The way he was looking at me, like I’d just set the world on fire and he wanted to watch it burn, made something hot and dangerous coil low in my stomach.
“You’re insane,” I breathed.
“Probably.” His smile widened fractionally. “But you’re the one who just threatened a High Lord’s wifeandmade her flinch. So perhaps we’re both a little unhinged.”
I tried to laugh it off. It came out hollow, breathless, but Itried. “We need to find the others. We should talk about what just happened. What it means. How to?—”
“Mhm,” Varyth hummed, that low, distracted rumble vibrating straight through my bones. “Very important. Imminent danger. Serious political consequences.”
His mouth brushed the curve of my neck before I could form a coherent reply. Soft at first, a ghost of pressure just below my ear, then firmer. Lips. Teeth. Tongue.
My breath caught. “Varyth?—”
“I know.” He didn’t move away. If anything, he leaned in closer. “You probably just started a war.”
The weight of it landed like stone in my gut, and then his hands were on me. They slid over my hips, dragging me closer, palms scorching through the thin fabric of my dress.
“I did,” I whispered. “Gods, Idid.”
“And I have very strong feelings about it.” His mouth curved against my skin. “Mostly involving this dress. And what’s underneath it.”
His hands were roaming now. Possessive. Worshipful. One tracing the curve of my spine while the other gripped my hip like he was anchoring himself there—likeIwas the only solid thing left in the world.
“The others—” I tried for one last sliver of reason. “They’ll come looking.”
“The door’s locked,” he said, matter-of-fact. Dangerous. “Anyone stupid enough to try and open it will leave without eyes. Or lungs.”
His mist coiled tight, brushing along my thighs, cool against overheated skin. And then?—
Snap.
His wings flared wide behind him, jagged and gleaming with that impossible gold, casting shadows that danced across the walls like hungry gods.
“We don’t have time for this,” I whispered. Weakly. Because who was I kidding?
“You’re in that dress,” Varyth said, voice gone rough, hungry. He gripped my ass with both hands, dragging me against him so I couldfeelthe full weight of his want. “And you expect me to care aboutwar?”
Then he kissed me.
Hard.
Heat roared back to life inside me. There was nothing slow about it. Varyth kissed like he needed me, like he’ddieif he didn’t taste every broken breath, every desperate sound he could pull from me.
His hands were everywhere. Skimming up my sides, tangling in my hair, tugging at the laces of my dress with a low, deliberate purr of satisfaction.
My hands fumbled at the buckles of his armour, his shirt. Gods, why did he wear so many layers?
He caught my legs without warning, arms locking under my thighs, and lifted.
I yelped, breathless and laughing, and then he was stalking across the study like a predator with his prey in hand, his wings flaring behind him in glittering arcs of threat and promise.
My hands roamed over his chest, savouring the solid warmth of him through the fine fabric of his tunic. A gasp escaped me as he nipped gently at my lower lip, and I felt rather than heard his responding growl of approval.
He laid me out across the desk, papers scattering beneath me.
Varyth broke the kiss, his lips blazing a path along my jaw and down the column of my throat. I tilted my head back with a breathy moan, and his teeth grazed the sensitive skin where my neck met my shoulder.
I ran my fingers through his hair, and when I gave a gentle tug, Varyth let out a low groan that vibrated against my throat.
