Page 60 of A Baron of Bonds
Ah, she was turning my words back on me now. Clever, clever woman.
Correct woman, perfect woman, talented woman…my thoughts trailed as I wrapped my hands, now warm, across her neck, cupping her jaw and lifting her head to meet my lips with hers.
I kissed her in reverence and desire. Her lips parted and her tongue brushed mine as time slowed. My thoughts found a path and headed straight for it. This was perhaps the only time I could control time.
Right here, with her mouth pressed to mine, the world slowed to a standstill until we were done. Until we had exhausted our physical bodies, our souls never quite satisfied to an end.
“Karus?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you warm enough?”
“Not nearly enough. Got any ideas?”
“More than a few.”
“Revich, I swear, if you go slow this time, I’ll unravel into insanity.”
I laughed and brought a cup between us from inside, wisps of my magic holding it in the air.
“We were so clever to make this tea in a batch ahead of time.” She gulped half the cup, her eyes daring me to do everything she knew I wanted to.
I finished the rest and sent it back to the table through the open doors, lifting her nightgown and pulling on her legs to wrap around me.
“Caloren.” Warmth bloomed around us on the balcony as I carried her to the wall of the inn. The quilt fell from my shoulders, and I adjusted it to cover her back.
I held her there against the stone, taking my time to rearrange the quilt so that she would not be scratched.
She quirked a brow.
“What kind of a companion would I be if I let your skin break against a stone wall while loving you?”
“I’d almost think you’d planned this.”
“What can I say? I am a careful man, Karus.” I pulled the quilt higher up her back and around her shoulders. What I had planned to do to her that autumn night in the top room balcony of the tallest inn, I planned to do without needing to stop for comfort adjustments.
The heat from my magic enhancement only added to the flush I felt as the azure trails of warmth spread between us in a luxurious haze.
I held her against the wall and began.
Her legs wrapped around me, and I pressed my hips into her, hard, helping keep her off the gray stone floor. I smoothed the hair off her shoulders with one hand, the other tucked underneath her. My fingers traced the skin of her neck, following her collarbone until I hooked a finger under one of the delicate straps of her nightgown.
She watched my face with building hunger as she followed to the other side and we both lowered one strap down, down, untilthe top of her gown gathered at her waist. She brought her arms up around my neck, and I took a moment to just look at her.
How many times had we done this since we’d bonded?
I’d heard of the companions’ leave of course. It was well-known that after a bonding, the couple often went away for a few days to settle in. I had not quite realized that this was what the settling was really about.
“At least six.” She rasped and then cleared her throat, reading my face. “This will be our seventh.”
“And for you? How many times have you come over or under me?”
She bit her lower lip and tilted her head upward. I swallowed and waited.
Cocking her head to the side she said, “I’d guess maybe eleven? Twelve?”
“Aren’t you exhausted?”
