He held his hand away, giving her that stern librarian frown.“Oh, no.You don’t do that.Hands on my shoulders, Alise.”
“Suddenly you’re diabolical.”
His smile took on a wicked slant, his fingers feathering over where she needed it most.Not nearly enough.“Just for you.You like me teasing you, don’t you?”
“No,” she gasped, fully writhing now and making little mewling sounds that kind of embarrassed her except that she was too desperate to come to care.
“Well, I like it,” he confided, giving her clit just a firm enough stroke to make her go rigid, then expel a disappointed cry.“Having you at my mercy.”
“I am at your mercy,” she readily agreed.“Please, Cillian.”
“Youhavebeen mostly good.”He pretended to consider, giving her another of those firmer strokes that sent her shuddering, but not quite over the edge.
“I have been good,” she assured him, out of her mind and not entirely sure of what she was saying.“Please, please, please…”
“All right then.”He pinched her clit.She screamed her release, convulsing.While she was still shivering with the aftereffects of the gripping orgasm, he pushed into her, seating her on his cock and letting her ride him at will.To her surprise, she found herself eagerly going for more, the climax extending into mind-blurring pleasure.
Cillian came with a shout, clutching her close and burying his face against her neck.Suddenly tender, she clasped him to her, loving the way he held onto her, their magic slicking together like their bodies, her heart swelling with this love.
She didn’t care what she’d promised him; she never wanted anyone else like this.Only him.Always.
~15~
Cillian slept farbetter and harder than any person had a right to, given that he shared a couch with Alise and the carriage with Jadren and Seliah.Of course, having a lot of very intense sex and soaking in the hot springs—both activities for hours—went a long way toward relaxing and draining a guy.He and Alise had been so lax and boneless by the time they finally climbed out of the hot springs, they’d barely been able to drag on their clothes and stumble back to the carriage.
Jadren and Seliah had been sound asleep, lumped under their fur blankets, and had thoughtfully made up the makeshift bed on the other side for Cillian and Alise, so all they had to do was crawl in and cover up.
It was one of those sleeps so deep that it came as a surprise to wake up, as he hadn’t been fully aware of sleeping.Alise was still out, curled up against him, head pillowed in the nook between his shoulder and chest.In sleep, she looked even younger and more fragile, so he didn’t move, wanting to keep his precious companion comfortable and resting.
But the sound that had awakened him came again—and he realized that Seliah and Jadren no longer occupied the carriage and in fact seemed to be carrying on a jovial conversation outside, including occasional laughter.He supposed he’d better go find out what was going on.At least it didn’t sound like Lord Elal had found them, nor any of his minions.Taking the side road and dallying at the hot springs had added to their travel time to Convocation Academy, but it had also had the virtue of confusing their trail—and giving everyone much-needed recovery time.
He extracted himself from under the sleeping Alise, gratified that she simply mumbled a protest and turned over, burrowing more deeply under the blankets.She was so sexy and adorable, Cillian had to apply serious willpower to leave her, firmly turning his back on the enticing sight and exiting the carriage wearing the rumpled clothing he’d slept in.At least they’d had the wit to take clean clothes to the hot springs to change into, though he still looked far from presentable.Raking his hands through his hair, he found it had dried into tangles and considerable snarls in places.Knowing how his at-best unruly curls probably looked, he resigned himself to having a rat’s nest of a dark halo to greet whoever had run into them.Hopefully no one he knew.
No such luck.
“Cillian!”Han and Iliana chorused upon seeing him.
It took him a very long moment to process the unexpected sight of the two familiars he thought he’d left safely ensconced in House Harahel.What was it about the Knifeblade Mountains that you just happened to run into people you knew in isolated passes?By the time he’d grasped that, however improbable, they were actually present, Iliana had engulfed him in an enthusiastic hug and Han, wearing a broad grin, was pumping his hand and slapping his shoulder—despite the relative difficulty of both actions occurring at once.
A fully healed Jadren held up his hands in the universal signal of having no idea either and Seliah pointed at the carriage, indicating she’d wake Alise.Probably a good idea.
After a lightninground of catching up on news, accompanied by a most-welcome breakfast brought by Han and Iliana, they all piled into the carriages.They had two now, as the familiars had arrived via a very snazzy vehicle loaned by Tandiya Uriel herself, with the aim of finding Cillian and Alise and bringing them to Convocation Academy at top speed.Alise even agreed to fill up on magic from Han and Iliana, all the better to push the air elementals along.
Cillian felt much better for Alise being replete on magic, both because the infusion improved her health even further, and because he worried that they hadn’t completely shaken their pursuers.It had been a nice hiatus, but the closer they got to Convocation Center, the more likely it seemed they could be located and possibly stopped.Especially as Han and Iliana had been able to locate them fairly easily, albeit with assistance from Provost Uriel.Despite popular sayings otherwise, only a few roads led to Convocation Center and the nearer they were, the fewer possibilities they could be anywhere else.
What Cillian hadn’t anticipated was that Alise would insist on him getting his own magic replenished by Han and Iliana.“By the sound of it, you’re going to be using your library wizardry quite extensively when we arrive,” Alise commented with a line of concern between her winged brows.“Though I don’t know what they all expect you to be able to do.You can’t justdecideto decode Anciela’s data.”
“I have a few documents that I thinkcouldbe the key,” Iliana said, “but I really don’t have confidence in any of them.I keep thinking I’d have a eureka moment with something.”
“You didn’t have a lot of time to look.”Han patted her thigh, reassuring her.The four of them rode in the Convocation Academy carriage, giving Jadren and Seliah the privacy of theirs—along with the opportunity to use the fresh grooming imps Han and Iliana brought, since they hadn’t been able to use the hot springs.
Iliana made a face at Han’s words.“Unfortunately I only had—what’s a partial eureka?”
“A tingle?”Cillian suggested.“I feel for you.I kept expecting to hit upon the system or key, also, but to no avail.”
“You cracked a huge part of the riddle,” Alise said, amusing him by reassuring him in the same way Han had with Iliana.“You—both of you—are expecting way too much of yourselves.”
“That’s right,” Han put in staunchly.“This information has been hidden for centuries.The key is probably even harder to find.”
