Whatever hesitation she’d carried earlier was gone; Ella came alive beneath him, tearing her lips from his and biting the side of his neck before soothing the mark with her tongue. Her devious mouth and those soft lips made him somehow even harder.
The groan that tore from him was raw, guttural, ripping free before he could stop it. He’d never made a sound like that for anyone. Not once.
He lowered her slowly, her body sliding against his, and stepped back—just enough to take in the sight of her. Her dress had ridden up, and the glimpse he caught beneath it slammed straight through him, a need so intense it bordered on pain. He wanted more of her. Wanted to taste beyond her mouth. Wanted to devour every inch she’d let him touch.
He forced himself a few steps back, fighting for air.
“Gods,” he breathed, the words torn from him before he could stop them. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
Color rose to her cheeks, a soft, blooming pink, her dark hair falling in messy waves around her face. Instead of shying away, she lifted her chin in that stubborn, defiant way of hers, as if daring him to see all of her. His gaze locked with hers, chest heaving, every muscle strung tight with the truth of it: his restraint was gone.
If she pushed him back now, he would stop.
But gods, he prayed she wouldn’t.
She didn’t. She smirked, parted her lips, sucked in a small breath, and waited.
That was all it took. His control shattered as he closed the distance between them. Jakobav guided her, laying her backward, gently toward the ground, wishing he had a fur blanket to lay beneath her.
As he lowered himself, steel brushed his forearm. Her weapons. Even now, she was armed to the teeth, blades sitting against skin he was about to taste.
His gaze flicked to the Velmirian steel at her waist—Thane’s blade—and something dark and territorial snarled through him. He slipped it from the sheath with one hand and tossed it aside, out of anyone else’s reach but his.
But the knife strapped to her thigh? He left it. He liked her dangerous.
And gods help anyone who thought of taking even one weapon from her. Except him.
He didn’t give her more than a breath before he shoved her dress up farther and lowered himself between her thighs. He hooked her legs over his shoulders and tore her undergarments away with his teeth, the scraps ripping clean before he caught them in one hand and stuffed them into his pocket, a gift he would save for later.
Then his hands were on her again, one palm gripping the curve of her ass, the other circling her clit until her body arched against him. His fingers slid lower, grazing the wetness he had dreamed of, the kind that had haunted him since the first time he discovered it.
“Gods, Ella,” he rasped, fingers slick with her arousal as he worked her open. “You’re soaked for me.”
Her hips lifted helplessly, meeting every stroke of his fingers, her breath breaking apart in soft, desperate sounds he wanted burned into him forever. The scent of her filled the air, sharp and intoxicating, growing heavier with every second he teased her like that.
“Fuck,” she whimpered.
Then his mouth was on her, and she tasted like heat and sin.
He stroked her with his tongue, slow and relentless, not just for her pleasure but to savor every drop of wetness, every noise, every gasp, devouring her as though she were the only thing worth worshiping in the realm.
Ella arched, a broken sound punching from her chest, her fingers tangling hard in his hair as if anchoring herself to the only thing keeping her alive. When he pulled back, it was only to watch her wrecked against the grass, her breasts rising and falling, her peaked nipples visible through the thin fabric that clung damp to her skin.
He dragged his mouth up her stomach, rising slowly until he reached her chest where he tore the neckline wider with his teeth until one breast spilled free into the cool garden air, biting the hardened peak before kissing it softly. He freed the next one and gently bit it too before swirling his tongue over it and sucking it into his mouth, eliciting a small gasp.
He pulled back to watch her expression, hoping he would see that exact look on her face when he buried himself inside her, when she shattered around his cock.
“Look at me,” he growled, voice rough with command.
Ella’s eyes fluttered open, wide and dark, and she met his gaze through the uneven rise of her panting breath. Power surged through his chest at her obedience, a rush that made his veins burn, her scent intensifying as her eyes reflected the same dark desire he recognized within himself. Moonlight caught on her bare skin, accentuating her exquisite curves, begging to be tasted.
He lowered himself again, settling between her thighs, his tongue relentlessly circling her clit, devouring her as if the sounds she made were the only air he had left to breathe. Moving his attention lower, his tongue dragged down to her entrance,thumb pulsing on the sensitive spot to replace his tongue and keep her writhing with the tension. He pushed in deeper with his tongue, tasting her more intimately, groaning against her as she trembled, the vibration sinking deep.
The garden reacted in waves—roses trembling, petals loosening into the air, the hedge behind her pulsing like something alive.
He savored every tremor he drew from her, and the night itself seemed to bend, the world narrowing to the ragged rhythm of her breath and the dark, desperate devotion in every movement of his mouth. He’d never licked anyone like this, never wanted to. Desperate, rough, like the sight of her melting beneath him and her nails dragging across his skin could sate him for a lifetime. It would never be enough.
Ella’s legs trembled against his jaw, rocking her hips against his face. He watched every wave of pleasure hit her, captivated by her blissful surrender, the taste of her slickened core crashing over him like summer lightning—wild, sweet, unmistakably hers. He chased it with the hunger of a starving man who had finally found what he’d been dying for. She arched, crying his name, and he almost spent himself just from the way she gave herself to him in that moment.
