Page 38 of The Princesses of Ruin
I push away and look down the length of our bodies. It’s a glorious sight as I align myself with her opening. In her eyes is a tumultuous storm of pleading and pleasure. She turns her hips and presses her heels into my ass, taking the first inch of me.
I breathe what feels like the first breath in months. Connecting with her is peace, the greatest bliss. My vision narrows as my hips hit hers, and then I press a little more. She rotates her pelvis into me, shifting the angle to consume me deeper.
I sigh and the world disappears.
“I will love you forever. From the stars winking out to the death of the gods, you are my soul, my reason, my redemption.”
Her warm palm smooths over the stubble on my cheek. “I will always choose you. And if this life is not the last, I will choose you again.”
She pulls me down and our lips connect. I move against her with patient devotion. Grinding into her center with every movement. Her moans echo into my mouth.
I lose myself in her, following the river of our passion until her ecstasy overflows. The walls of her sex grip me in waves and I succumb to her divinity. I snap my hips against hers harder, driving into her and forcing a second orgasm through her. She breaks from my lips to cry out. I kiss her neck as she howls even louder than the wind. I know the gods can hear the power of our love.
When she’s satisfied, she lavishes my throat with lazy kisses, and I slow my rocking. I finally still, and the thunder of my heart comes back into focus, then the wind and the flicker of candlelight. I breathe in the scent of her hair and sink down until she bears more of my weight.
The steady rise and fall of her chest below me is a comfort that I never thought I could know—that I never thought I deserved.
“Can we live in this moment forever?” she whispers.
I pull back enough to see her face. She’s content and exhausted.
“Live in it with me right now. We’ll see how long we can make it last.”
Chapter fourteen
Scarlett
Kor’Tar is disgruntled this morning, I assume because he didn’t get to mount his mare. Horny toad more like than horse. Bastard can’t keep his cock from gravitating toward Winifred. We’ll have to let them sleep outside tonight.
Within the grasp of the north, it was too cold to let them sleep outside, but tonight we’ll make it well into the meridian. The temperatures should be moderate, and we’ll rest in a town.
We eat a meal of bread and dried meat, then mount up. Because the horses are so large and powerful, we can trot them much longer than a standard mount. We break only once when we’ve passed the snows, then make it to Galhad at sundown.
Galhad is a large commerce town, and we easily slip into the procession. I wear an eyepatch, which is much less suspect than showing my swirling black void to the world. We reach a discreet inn off the well-trodden path and stable Kor’Tar and Winifred together.
He nuzzles her immediately, and she leans into the affection. It makes my old, cynical heart pitter-patter to watch these creatures love on one another.
Zane pays for a room and orders us dinner at the bar while I find a table out of sight. I keep my hood high until I’m well-hidden in theshadows of the corner, farthest from the hearth despite the chill. He joins me, sliding his chair up to mine so he can hold my hands to his lips and blow on them.
“How are you?” he asks between puffs.
An instant retort of sarcasm and doom is on my tongue, but I hold it back. I am the eldest sister, Spider Queen of the Underbelly, and the woman who needs to lead. My actions and my speech need to reflect my position, my status.
“I’m cold, and tired, but well.”
Zane’s brow furrows. “Bullshit.”
I huff a laugh.There goes that.
“I can feel her stabbing the walls at the back of my mind. She’s a mud-kip, biting and gnawing, but as soon as I reach for her, she disappears, escaping my grasp.”
Zane reaches into his bag and pulls out the golden-tinged blood vial of my sister, Alyse.
“No,” I say, pushing it back. “I’m in control. It’s just uncomfortable.”
He takes a deep breath. “Some before bed to keep her at bay.”
I nod. “A wise decision, my king.”
