Page 62 of A Crown of Lies

She slid the strip of fabric free of her chest, letting it flutter to the floor. He warred with himself for a moment, the battle clear in the twitching corner of his eyes, but willpower quickly lost. He’d never been good at self-denial, not since she’d known him.

His eyes dipped to her chest, then danced up to meet hers, sparkling. “What do I have to say to get you to take the rest of it off?”

A nervous laugh bubbled out of her, but her hand shot to her lips, cutting it short. Heat burned in her cheeks as she realized she was half naked in front of a man and he was cracking jokes. Not about her, or what she looked like, but to put her at ease. Divine, he deserved so much better than she could give him.

He leaned forward, gently took her hand, and lowered it from her mouth. “Are you sure this is what you want?” Ieduin asked, kissing her palm. “Are you sure it’s me?”

She nodded. “I’m sure. I want this, but…”

“You’re trembling.” Ieduin caressed her upper arms, dropping his gaze again to her chest. “Don’t. Don’t be nervous. Not with me.”

Ieduin’s fingers were sure as he reached to run them over her collarbone, though his eyes were firmly fixed on her exposed breasts. For a moment, his chest stilled as if he’d forgotten how to breathe. Then he dropped a hand, gently tracing a finger along the bottom swell of her breast.

She fought the urge to gasp and make noises she thought might’ve made her sound ridiculous, but her body was responding to the touch.

“I was right,” he said, moving his hand up to cup her cheek. “You are a goddess, Rixxis.”

Her face burned hot. Ieduin’s goddess… She’d been called a lot of things, but never something so weighty. Rixxis had never felt beautiful. Not when she looked at herself, and not when Lewis looked at her, but in the dark, with Ieduin looking up at her… She almost felt like it.

He drew his fingers gently over her stomach before looking up at her. That look, Divine, that pleading, hungry look, was going to be the death of her.

“Let me worship you like you deserve,” he said and kissed her neck.

She nodded, her voice tight as she said, “Okay.”

He started slowly, just kissing a warm line along her collarbone, down one arm. Then he shifted, pulling his knees up onto the bed. His tongue teased over a nipple, and she lost her battle to keep her voice in check as he sucked it between his lips.

She reached to run her fingers through his hair but hesitated, realizing she should ask first. She did not know if that was off limits for elves or not. “Can I touch your hair?”

He leaned back and yanked his tunic over his head. “You can have any part of me you want, any way you want it.”

Her eyes flared wide when he reached to undo his pants, the familiar fear pricking the back of her neck. Maybe this was a mistake. But he didn’t move to force her onto her back, and the touch that followed was far from demanding. He kissed her fingers and lifted them to his hair, even as he was still half kicking off his pants.

His hair was soft, like silk between her fingers, the reddest shade of red she had ever seen. It was like fire in the dark and she held it in her hands, burning with it.

A shudder ran through her as he pulled her belt free and tossed it aside. He made quick work of the laces that held her pants up and dragged them down over her hips. Removing them in her position was awkward, and she had to roll onto her back. Suddenly, she wished she’d had enough foresight to put on a sexier pair of underwear. She hadn’t exactly planned on doing this.

Ieduin didn’t seem to care. He placed his thumb against the front of the fabric. Looking up at her again, he pressed in, right against the pleasurable little nub at the center. She gasped as her body throbbed in response, but she shouldn’t have been surprised. If there were an expert on sex and pleasure in the world, it would have to be him. Of course he’d know where to touch her.

She hadn’t been so lucky. It was only after one night with Lewis that she finally got frustrated enough to try it herself, and even then, it had taken her a few times to really figure out how and where to touch herself.

“Will you let me make you come, goddess?” When she didn’t answer right away, he tugged down the waistband of her underwear and kissed her there. “Please? I want to make you come.”

Her body screamed, “Yes, please! Divine, yes!” but the only word she could get out was a restrained and embarrassed, “Okay.”

“Thank the gods.” He sighed as if relieved and pulled the boring underwear down to her knees.

She expected him to continue with his thumb, or maybe to do it like she did it for herself with two fingers. Instead, he hooked his arms around her legs in an embrace and buried his mouth against that sweet spot between her legs.

She should have been horrified, stunned by the filth of it. This had to be wrong, but Eight Divines, it didn’tfeelwrong. His tongue was like silk against her, like soft wet silk. Divine, maybe he was a man made of silk. Every part of him she touched was soft and hard and right under her hands.

Her fingers curled around this hair, and she pressed his face harder into her, smothering him in her, rubbing shamelessly against his tongue the way she’d rubbed against her own fingers. He groaned, and the sound vibrating out of his throat felt good, too. Every brush of his tongue brought her higher, closer, tighter. So tight she was already threatening to explode.

Panting, she looked down at the beautiful, red-headed elf tucked between her legs, and saw him with his hand around his cock—his lovely, hard cock. She’d never thought of Lewis that way. He’d always seemed odd, almost laughable, and terribly timid about it. But there wasn’t a shred of shame in Ieduin. There wasn’t anything, but a man driven so mad with desperation at the taste of her he had to fuck his own hand. There was something strangely erotic about watching the way he moved his hand over himself, the way the metal bar through the head of his cock gleamed in the evening light. Gods, what would that feel likeinsideher?

That thought broke her. She clenched around nothing, filled at once with both the sudden disappointment of that and fear that if he had been inside of her, she might have broken him with those convulsions. Her body quivered and trembled and something like a scream came out of her, unbidden. She was completely out of control of every part of herself, and gods, if it wasn’t the best feeling, even if some part of her was terrified of it.

For the first time, she understood why people sold everything for love, why kings traded their kingdoms for the chance to be with the right woman, and why she and Lewis could never work. Everything was clear for a flash in time as Ieduin licked and sucked and fucked her with his tongue, bringing her through it. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as it all came into focus and faded, replaced by a profound but happy exhaustion that left her bones feeling like boiled noodles. Every breath out of her burned like fire in her throat and she couldn’t stop shaking.

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