Page 136 of Of Storm and Emerald
Shelovedthe way he kissed her.
Lovedthe way that he could hold her tenderly one moment, then have his hand around her throat the next.
The way she felt at ease around him, like she was just a woman, and he was just a man.
She loved…him.
The revelation hit her like a strike of lightning.
She knew that she cared for him and had tossed around the idea that maybe it was love. But standing here with him, in the middle of the garden where it all started, it became crystal clear.
Auraelia pulled back, breaking the kiss, and looked–really looked–at Daemon.
He was beautiful. All sharp lines and bold features, with a softness in his eyes and a pureness in his heart.
And he was hers.
“What is it? Is everything ok?” Worry lined his face, and a little wrinkle formed between his brows.
She reached up to smooth the line, then cupped his cheek in her palm and smiled up at him. “Everything is fine, wonderful even.”
Auraelia’s gaze traveled south, taking in the man who held her heart and was a piece of her soul.
He was once again dressed from head to toe in obsidian, and she couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up her throat.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, perplexed by her outburst.
“Black? Again? Did you lose a trunk of clothes on the way here?” She shook her head, her tone full of mirth.
“Onyx is black. I think I fit the theme quite well.”
“Sure, you did.” She patted his arm in mock placation, and he pulled her into his arms as she crumbled into a fit of laughter.
When she finally calmed, she pulled his lips to hers once more, and the chaste kiss dissolved into something more.
Her hands flew to the laces on his trousers, while his skimmed across the bare part of her back.
Completely lost in the moment and the heat of his touch, she hadn’t realized that he’d shadow-walked them to the sanctuary gate until the cold iron bars were pressing into her back.
Daemon slowly lifted her hands above her head, then secured them to the gate with his shadows, leaving her completely at his mercy. He broke the kiss and took a step away, letting his eyes roam down her body and she pulled against the bindings.
“You’re not going anywhere this time, Princess. We’re finishing what we started here all those months ago.”
Her breath caught in her throat as silky ribbons of shadow licked across her body, while Daemon undid his pants.
She wanted to touch him, but more than that, she wanted him to touchher.
Once his pants were hung precariously on his hips, he stalked over to her and dropped to his knees.
As he bunched up her skirt, he chuckled as looked at her over the volume of fabric that had accumulated in front of his face. “I seem to recall telling you that the skirts were a bit much the last time we were here, too.”
“Daemon. Please,”she groaned his name in anticipation, but it was also laced with aggravation, and it made him smirk.
“I do love when you beg.”
He began to hike her skirts higher, but stopped when he reached the garter she’d worn to his solstice celebration. A look of awe and wonder crossed his face as he fingered the chains that dangled against her skin then pressed a kiss to the inside of her thigh where it rested.
He continued to push her skirts higher once more, and she knew the exact moment he realized that she was bare beneath all of that fabric. And if his muttered, “Fuck,” wasn’t a clear indication, the fact that his mouth was on her mere seconds after, definitely was.
