside, sir.” Braxton bows at the waist before retreating inside.
“You weren’t supposed to see that,” Cayden murmurs after Braxton leaves.
“See what?” I attempt to feign confusion, but he levels me with a glare. He reaches forward and grasps my hand in his before spinning on his heels and leading me over to the last dock, closest to an ivy-covered boat house. The magical atmosphere hugs me like a fairy-filled forest. He helps me down the few steps that lead to the dock and bends into the boat to lift the lid of the basket. My chest tightens; the basket is filled with wine accompanied by two glasses, cheese, crackers, and several kinds of spreads, but the last thing I notice is what makes my already tight chest feel like someone tied a ribbon around my heart. It’s two of the cheese and raspberry danishes Saskia and I ate that I wanted Cayden to try. His boot nervously taps against the wooden dock as water laps beneath our feet.
“It’s too much, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I’ve never done this before, so I wasn’t sure what the proper procedure for all of this is.” Too much? He thinks this istoo much?It’s wonderful. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you, you know—I just saw the lights in the lake, and I figured,” he clears his throat, “I don’t know what I figured, but I figured something.” Oh my gods, he’s embarrassed.
I reach out, grab his warm, blush-dusted cheeks, and smash his lips onto mine. My arms snake around his neck, keeping him close to me while his brain shuts off and he relaxes into the kiss. He sighs against my lips and slowly parts mine with his tongue, sliding it into my mouth while trailing his fingers up and down my spine. My fingers fiddle with the ends of his hair, and I rest my forehead against his after we pull apart.
“It’s perfect, Cayden.” I giggle at his relieved expression. It’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever planned for me. He must have asked Saskia what pastries to get. I would pay money to see how Saskia teased him when he told her it was so he could surprise me with them. “Thank you for planning this.”
“It’s what you deserve,” his fingers trail up my spine and trace the dark blue sapphire crown I wear, “my queen.” My toes curl in my shoes from the way my title sounds on his lips. He backs me into one of the wooden posts of the dock, shoving a knee between my legs and resting an arm above my head. A whimper escapes my lips from the glorious sensation his knee provides. My skin feels feverishly hot, and my nipples harden against the rough fabric of my dress. “Tell me you need this just as much as I do,” he groans.
We shouldn’t do this; we don’t have much time, and he knows this. The dinner is going to begin shortly, and we can’t be late. We weren’t supposed to come to the docks until after the dinner finishes…but I can’t resist him.
“I need you,” I whisper.
His lips are on mine before the next second passes. His feverish hands roam my body and palm my ass. He groans against my lips and hoists me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and grind my core onto his already hard length, moaning into the kiss. He presses my back into the post and thrusts his hips up to meet mine while placing hungry kisses along my neck and down my plunging V-neckline. I squirm in his hold, letting out a frustrated whine while raking my nails along his jacket, craving the feeling of his skin.
“Later, angel,” he says in between neck kisses. “Right now, my queen needs a quick fix, doesn’t she?”
“Yes,” I moan. I want him inside of me desperately. He crashes his lips onto mine and lifts me away from the post, swiftly carrying me up the dock without breaking our lips apart. He shoves something open, and the scent of dust surrounds me. He lowers me onto a desk before breaking our lips apart. We’re in the boat house; I can tell from the gondolas, ropes, and nets littered throughout the room.
He moves his head to my neck again, teasing me with a light brush of his lips over my sensitive skin. I need his hungry kisses. I arch my back off the desk and grind my hips onto his bulge while shoving my hands beneath the bottom of his black dress shirt and digging my nails into his back, raking them up and down. He moans into my neck and begins biting, sucking, and licking every inch of my sensitive skin.
“Cayden, fuck me like you said you would.” I’m already dripping wet. I’ll scream in frustration if I don’t have a release soon. My core clenches as I grind my hips harder onto his.
“I love the way my name sounds on your lips,” he says while reaching for his belt. His hard length springs free, and he wastes no time pulling my panties to the side and shoving his whole cock inside of me. I scream in a mixture of relief and fullness. He tips his head forward and fucks my mouth with his tongue in tandem with his hard thrusts. He lifts my hips off the desk and drills himself into me. My core clenches around him, and he cuts our kiss off with a deep groan.
“After this dinner is over, I want you on my bed with your legs spread so I can taste you for hours,” he growls into my ear before nibbling on the lobe. My back arches off the desk again, and the new sensation causes my mouth to fall open in a silent moan. “I want to make your legs shake; I want you to scream my name like a prayer.” He trails kisses down my neck, sucking on the sensitive spots. The memory of what his tongue can do to me almost sends me over the edge. “I plan on memorizing exactly how you look when you moan my name.”
“Only if you promise to get on your knees again, soldier,” I smirk, threading my fingers through his hair. His thrusts become harder, deeper, and frenzied while he kisses the trail back up my neck. I turn my head to the side, giving him more access, but my eyes snag on a dusty mirror hanging on the wall across from us. It’s dark in here, but I can still make out the shape of our bodies moving together.
