“Y-you—” She could feel the blush staining her cheeks, ears and down her throat.
Mischief and something dark played over his face and his lips curled into a cruel grin. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Princess. Now tell me you want this.”
He wanted to hear the words, he wanted to order her around. And for some reason, she wanted to comply, to beg for this, even though he wanted it just as badly as she did. The words were out before she could second-guess, before she could riddle her desires with logic about why sheshouldn’twant this. “I want this.”
He pulled her onto his lap until she was straddling him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck while he kissed her, hard. All the gentle grace vanished and was replaced with desperate, crushing, feverish kisses. Like they couldn’t get enough of each other. Like they were pressed for time. Like they would never do this again.
He tasted sweet. She wanted to consume every bit of him.
Their mouths broke apart and ragged breaths filled the air between them. Nikator’s hands traveled to her hair and he yanked out the hairpins restraining it. A look passed over him as he watched, transfixed almost, as her hair tumbled down her shoulders. A wry grin twisted his lips when he tossed the gold to the floor.
“Perfect,” he murmured, framing her face and kissing her again. “You’re so perfect.”
Biyu explored the hard planes of his chest, his biceps, his back, and her lips parted in a gasp as he gripped her waist and drew her flush against his body. She could feel everything. His desire, in particular.
Before she knew it, her shaking fingers went to the front of her dress. Fabric rustled as she worked on undoing it. His nails dug into her hips, his gaze mesmerized on her hands as the silk material fell over her shoulders. Then she undid the under-robes. The material draped down to her waist and the cool night air tickled her bare chest and shoulders.
Nikator’s eyes darkened as he took in her half-naked form. His hands clenched even tighter on her and he licked his lips. She didn’t know what had possessed her to do such a thing, but she wanted him. All of him. And she wanted him to have her completely.
He rose to his feet with her in his arms in one swoop. She yelped, grasping onto him tightly, as he lay her on the wooden floor. His thighs straddled both sides of her. His mouth went to hers immediately, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
His kisses traveled down her throat to her breasts. She arched into his touch, gasping and moaning and trembling. She’d never known how much she wanted this—how much she wanted him—until this moment, with his tongue trailing over her sensitive flesh and his hands working to rid her of her dress.
“Are you sure you want this?” he said between kisses. He grasped the side of her face, his fingers weaving into the back of her head. “I’ll stop if you tell me to.”
“I want this,” she said again. And she meant it.
He tore away the last of her dress and tossed it aside until she was completely bare for him. She reached up and kissed him again. He put his weapons aside, one by one, in hurried motions, his gaze never straying from her. When he took his shirt off, Biyu’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of themoonlight drenching over the hard, rippling muscles. The burn scars looked like silvery-white patches.
He was so beautiful it ached. Every part of her throbbed to be touched by him. To be consumed, to be taken.
He kissed her again, and again, and she moaned against him. The world nearly shattered as his body moved inside her, and she clawed at his back. Pain like she hadn’t expected mingled with desire, and pleasure, and need—but then it faded, and she whispered his name, over and over.
She had never done anything like this before. She had never felt such a strong need to be with anyone. Until him. Until this moment. Untilnow.
Her pleasure mounted until her body trembled with release, and she clutched onto his sweat-slicked body as waves passed over her. He released a shuddered breath as he similarly reached the precipice, and they both remained that way for a moment. His forehead pressed against hers, and he closed his eyes.
Tears collected in her eyes and she blinked them away. An overwhelming sense of peace fell over her, so intense she wanted to weep, because how perfect had all of this been? And when would she be able to be with him like this again?
She embraced him tighter, breathing in the sweet smell of summer rain, sweat, and skin. He twisted around until his back hit the floor, and he pulled her beside him in a half-embrace, her head nuzzled against his chest. His pulse raced beneath her cheek and she shut her eyes.
Neither of them moved for a long while. The wind brushed against their bodies. Biyu inched even closer to him, her leg wrapped over one of his.
He curled a strand of her hair between his fingers and brought it to his mouth, where he placed a gentle kiss on it. A shiver ran down her spine at the small motion, and her body warmed all over again.
“I hate to admit that I’ve wanted to do that for a long, long time.” His quiet confession was almost drowned away with the howling storm.
Biyu traced the perfect muscles lining his abdomen, and then to his scars. She touched every ridge and bump. “Why do you hate to admit that?”
“You treat me like I’m a monster. Why would I want to admit to wanting you when you look at me as if I’m so disgusting?”
The words themselves were tender, almost, but his delivery was unperturbed, unbothered, and indifferent. She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in her chest. It wasn’t necessarily funny, and yet she knew that if he had admitted that to her years ago, or even a few weeks ago, she would have been equally parts revolted, confused, and intrigued. “Well, it’s safe to say that I don’t think you’re a monster.” She lifted her shoulders, though it was awkward in her position. “And I never did find you disgusting. Quite the opposite, actually.”
When she peeked up at him, he had one eyebrow quirked. “I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s the truth.” She pushed herself up to her elbow. “I never thought you were ugly. Or unattractive.”
“Hm.” Nikator tucked a wavy piece of hair behind her ear. His mouth twisted into a smirk. “Is it so hard for you to admit that you found me attractive?”
