Abram’s smile turned wicked.
“They can’t see us.” I looked at Abram.
“No, my magic is not letting them. It’s you and me, Elowyn.”
Abram moved closer to me, but I stepped back until my back hit the wall of the tavern. He watched me intently as he came closer. His eyes were dark red now as they fell down the lengthof my body. When they met mine again, I was already breathing hard.
“Lift your dress up,” He commanded. I looked around at all the people drinking and laughing. “Now, Elowyn. Keep your attention on me.”
I turned back to him and grabbed my dress, lifting it up over my hips. Abram’s eyes didn’t leave mine for a long moment before he looked down and the breath he let out showed up in the air like a cloud in the cold.
I watched him as a million emotions flickered through his eyes. He took a confident step toward me, and I felt my heartbeat quicken.
“I’ve spent years fighting this pull to you Elowyn. Did you know that?” He tilted his head to the side.
“No.”
“Do you know what it feels like for a god to crave?” he whispered, stepping closer until I could feel the heat of him. “It corrodes. It burns throughcenturiesof restraint.”
His thumb brushed the inside of my wrist, finding my pulse. “You’ve made me weak, Elowyn, and you don’t have to even try. You are my undoing, and I am helpless to stop it.” Abram leaned in, his words a confession and a curse all at once. “I don’t want to stop it.”
My breath hitched.
Fuck. His finger traced down the column of my neck, over my chest and down to my bare thigh.
“Abram…” My voice trembled.
“You’ve undone me, Elowyn. You’ve made a god fall. But if this is damnation, I’ll take it, so long as it comes in the form of your hands on me.” His eyes glimmered with something raw. “You consume me, force me to beg just for you to look my way. Do you see what you’ve done to me?” A dangerous smile curvedhis mouth. “You want to witness my surrender? Then watch me fall.”
His breath hitched as he sank to his knees before me, an offering of a man more powerful than anyone, undone, surrendering at my feet. His gaze darkened, heavy and intent, through his dark lashes.
I didn’t know what to say. My eyes stayed locked on him, kneeling in the falling snow, and I felt it, the exact moment my heart and mind finally synched. The moment I admitted that I had fallen in love with Abram.
Perhaps I had loved him longer than I dared admit, but now there was no denying it. My body thrummed with recognition, but it only made the chains of my curse tighten, whispering the truth I could no longer ignore—love, for me, would always come with consequence.
Abram reached for me, his hands sliding over my thighs.
“Let me worship you, Elowyn.”
I let out a shaky breath and nodded. He moved closer, lips tracing up one thigh before sliding to the other, as if mapping every inch of me. The knowledge that we were surrounded only made my heart pound faster. I didn’t care.
All that existed was Abram on his knees, as if I were the only woman he would ever want, ever need. I would take whatever he offered. His tongue glided over my bare skin, and I shivered, letting out a low, ragged sigh into the cold night.
He teased the fabric of my underwear with his lips, coaxing my hips to roll forward. Teeth grazed me, sharp and delicious, and I moaned aloud. With one swift motion, he tore the thin fabric aside, burying his face between my legs.
“Fuck,” I whispered, trembling.
Abram pulled back just enough to look up at me, eyes dark, his breath ragged.
“Don’t be shy, Elowyn. I want to hear you fall apart in front of all these people.”
Two fingers slid inside me, slow and deliberate, as his mouth returned to me. His tongue circled and swirled, and my body shook uncontrollably.
“Abram,” I moaned, hands tangling in his hair, tugging him closer.
Faint laughter drifted around us, yet no one noticed. Abram groaned against me, fingers moving deeper, his mouth devouring me with a rhythm designed to drive me insane. Every movement, every touch, was an act of worship, and I had never felt more consumed.
The glow of lanterns flickered across faces around us, strangers laughing, talking, completely oblivious. My pulse thundered in my ears. The thought that no one knew what we were doing only made the heat between us sharper, more urgent. Abram’s eyes locked on mine, dark and unyielding, daring me to resist him, and I couldn’t. I didn’t want to.
