She lifted her eyes to him. The pale blue of them, the sharpness that sliced through the space between them causing him to fall back slightly. “Do you see me as a child?” She asked. “You treat me like a child most days. You chastise me for my childish behavior, for beingrude, and for being spoiled. You tell me that I know nothing.”
“Kaya—“
It struck him. Her words, the look on her face, the way her body seemingly trembled with fear…
She felt something for him.
She was on her feet, looming over him. The aura light glowed in the shimmering fabric of her dress, making it seem as if she were something ethereal. And she was. Gods, shewas. But she was worthy of so much more than he could offer her. Kaya knelt in front of him, placing her hand on the spot of his chest that had seemingly started to beat far too loud for his liking. “You must have seen me as a woman when you touched me, Ilias. When you kissed me, when you put your fingers in me… when you came in my mouth. ”
His mouth had become dry, the air dangerously thick as he watched herlook over his face. “Kaya, I am not quite certain as to what you are insinuating.” He stumbled over the dialect, his nervousness evident. It was foolish of him to feel this way—to feel grateful that his knees were on the ground, because he knew that they would be weak if he stood. Ilias had been with many partners, both human and fae alike. He was well-versed in the art of lovemaking, but Kaya was something entirely different. Something he could not quite explain.
He never saw her as a child.
A nuisance, in the beginning. Stubborn and spoiled, yes, but she’d never been a child. He knew that Kaya wasn’t innocent.
Gods, he fucking knew that she had had some experience if she knew how to work his cock the way she did. And the thought alone was enough to make him want to replace every touch, every unworthy kiss she had ever received, with his own. Hewantedto claim her in the most inexplicably primal way.
Despite her lack of innocence, she was precious. Worth so much more than he could ever offer her. Even with this new title of his. Even with their names engraved on that temple wall.
“I want to be more than this.” Kaya whispered. “I want you to see me the way that I see you.”
“Believe me,” Ilias swallowed, “there is nothing more that I would like than to show you exactly how you make me feel, Kaya. But I am…”
“I understand.” Her body slackened with defeat, and while every nerve in Ilias’s body told him not to move and that putting more distance between them was for the best, he found himself reaching for her the moment that she pulled away.
His palm flattened against her hip, fingers digging into her gown. “You understandnothing.Everything you think you know is based on some nonsensical reality you have made in your own head. You assume things, Kaya.”
“Thenmake meunderstand.”
His heart stopped beating. He blinked. Once, twice,threetimes before he leaned closer to her. Throwing caution to the wind was a pastime for him now. But since his induction into the Silver Guard, Ilias became studious and cautious and followed every rule put in place for him. But the momentthose words left her perfectly rounded lips, he lost control of every ounce of morality that had been drilled into him for the last ten years. The rule of mixing work with pleasure being at the top of that fucking list.
His hand curled around hers, pressing her palm to the part of his breeches that was strained against the evidence of his affections. Kaya’s eyes flickered up to his, a sharp breath escaping her lips. “You feel that?” Ilias whispered. She nodded, silent as as he guided her hand into rubbing him through the fabric. His breathing hitched, eyes holding hers and his mind losing its already loose grip on reality.
“How could I ever make you or anyone else understand how this feels?” He asked.
Kaya applied more pressure, biting back her own noises of satisfaction when she felt him twitch against her palm. His breaths grew ragged, his eyes darkened much like that of a starved animal—a ferocious beast lurking in the depths of a dense forest.
“One would usually start by using words, Ilias Dothrae.” She clicked her tongue, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as she slipped his pants down just enough to wrap her hand around him.
His hips snapped forward into her hand, head falling forward to rest against hers. “You must forgive me, princess. Words have a tendency to fail me in your presence.” His voice broke out into a sharp hiss, his hands that hung pathetically limp at his side now twitching to life. He rose to his feet, tugging her along with him.
Her heart rate increased and breathing properly became more of a challenge than it had been before as he guided her to the abandoned throne. When the back of her knees made impact, she buckled and landed on the cushion with a sharp inhale.
Kaya peered up at him. Admired every inch of him. And though her throat was too tight and too dry to manage a word, the sight of him standing over her, tauntingly stroking his cock made a pool of saliva gather on her tongue—the desire to taste him was astonishing. Overwhelming.
“What are you doing?”
It sounded as if her voice was separate from her body—from her mind.This all must have been some grandiose prank. A way for him to further taunt her for her soft heart and her sharp tongue.
But it was no prank. The way he looked at her as he pleased himself wasveryreal. Enough to make her instinctively inch her thighs apart.
Ilias let out a groan, his head falling back just enough to reveal slightly bulged veins along the column of his neck. A heat so sweltering that it left her feeling parched, engulfed her senses and gathered between her legs.
Deadly. This man would be the death of her.
In an instant he was on his knees again, his hands braced upon her own. “What are you doing?” Kaya repeated, reclining into the chair as he lifted the skirt of her gown. “Ilias—”
“You wanted me to make you understand, princess. And I know that you are ever the eager learner. So,please, be quiet let me show you.”
