Page 99 of Cruel Tides

I groaned, not ready to part when—Oh. Nowthatfelt amazing.

Claira’s hips canted and swayed as she found her balance on top of me, sending my eyes rolling back into my head. “Behold, my prince,” she said aloud—to Leander, I assumed. She gave a little jut of her hips that had me whimpering for more. “Foreplay.”

Her hands settled on my chest as she started to move with purpose. With a sudden, urgent need, I grasped her hips, but the intensity was already almost overwhelming.

Leander’s scowl showed his lack of amusement. “That’s it?” One eyebrow rose as he looked us over. Claira rocked against me again, and I couldn’t contain my enjoyment, groaning long and loud. Even through our layers, foreplay felt incredible.

Leander took a step forward, and his head tilted in clinical observation. “This is what humans call foreplay?” Although he didn’t sound impressed, it didn’t escape me that he ran a hand down the front of his pants.

“Well, this isn’texactlyhow we were,” Claira said, a slight catch in her breath. Leander’s expression rose with renewed interest as Claira leaned back, falling off me.

“Wait.” I gasped out the word. But my displeasure quickly died away when she started shimmying off the rest of her clothing from her legs.

“There. Happy now?” She flung her clothes at Leander with a kick of her leg.

The garments hit him with a soft thud, sliding right off and landing next to the couch as he chuckled. “Getting there.” He stalked closer, palming the front of his pants.

“Do you… want Kai’s pants off, too?” Claira asked, her face alight with a sudden shyness as she looked over at Leander.

Leander nodded, a smirk prominent on his face. For whatever reason, even though his body wasn’t directly involved, he seemed to be enjoying this, too.

“We can’t have you being the only one with their naked ass on Barren’s couch,” he said.

Claira’s lips pinched. Though, from this angle, it was a wonder I even noticed something other than the bareness of her legs.Wow.

Claira shifted on her elbows, reaching down to pick up her pants from the floor like maybe she’d thought better of what we were doing, but Leander was there to block her.

“I was teasing, beautiful.” His laugh softened as he gave her forehead a kiss. “I’m sure Barren won’t mind us using his couch.”

Would he really not mind, though? I didn’t have time to dwell on it, because all that softness vanished when Leander turned his attention to me.

“Pants off, Kaius,” he prompted, rising back up into that authoritative stance of his. “Before I take them off for you.”

Although I bristled at Leander’s use of my name, my hands snapped right to my pants to obey him.

He was using my formal name more frequently, but I no longer felt like it was a negative thing. In fact, I was beginning to think it was his way of showing his respect. As if we were equals.

I felt Claira’s breath on my stomach as she scooted closer, her hands joining mine at the top of my pants. “Here. Let me do it.” With a craving burning in her eyes, she deftly flicked the button open.

Before she pulled them down, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “But only if you’re okay with it, Kai,” she said softly. Then she gave Leander a sidelong glance. Her nervousness was apparent, as if she feared he might use this against me later.

I was so eager for her to continue that all I managed was a strangled, “I’m okay.” I didn’t need to think about it. All of me was hers, and that wouldn’t change, even if another one of her mates was present. There wasn’t anything Leander could do to me that would be worth missing out on this moment. “Go ahead.”

A playful spark ignited in her eyes. She slid my pants down without ceremony, humming to herself as I lifted my hips to help. As she cast them away, her face broke into the most beautiful smile. “No underwear, of course,” she said, glancing over at Leander. But before I realized it, my hand was cradling the side of her neck, bringing her attention back to me.

It might have been silly, but I loved the slender curve of her neck. The last marks I’d left there were already fading, but soon there would be more. So many more.

A rush of saliva invaded my mouth, and my tongue brushed over my teeth as I swallowed it back. My focus on her neck didn’t go unnoticed, and in response, she crawled up the line of my body, arching her head and presenting it to me like an offering. Her legs fell on either side of my hips again, and as my mouth closed in on that delicate curve, her body lowered, pressing back down on my dick. Hot skin to hot skin. This time, there was nothing between us.

My breath crackled like fire, a hiss against her neck. She was so slick with warmth. I tasted the sensitive spot below her ear as she pressed into me.

“Kai.” The column of her throat vibrated with my name, and I drank down that breathless whisper, my teeth raking, my tongue scorching a path down to the dip of her collarbone.

I was about to work my way back up again when she shifted, and that blissful heat between her legs moved over me. Over and over, she slid, grinding against my dick until my head tossed back, my arms tense, fisting the sides of the couch.

Yes, this was the foreplay I remembered. There was absolutely nothing better. Each slide of her against me was?—

Claira’s rocking stopped as Leander captured her chin, pulling her attention away from me and this moment. “You were right, Kaius,” he said evenly, not even looking my way. A ravenous hunger filled his sharp gaze as he looked at her. “She hasn’t taught me about foreplay.”

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