Page 92 of Unraveled
“I have to get you ready.” His eyes are locked on mine, and he swallows deeply as his expression tightens with the same need I’m feeling. He continues moving his fingers between us,bringing me closer to my release. My body stiffens, and I come apart under his touch so fast I can barely catch my breath.
When the waves of pleasure turn into gentle rocking, I’m done with his hand and want something more. I reach for his trousers, finishing the job I started before by undoing the ties.
My name on his lips sends a shiver down my spine. He pins me to the wall and hooks his arm right under my knee, pulling my leg up so he’s pressed right to my heat. His mouth comes to my neck, licking, sucking again as he carefully presses into me until he’s fully inside and I’m struggling to breathe against the tightness and the pleasure of being connected in this way.
“Mia.” He pushes the hair out of my eyes, his face hovering close to mine, his expression contorted as he holds himself still. “Is this alright?”
I nod, and just to prove to him how right this feels, I rock my hips over his. Ash’s eyes roll back and he groans, loudly. His hand grips my waist, and he moves. Slow, deep thrusts, hitting a spot inside me that makes my blood heat again.
Moaning, I writhe against him. Warmth spreads in my core as a breath catches in my throat. The second climax that rolls through me is less intense than the first, but takes me by surprise.
Ash’s movements become erratic as the waves of my pleasure die down, and his begin. He kisses me, hard and needy, as gooseflesh roams over his skin. “Fuck, Mia.” His voice roughens at the same time his hips buck into me. Deeper. Harder.
My walls clench around him, and his movements drag my orgasm on and on, pulling every ounce of pleasure out of me, until I go limp in his arms.
Ash cock twitches right before a grunt leaves his lips, and he trembles as he comes inside me.
Slowly, the room comes back into focus around us. Water trickles over the edge of the bathtub, spilling onto the tile floor.Steam clouds the windows and hangs heavy in the air. Ash’s arms tighten around me, and he doesn’t put me back on the ground but instead walks us to the tub, leaving his trousers behind.
He tsks as his feet splash through the water around the tub. “Look at the mess you made...”
“Me?” I say, unable to hide the smile in my voice. “I was perfectly ready to bathe until a beast ravished me.”
My arms tighten around him, knowing him well enough by now that I can see when mischief glows behind those golden eyes of his.
“That wasn’t me ravishing you, Mia. Not yet, at least. I intend to do much more than that.” He steps into the tub and finally lets me down, dragging the shirt off his body and tossing it onto the pile of my dress.
I don’t think whoever built this house designed the bath for two people, much less one as large as he. But we squeeze tightly as the scalding-hot water sloshes around us, easing the ache of walking across the forest, and everything that happened after.
We stay in the bath long enough that the water turns lukewarm. Ash strokes what appears to be lavender oil over my arms with a sea sponge and presses a kiss to my temples. “You’re awfully quiet,” he says. “That usually means you’re up to something.”
I lay my head on his chest, enjoying the gentle beating of his heart as I stare at my surroundings. When I came into the washroom, I didn’t catch all the details, but now I drink in the wooden ceiling beams, carved with beautiful designs of flowers and nature. There aren’t any mirrors in here either.
I feel too tired and too comfortable to move much. “Ash?”
He hums distractedly, encouraging me to keep talking while still pressing his nose to my hair.
“Why do you look different from all the other cursed fae?”
He stiffens under me, briefly pausing the gentle stroking of his fingers over my skin.
“Was that the wrong thing to ask?” I rest my chin on his chest to catch his expression. “I was wondering why the curse shows up so differently for you when even Nera has turned into stone.”
“I don’t get to speak of what it means very often, not anymore at least.” Ash resumes his stroking, caressing my forearm and then moving to the side of my ribs. It’s not sensual, more soothing and gentle. Still, my body reacts to his touch by warming up again.
His dark lashes shroud most of the gold of his irises as he looks down at me. “This”—he waves his other hand over his neck and pectoral muscles where the feathers have grown thicker in the last few days—“is my spirit form. Or so I was told by my court advisers before they lost their minds to the curse years ago.”
I blink. “What do you mean, spirit form? Like Naheli?”
He nods. “Once, the unseelie lived in the spirit realm, and our true forms were more animalistic. The feathers, talons, and sharp teeth are mine.”
“Then why does it become more apparent when the blood moon gets closer?” I sit up and turn to meet his gaze fully.
“The curse takes its toll on my body the closer to the blood moon we are.” He reaches for me with a pinch to his brows, pulling me back to my previous position, lying on top of his body. I like this much more.
“Naheli lends me more of her magic to keep me sane, and so my true spirit appearance reveals itself.”
My lips round as I digest all this new information. It matches with the legends and what I learned from Finley and Nera. I think back at the gaps in the information in all the books I studied growing up.
