Page 54 of A Frozen Pyre
Twenty
Seeing Tyr’s face after all this time was like welcoming himback from the dead.
“Goddess be damned, thank you,thank you,” Ophir prayed and cursed as she hurried. The flood of emotion that washed over her felt as if the Raasay River had burst through its lazy banks surrounding Castle Gwydir and cooled the tension in the corridor. She rounded the corner to see Tyr emerging from the room he’d been assigned.
Still half a hall away, she beamed at Tyr, walk becoming a run as she closed the distance between them. Her gratitude swelled as he opened his arms, enveloping her in his fully corporeal form. Not only could she smell the campfire smoke, cedar, and leather, not only could she feel the skin, the arms, the cloth, but she could see the chest that she buried her face into, the hands that tucked themselves against her lower back, the mouth that buried itself in her hair.
“You were a ghost,” Ophir hiccupped into his shoulder, doing her best not to cry. “I can’t believe I have you back.”
“I never left your side,” Tyr said quietly.
“It’s not the same.” She tucked herself in more tightly, forcing her body against his as if wanting to crawl into his skin. No grip was tight enough; no grasp was secure enough.She wanted to vanish, her skin, her clothes, her hair, her breath becoming one with him. It had only taken a minute in his presence for her want him to consume her.
“Come, let’s go,” he said into her hair. “Back to your room?”
She smiled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to look at you while—”
The corner of his mouth tugged up in a crooked grin, but there was an emptiness behind his eyes. He loosened his hold as he said, “Ophir, I want to be around you for more than that.”
She pulled away. “I can count on one hand the number of times you’ve called me Ophir.”
His attempt at a smile was little more than a flickering candle in the wind as he repeated, “Come on, Princess. Let’s go back to your room.”
“And get you out of those clothes? After all, you must have traveled across the continent to get here. Let’s get you into the bath.” She waited for him to take the bait and laugh at their ruse.
He offered a half-hearted smirk in return. “Believe me when I tell you there’s nothing I’d like more, Princess.”
“Tell me what you would do to me,” she said, stepping closer to him. He looked over his shoulder, but she looked only into his eyes. “Tell me,” she repeated.
Tyr had begun to lead her down the hall but pushed out a breath of air as he stopped to examine her. “You want to hear what I want to do to you?” he asked.
“Deeply.”
He held her unwavering gaze. After a pulse, he said, “Don’t look behind you; just picture the hard wall of stone. Keep looking at me.”
She blinked once as she refused to break his stare.
“Four steps backward. Your back would hit the wall so hard you’d see stars. First, you’d arch your head against the wall. You’d give me full access to your throat, your mouth,your breasts. Picture how your eyes would close, your lips would part.”
“Tyr…”
“Hush, Princess.” He ran his fingers through her hair. She felt a rush of wetness between her legs as he looked down at her. Her chest heated, cheeks flushing as he said, “It would take me three seconds to get the flimsy cotton of that dress up over your hips. I’d help you up just enough for you to wrap your legs around my waist. Are you wearing anything under it?”
“I—”
“I’ll take that as a no,” he said, voice barely more than a low growl. “Don’t think I can’t smell how wet you are.”
She swallowed.
“You’d breathe out as I breathe in. You’d open up for every inch of me. Can you feel it?”
Ophir’s feet remained planted in the middle of the hall, utterly frozen. She didn’t want to imagine it. She wanted him to be forcing her against the blue-black corridor. She wanted his fingers gripping her hips, his mouth claiming her. She didn’t understand the game, but fuck, if it wasn’t tearing her to shreds. Her vivid imagination carried her forward as he spoke.
“Nod, if you can.”
She struggled to breathe but managed the motion.
“That fur of yours would fall to the floor.”
