Her lips curved up sweetly. “Sometimes.”
My laugh rang out. “Then if I find you in my garden, I’ll ask if I can stay.”
“It’s your garden first.”
“Unless I give it to you.”
Her low laugh trilled out. “I don’t enjoy weeding, so I think you’d better keep it.”
The sound of her laughter faded, leaving only the whisper of night wind through the camellia stems and the echo of music from the ball. She looked up at me with those pale blue eyes that had haunted my thoughts forever, and the space between us felt charged with everything we’d been dancing around.
“Isi,” I said, her name barely a breath.
Her gaze dropped to my mouth, then flicked back up to meet mine.
The invitation there made something in my chest snap free.
45
TREW
Ireached up, cupping her face with one hand, tracing the line of her cheekbone with a delicate touch. Her skin was warm, and when she leaned into my palm, I fell apart.
“Tell me to stop,” I whispered hoarsely, giving her one last chance to retreat.
“Don’t you dare.”
I kissed her, softly at first, a question pressed against her lips. She answered by easing her fingers through my hair and pulling me closer, deepening the kiss until it turned desperate and consuming.
Her magic flared, mixing with mine until the air around us shimmered with heat. I could taste a hint of wine on her lips and feel the rapid flutter of her pulse where my thumb rested against her throat.
When we broke apart, both of us breathing hard, need darkened her eyes.
“More,” she said, and the single word shattered what was left of my restraint.
I kissed her again, harder this time, sliding my hands down to her waist. She melted against me, and I guided her back until shelaid across the cushioned bench, a few strands of her golden hair spilling around her face.
“You’re so beautiful,” I said against her throat, kissing along the delicate column. She arched beneath me, a soft gasp escaping her lips.
I reached her gown’s neckline and paused, meeting her eyes. “Isi?”
“Yes,” she breathed, her fingers clutching at my shoulders. “Please.”
I tugged the green fabric down, exposing the pale curve of her breasts to the moonlight. She was perfect, all soft skin and gentle curves, and when I lowered my head to kiss the newly revealed flesh, she moaned, sending fire racing through my veins.
Her back arched off the bench as I lavished attention on her sensitive skin, her fingers tangling in my hair. Every soft moan, every trembling breath, and every movement of her body beneath mine drove me closer to the edge of madness.
“Say my name,” I demanded against her skin.
“Trew, please?—”
I lifted my head, capturing her mouth in another searing kiss.
She opened for me, her tongue meeting mine in a fiery tangle, her fingers tightening in my hair until the bite of pain was pleasure itself. Her magic surged against mine, a volatile, untamed current that crackled through the air, making the camellias tremble around us. The cushions shifted beneath her as I pressed her deeper into the bench, levering my body over hers, one hand braced near her head, the other sliding slowly, deliberately, back down to cup the weight of her bare breast.
I stroked my thumb over the hardened peak, and a soft cry escaped her. I broke the kiss only to trail fire down the elegant line of her throat, over the rapid flutter of her pulse, and lower still, following the path my hands had taken already. Moonlight glistened on her exposed skin as I sucked the taut peak into my mouth.
She gasped, the sound jagged in the quiet garden.
