Dear God.
I loved my mate. Adored her body. Wanted nothing more than her, in any form.
But the sight of that fabric falling in waves away from her, and the laces pulled tight underneath… God, Ineededto free her.
Hurrying, as best I could with thick, calloused fingers and those tiny loops, leaning my forehead against her spine as I knelt to free the last of them, Bren stood, hands at her waist, unmoving. But I could feel the churning in her.
She enjoyed my touch.
When I’d finally freed that bodice and it peeled away, dropping forward to reveal her corset, the waistband gaping to offer a peep at the underskirt, I couldn’t stop the low rumble of approval that puttered in my chest.
“Bren, you’re so beautiful.”
She looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes bright. “You really mean that,” she murmured. A statement, not a question. No doubt she could feel myfierceapproval in the bond.
But I nodded and stepped close, running hands over her shoulders and down her arms, kissing the side of her neck. When she leaned her head aside to give me more room, I thanked God again, because I felt her giving over, relaxing into me.
I reached for the tied laces at her back with trembling fingers, kissing and tasting her skin between frustrated wrestling with the tight knot.
Bren’s entire body jerked and bobbed with each of my tugs. I was tempted to simply grab a blade and cut through them—surely the laces could be replaced?—but then, finally, the knot gave and the lowest line of laces slipped an inch.
“That’s it,” Bren breathed, looking over her shoulder. She caught my eye and we both went still. Then her throat bobbed. “More,” she whispered.
Thatwas an instruction I wouldn’t hesitate to obey.
Trusting my experience with harnesses and safety straps, I leaned over her shoulder and took her mouth as I started the process of tugging those laces free. Sadly, we didn’t corset dragons, so I was forced to stop sipping at her mouth and focuson the task, hooking fingers under the lowest lace to pull it loose, then the one above, slowly, slowly, slowly easing them free.
It took minutes, but eventually, enough of the lower half of those tight lines were loosened, so the laces began to pull through.
“Nearly there,” I growled, almost cheering with relief when I finally had the two sides of the corset pulling wide. Bren’s head sank back, and she gave the loveliest sigh of relief.
“I couldn’t begin to unfit this puzzle,” I growled, still tugging those laces looser. “Lift your arms, I’ll pull it up over your head.
“Good idea.”
She did as I asked, the muscles on her back rolling as she reached for the ceiling. I gripped the top of the corset and drew it up, surprised by how stiffly it kept its shape, but then finally, only catching a few strands of her hair, I pulled it up and over her arms, then tossed it aside as Bren sighed again, rolling her head and shoulders to loosen the strained muscles.
She stood, bare to the waist, the waistband of her underskirts now loose, the bodice folded forward and thick skirts now resting on her hips, and for a moment, I could only stare.
I let my eyes follow the sweet line of her shoulders as she rotated them, the defined muscles in her arms, those planes of her shoulder blades, and the natural curve of her waist, down to the hollow of her spine which dipped and rolled to the top of her buttocks, just barely peering out from the widened waist of the skirts.
“I told you I’d find a way to have you in the middle of the day,” I said hoarsely, then couldn’t speak further.
Bren turned her head again, her eyes bright, but questioning. “Are yousureRonen won’t—?”
“I’m certain,” I rasped, yanking at my own jacket to open the worn buttons, tearing at it until I was free, then jerked the buttons of my shirt free. I would have winced when one poppedoff, but I couldn’t find the energy to care. I needed to have her, skin to skin. The moment my shirt fell open, I took hold of her waist and pulled her back against me, diving to kiss her neck again, sliding my hands up to cup and knead at her breasts, so soft and warm, massaging the reddened skin where the corset had been so tight, and thrilled by her sighs of relief and pleasure.
Leaning my chest up against her back, I stroked and kissed and filled my hands with her.
Bren dropped her head back to rest against my shoulder, one hand lifting up and back to slide into my hair and hold my head, urging me to keep my mouth open on her neck.
“Is this what nobles do?” she whispered, her nipples hardening under my fingers. “Have tea and then make love to each other?” I played my thumbs over those puckered peaks, enjoying her gasp and twitch in response.
“I haven’t seen a great deal of love in the Court,” I growled, then licked the shell of her ear. She shivered. “But I love you, Bren and…dear God.”I latched onto her neck, sucking harder than I should. But I was voracious for her.
Unable to resist, I slid both hands down her belly, under the loose waistband of the dress and skirts, then over her hips, letting all that fabric gather at my wrists, and sliding it down her body until it fell in a deep puddle around her shins.
She started to turn, but I nipped her skin and held her in place, bringing one hand back up to her breast, sliding the other down, between her legs, and almost howling when I found her already slick.
