Aya pushed herself up onto her elbows, her breath slowing as her gaze raked down him. And then she was crawling across the bedroll and climbing into his lap, her arms locking around his neck as she pressed her lips to his.
“Like this,” she requested, her fingers sliding into his hair.
Who was he to deny her?
Will gripped her hip as he positioned her above him, a moan punching out of him as she slid onto his cock.
Aya’s breath hitched, a soft laugh dancing within it as she met his gaze.
“How do I feel?” she teased as she swiveled her hips.
It was impossible to answer with anything other than the truth.
“Divine,” he groaned through clenched teeth, his headtipping back as she moved on top of him. Will rocked up into the wet heat of her, his abs tensing with his thrusts. His lips found hers again, and he swallowed down every noise of her pleasure greedily.
“I love you,” Aya panted against his mouth, her forehead pressing into his as she moved. “Gods, I love you.”
“And I love you,” Will murmured. His voice snagged on the thickness in his throat, but gentle understanding shone in Aya’s eyes. He felt the caress of her affinity against his shield, and he dropped it without a second’s hesitation.
The crash of her emotions against his stole his breath. It was an effort to keep his eyes open, to watch her face as his love and pleasure mixed with her own, tangling them so tightly together it was impossible to tell where he ended and she began.
Not that it mattered. He would gladly stay lost in her forever, woven in her magic and heart and soul.
“I love you,” she whispered again, her eyes wet. “I—” Her words cut off as her body tensed, her lips parting in pleasure as she came apart above him. Will smiled as he watched her, savoring the way she trembled and shook. And then he flung himself off that cliff right after her, content to follow her as he always was.
No matter how far the fall.
53
When Aleissande had asked her if she was willing to speak to the Royal Army, Josie had imagined something more…clandestine.
“Are you sure about this?” Josie asked as she frowned at the tavern. It was late enough that the dark helped conceal them from wandering eyes, and with the strange chill that had descended during the nights, Josie’s cloak didn’t draw any suspicious glances.
“I have guards at all entrances,” Aleissande murmured from beside her. Josie couldn’t see them, but that didn’t mean a thing. The street was nearly pitch black, the only light coming from the flickering firelight in the tavern windows.
Josie had always preferred the livelier establishments in the heart of Old Town, where the crowds were thick and the music was loud. She’d never been able to see the appeal of the dilapidated watering hole the Royal Army gravitated to, but perhaps that was because the one time she’d deigned to go years ago, they’d made it clear she wasn’t welcome, princess or no.
It was soldiers only.
“They didn’t take kindly to the last time I was here,”Josie informed Aleissande as she stared at the driftwood door. Even from a distance, she could see the gouges on it from the rowdier evenings.
“You weren’t one of them then.”
Josie peered up at Aleissande from beneath her hood. “You realize they may give my whereabouts to the Bellare.”
“They won’t know you’re staying in the Maraciana.”
“And if they decide to take care of me themselves?”
Aleissande’s eyes flashed, her voice going cold. “Then I will kill them where they stand before they can lay a finger on you.”
A shiver worked its way down Josie’s spine, something tingling deep in her stomach. She grinned at the general, her brows flicking toward her hair. “That’s assuming I don’t kill them first.”
The twitch of Aleissande’s full lips was an intoxicating sight, but Josie forced her attention back to the tavern. She rolled her wrists, as if it would be enough to dispel the nervous energy inside of her. “Let’s get this over with.”
The noise inside the tavern was deafening. Josie shouldered her way through the dense crowd, her nose scrunching at the thick stench of ale that permeated throughout the space. She could feel Aleissande at her back, but she kept her head ducked as she pushed her way to the bar. Aleissande slotted into place beside her, her sharp whistle garnering the attention of the barkeep.
“How much to silence this lot?” Aleissande asked.
