A few grumbled, but everyone left. My mother lingered a moment longer, shooting a long, baffled look from me to Reyla before striding down the aisle with her entourage in tow.
With the room finally empty, I breathed out, my heart flipping over. I hitched my leg up over the arm of my throne and gave Reyla a long, steady stare. Fuck, she was gorgeous, but Iadmired her mind even more that her appearance. “You handled that beautifully.”
Warmth lit her face, and the world disappeared. Reaching out, I tugged her off her throne and onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her.
She stared up at me, her arms going around my shoulders. “I had something I needed to discuss with you.” An edge crept into her voice.
“Had?” I murmured, my attention on her mouth I'd die if I didn't get to kiss.
She turned to straddle me, her gown hitching up her thighs and her sword shifting along her spine. Her hands tightened on my shoulders. “It can wait. You . . . You . . . I can’t believe you let me do that.”
“You’re a master already.”
“I doubt that but—”
Tilting her chin, I claimed her mouth, and our kiss consumed me. As she pressed her body against mine, heat roared through my veins. Her mouth tasted sweet from her morning tea, and I couldn’t get enough. My hunger was growing for her, a storm rushing over the land, devastating everything in its wake. I stroked her arms and moved my hands inward, seeking her breasts. She moaned into my mouth, and I sucked it down, the sound vibrating through me, setting my blood ablaze.
As our tongues danced, I explored the softness of her, my thumbs brushing over her hardening nipples. She bowed into my touch, a soft gasp escaping her as she pressed herselfagainst my palms. The feel of her, so responsive, so eager, drove me wild.
Her hips rocked against mine, the heat of her core searing through the layers of fabric separating us. My cock, stiff with need, throbbed, aching for the friction, this connection that only she could provide.
I deepened our kiss, desperate for this woman, her touch and her undying love. Even as I consumed her, claiming her in the only way I could, I knew this was madness. Years ago, I’d started falling, and there would be no stopping until I ground out at the end. But now this precious woman, my pretty little bride, my wildfire rode with me, clinging to me without knowing what might be hurtling her way.
This woman . . .Mywoman.Myqueen.Myeverything. She was bewitching me in ways I’d never expected.
Her hands slid from my shoulders and up my neck, her fingers thrusting through my hair, grabbing on and tugging me close, as if she also would not tolerate even a speck of distance between us.
We’d become a tangle of limbs, lips, and furious hearts, and I’d die a happy man as long as I could remain lost in this world made up only of us. The throne room faded, leaving only this uncharted, unexpected, and undyingly feral need binding us together.
With a swift motion, I wrenched her closer, positioning her so that the apex of her lined up exactly where I needed her. The thin barrier of her dress and my pants did nothing to tamp down the heat flaring between us. She moved against me, her rhythm matching the thrust of my tongue in her mouth, themovement of my body, each stroke sending waves of fire across my bones.
I broke away from her lips, trailing needy, open-mouthed kisses along her jawline and down the slender column of her throat. She tilted her head back, granting me complete access, her sharp gasps speaking of her own feverish need.
I slid my hands down her sides, gripping her hips, guiding her movements as she rode me through our clothing. The friction became exquisite torture, a promise of the ecstasy waiting for us when we finally became one.
Not yet. Not now. But soon.
Reyla bunched the fabric of my tunic, yanking and whimpering. I ripped it off and tossed it aside, and her hands on my chest . . . I’d never think clearly again. Instead, I’d be lost in this moment when she pinched my nipples and ran her thumbs across them.
I captured her lips again, our kiss frenzied, as she continued to thrust herself against my rigid cock. This woman could harness lightning and now she easily harnessed me, making me crave her like no other.
I tore my mouth from hers, needing to breathe, to regain some semblance of control before I lost myself completely. The sight of her, flushed and disheveled, her eyes dark with desire, only fanned the roaring need inside me.
With a growl, I stood, lifting her with me, only to turn and sit her on the queen's throne—herthrone. I kneeled between her legs, watching her face as I bunched the fabric of her gown, driving it up her thighs until she was exposed to me.
Her breath caught, but she said nothing, only watched as Itugged her forward until her hips rode the edge of the seat. I nudged her thighs wider and moved between them.
With the air between us charged, heavy with anticipation, I kissed the inside of her thigh, skimming my hands up her skin in tight circles, smoothing a trail while pushing her gown out of the way. I’d never get enough of her soft skin or the way her moans echoed in the big room.
She held my shoulders as I trailed kisses up her other thigh, each one drawing out her shivers. The scent of her arousal intoxicated me and drove me closer to falling apart. A flight of dragons could arrive at the castle with warriors eager for battle. A wizard could stalk into the room and announce they’d come to end this now. And the world could crumble around us, but I’d remain where I was, my mouth and my tongue so close to what I craved from this woman that I could almost taste it.
I reached the juncture of her thighs and traced my thumbs along the edges of her undergarment before grasping it, ripping it, and spreading the shreds wide.
She gasped and wrapped my hair around her fingers, tugging me closer, begging me with whimpers to finish this.
I would. Nothing would stop me now.
She was hot and slick, and the low, needy sound she made when I slid my finger through her wetness nearly made me come.
