Page 76 of Through the Wicked Wood

“What would you have done?” I ask, running my hand across his abdomen. “If you had gotten the throne, the bargain would have brought you back to the woods eventually, right?”

“Yes,” he says, dragging his fingers through my hair. “But to be king would have given me the power to name anyone I’d like as an heir. Blood or not.”

“And who would you have named?”

His fingers curl around the back of my neck. “Samaria, of course,” he says. “Who better to wear a crown than she?”

To that, I can’t argue.

“But now,” he says, “that the bargain is broken, all thanks to you, maybe I could stay king a little longer. Now that I don’t have this…debt hanging over me, I feel even more ready to give myself completely. To you.” My stomach tightens, dipping and falling in a tumble of guilt.

Leaning forward, I claim his mouth with my own before he has a chance to speak any further. To say whatever it is he wants to say.

“Must you always speak, thief?” I ask, breaking our kiss apart and echoing my words to him from the cavern.

Sorin cuts me that ear to ear grin, and I completely lose myself in it. I sink into his touch, kissing him again, the moan that is muffled behind our kiss sends a thrill down my spine. My stomach is a frenzy of flurrying motions as Sorin’s kiss intensifies. A mix of tongue and his soft lips, we kiss each other deeply, like he is oxygen and I am a woman deprived.

My hands drag down his torso, taking in the warmth of his body, the curves of his muscles. His hands are in my hair, fisting around the locks at the nape of my neck. I attempt, and fail, to swing myself around to his lap. Forgetting, momentarily, the injury to my foot, I wince as it hits the ground. I land halfway in his lap and halfway off the furs. A broken giggle escapes my lips and Sorin soon chimes in with his own laughter.

“Easy, Enchantress.” His voice is low and raspy as he scoops me up. “I’m going to need you to save your energy.” In one swift movement I find myself flat on my back with Sorin positioned over me. The rising light outside reveals the shape of his body against mine. Tracing his fingers along the seam of my tunic, he slowly pulls it over my head. The shock of the cooler air over my exposed skin combined with the trace of Sorin’s fingers along my torso leaves me gasping. Lowering himself over me, he runs his fingers through my hair, tugging gently at the scalp.

His lips part as if to say something, then quickly snap shut. I can see the contemplation in his dark brown eyes and I know what he wants to say. Because I want to say it too, but I don’t give either of us the chance. That even if we weren’t destined by the Fates, even if our lives were not stitched together by a higher power, we would still choose each other. I don’t know how, but I am certain.

Gripping his hair, I tug him forward until his mouth again meets mine. A clash of tongues leaves me moaning as Sorin kisses me deeply, running his hands over my bare chest and through my hair. I writhe my body underneath him, liquid heat courses through me at the memory of the caverns. I think of all the places his mouth touched. All the places I want it to touch now.

His hands catch on my breeches.

“Lift your hips for me, Elora,” he whispers, and so I do. Carefully, he pulls my breeches over my injured foot, leaving a trail of soft kisses from my ankle up to my inner thigh before unlacing and removing his own pants and tossing them to the side.

Then, he takes his time to learn every part of me with his hands, every curve, every dip, before bending down to my abdomen. Slowly, he makes his way lower, dragging a finger through my middle. My head falls back as I struggle to pace my breathing. His movements are slow, steady, just that one finger will be my undoing. I lift my hips forward, encouraging him, but he doesn’t move.

Dragging his finger again through my center, he traces his thumb over the sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs. I drape my arm over my mouth and bite down to stifle the moan that I’m certain will wake the others. As if sensing my hesitation, Sorin stops his movements as he pulls my arm from my mouth. He kisses it all the way down until he reaches my hand.

Then, he kisses my mouth, my neck, my collarbones before nudging my legs open gently with his own. “I don’t care who hears you,” he says, dropping his hand from mine to grip himself. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I push my hips forward.

“Don’t hold back,” he whispers, dipping his head down so our foreheads meet, mimicking his words from the cavern. Gripping the back of my thighs, his fingers dig deeply into my skin. My words fail me as my eyes close with anticipation, his skin against mine lighting a fire within me.

My body aches for him but before I can beg, his words are low and dominant. “Eyes on me, love. I want to see you when you come undone.” His demand has me snapping my eyes open. The thought is too intimate. To allow someone to see you at your most vulnerable. But when I meet his eyes, I’m reminded of how far we’ve come. That even without the Fates, I wouldn't want anyone else to see me this way.

Only him.

As if reading my mind, he guides himself in. Fighting the urge to close my eyes, I instead keep them locked on his. Gasping, I arch my back as he begins to move. I wrap my legs tighter, pulling him further into me.

His thrusts are rhythmic and slow, but I’m too impatient. His grip around my thigh tightens as he traces up my body with his free hand, over the peaks of my breasts, up to the sensitive skin of my throat before wrapping around my back, hoisting me up so I am in his lap, our chests flush with one another. I run my fingers through his hair, tugging him closer still.

Gripping his back, my nails dig slightly into the muscled planes of his shoulder blades. His pace quickens as our hips begin to roll in unison, pleasure swirls deep within me. Sorin grips my hair with one hand, using the other to hold me in place on top of him. I bite down on his shoulder to stifle another moan as his teeth scrape along the side of my neck, my name leaving his mouth in a breathless gasp.

My body ignites under his touch, ready to explode any minute as the hot friction between us grows. Sweat slicks between our bodies despite the cold air. His mouth finds mine, and I bite his bottom lip as he breaks away from another needy kiss. Tension coils low in my abdomen, but I fight it, I can’t be done yet. I need this moment. I’ll always need more of it. Furrowing my brow, I slow my pace only slightly.

Sorin grips my hair, the pull of it just hard enough to form the perfect mix of pain and pleasure. Rolling my hips over and over again, pleasure explodes within me, my vision blurs but I don’t need it to know Sorin’s watching me, which only heightens my senses.

The Fates were determined for us to find each other, for whatever reason I don’t know. But I don’t care. Because he is everything.

Our bodies move in sync with each other, slowing as I hold onto Sorin. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I bury my face into the crook between his neck and shoulder. Breathing heavily, Sorin slowly removes himself and the sudden lack of him is jarring.

I drop my arms, frowning in protest, but Sorin is quicker than my words. Spinning me around so I’m face down, body flush with the furs beneath me.

“Elora…” he whispers, running his hand delicately down my spine.

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