Page 95 of Of Storm and Emerald
He worked slowly, wanting to soak in every moment. But every time she leaned into his touch and her eyes fluttered closed, his heart skipped.
When he’d finished, and set the cloth aside, he gently lifted her off the counter, letting her body slide down his until her feet touched the floor.
They stood there a moment– their gazes locked and his hands on her hips while hers gripped tightly on his biceps.
A flush crept across her cheeks, and he watched as it traveled down her throat.
He watched as her lips parted slightly and her tongue made its way across the plump flesh.
Fuck, is it hot in here?
Daemon cleared his throat and took a step away. “I, uh–I’ll let you get changed.”
He turned and ran a hand roughly through his hair as he headed towards the exit, his mind racing. He was almost to the door when he heard her speak.
“Could you help me with the buttons?”
Daemon stopped and turned. “Buttons?”
A low chuckle brought a tiny spark back to her eyes, “Yes, Daemon. Buttons. I believe there are three on the upper part of the bodice that are holding my dress in place. Would you undo them for me, please?”
He stood dumbfounded for a moment, like she was speaking another language, before he snapped out of his stupor. Nodding hastily, he took hurried steps across the floor. When she turned, giving him her back, flashbacks of their night together after her coronation played through his mind.
Memories of his knuckles brushing up her sides and her skin pebbling under his touch while he unlaced her corset. The way her head would loll to the side, giving him access to the full column of her neck. Flashes of her splayed on his bed, with firelight licking across her skin.
Demon nervously ran his hands up her arms to her shoulders. Gathering her hair before he delicately swept it to one side– exposing the long line of her back.
His hands shook slightly as he undid the tiny buttons, and when he finished, he let out the breath he had unintentionally been holding.
After a muttered, “thank you,” from Auraelia, he left the bathing chamber and went back into her room.
Auraelia
She felt the air stir around her, the telltale sign that Daemon had shadow walked, and released a breath.
Closing her eyes, she let her head hang forward, and focused on her breathing.
In. Out.
In. Out.
Her mind was a tangle of thought and feelings. They still had so much that they needed to discuss, but she couldn’t deny the fact that she wanted him.
She wanted his mouth on hers, and between her legs.
She wanted his hands on her bare skin, touching every inch of her body.
She’d had that–for a fleeting moment– she had his hands on her. His fingertips coasting up her arms and then skimming the skin of her back as he undid the buttons of her dress. The firm grip he had on her hips as he lifted her onto the counter had her heart fluttering in her chest. And when she slid back down his body, she was so sure that he would claim her then and there.
His eyes had been burning with lust, and the way his fingers flexed against her hips she could tell it was taking everything he had not to act on it.
Well, that just won’t do.
Auraelia slipped out of her dress but left the chain and pearl garter around her leg. Then, crossing the chilled marble floor, she grabbed the silk night dress that hung on the back of the door.
It was short– falling to her upper thigh– and clung to every curve of her body before falling to barely cover the swell of her ass. The color was a deep sapphire-blue and the bottom was edged in lace the color of moonlight. The neckline cut low between her breasts–perfectly framing the pendant that Daemon had given her– and had simple embroidery that matched the lace. The back dipped into aVat the base of her spine, leaving her entire back exposed.
There were small slits on the bottom at both side seams, and delicate straps that had trouble staying on her shoulders. There was even a matching–barely there–pair of panties that she threw on as well.
