It wasn’t going to take long. My arms gripped her thighs, holding her in place against the wall, pinning her right where I wanted her with my tongue. Every sound she made sent a fresh surge of blood to my cock, every wriggle of her hips brought me closer to losing all control.
There was nothing truer than this—nothing more honest, more intimate, than this pleasure of the flesh. The secrets of her body were laid bare before me, those deep, primal urges she’d kept buried for most of her life finally breaking free for me.
Because of me.
Come for me, butterfly.And once she did, once I’d tasted her deepest pleasure, I’d spin her around and bury myself deep enough to give her some of my secrets, too.
She was close. I could feel it in her grip on my hair, hear it in the catch of her breath. A few more strategic strokes of my tongue and—
Her body spasmed as release erupted through her.
And I was blown across the room.
46
Leavetaking
MARIGOLD
Iwasinheaven.
I slumped against the wall, barely breathing, barely thinking, barely holding myself together. I felt so good, socontent, so…perfectly languid.
And not at all shaky anymore.
My eyes flew open, and I looked down at my hands. They were no longer trembling. And I could hardly even feel theshiverbeneath my skin. I was dizzy with the release of it, so relieved to feelnormalagain.
And then I saw Radven.
He was across the room, slumped against the wall. And his clothes were in shreds.
The bottom fell out of my stomach.
In half a second, I was at his side, dropping to my knees beside him. He was conscious, thank god, and though he was already attempting to push himself up into a sitting position, he was clearly dazed. Stunned.
“What happened?” I said, supporting his arm. But I could already guess at the answer. If I was no longer feeling the build-up of essence beneath my skin, then…
“What happened, butterfly,” he said with a mild groan, “was that I’m so good your orgasm blasted me across the damn room.”
“That’s impossible.” My face was on fire.
“Clearly, it’s not.” He flashed that devilish grin at me, even as he rubbed the back of his head. “It’s a good thing you’re wearing those pearls. Otherwise you might have shot me all the way up into the stars.”
“I’m so sorry,” I told him. “I had no idea that that could happen, or I wouldn’t have—”
“You would have. Because I had no intention of stopping until I tasted your full pleasure.”
Aren’t we cocky?My entire body blazed, but his words didn’t entirely mitigate my guilt. “Well, I’m still sorry I hurt you.”
“This was nothing.” He gave a grunt as he rose to his feet. “And next time, I’ll be prepared.”
I didn’t point out that there probably wouldn’tbea next time. Despite his suggestion that I come to visit—or vice versa—we both knew how impractical that was. Not to mention dangerous. And we still didn’t even know if I could create a bridge again tonight, let alone in the future, without him or his brothers to help me.
Now that Radven was standing, his clothes looked even worse. His shirt was little more than strips of fabric dangling down his chest, the strap of knives beneath cracked and frayed in multiple places. All that remained of that printed scarf he’d donned for the festival were a few colorful threads. And his pants…
I averted my eyes, but Radven noticed.
“There’s no shame in looking, butterfly,” he said, grinning. “You won’t offend me.”
