“Don’t apologize. Ever,” he rasped as he watched her mouth with a hunger she had never seen on him before. He smiled at her, gently touching his lips with his fingertips, and her heart warmed as her favorite dimples showed on his cheeks through his trimmed beard.
“Can we do it again?” she asked, her voice hesitant. She might not trust him completely yet, but she was willing to try.
“Fuck yes.”
His lips met hers once more, and they both tumbled to the floor.
Seda forgot about the chaos around her. She forgot about the stones, the Camp, the monsters, Kalon, and her terrible past. The only things on her mind now were the fullness of his lips, the joy in her heart, and the fire consuming her soul.
Chapter 16
Ael
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
This was more than anything he had imagined. It was a seismic shift—an awakening as the burning flames of hell ravaged him with fiery passion. Her lips were ambrosial, tasting like mint and strawberries, and he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her closer and feeling her warmth wrap around him. She enveloped him, body and soul, until nothing else seemed to exist. It was a silent collision of longing, time, and friendship that had magically transformed into more.
They kissed each other until he felt his lips swell. Then, ever so slowly, Ael ran his tongue across hers, and when Seda reciprocated, he lost all sense of control. She was his addiction now—more than ever.
Seda was on top of him, fully clothed, and pressing her lips to his with a burning passion. Her arousal surrounded him in the air, and he struggled not to take things further in the dark, crampedroom. His cock strained against his pants, and Seda shifted, just barely brushing it against her as she adjusted over him. A small moan escaped her parted lips, and he instinctively pushed up and ground against her, desperately craving more and getting dangerously close to going all in.
She shifted onto him again, and when she rose, he growled as he pulled her back down onto his throbbing cock one more time. He savored the feel of her warmth through the clothing, silently cursing her underwear and his pants for blocking their skin from touching.
His breathing felt ragged as he reached under her dress and cupped her hips in his palms, squeezing them for the first time and feeling the soft, supple skin he had longed to touch for years.
“Ahem.” Someone cleared their throat as a bright light filtered into the storage room. They quickly moved apart and stared at the doorway.
Fran stood at the door, holding a large bowl and lantern, looking down at them. “Are your rooms not up to standards, Sire?” she asked with a slight grin that she quickly tried to hide behind a scowl.
Seda quickly stood, revealing the bulge in his pants with her absence. Fran didn’t stare as Ael stood and brushed the egg off his clothes. He looked at Seda, noticing the mess tangled in her hair and all over her dress, and fought back a smirk.
“The rooms are fine, Fran. Thank you for asking. We’ll be leaving now.” He grabbed Seda’s hand and led her out the door.
Seda turned around and apologized to Fran for the mess.
“It’s no problem, dear. Although maybe next time you guys could choose something less… acidic?” Fran’s laugh escaped her, and she placed the bowl on a small table, reaching for a mop.
“I don’t think we should go to the library looking like this,” Seda said. She looked up at him and laughed loudly as she picked a chunk of egg off his shoulder.
“I suppose not. But it would be rather funny to dirty that placeup, wouldn’t it?” Ael replied, his grin spreading across his face. This was the happiest he had felt in years, perhaps even forever.
“I don’t think Meir would like that.”
“Oh, he’d love it the most out of everyone.” He laughed at the thought of Meir fuming about egg on his beloved books.
“We could transfer this mess onto those fancy, strange scrolls he’s looking at,” she said, her grin widening at the suggestion.
Ael paused and looked at her, their hands still intertwined. “You said he was looking at scrolls?”
“Yeah. When I ran into him at the library, he was looking at scrolls written in another language. Not sure what they were.”
“No one’s allowed to look at those,” he stated with furrowed brows. “Let’s get cleaned up and go see.”
Meir knew the scrolls were off limits. How did he even get in there? Only the royal family had the power to enter and view those ancient texts.
They walked with fingers intertwined through the halls. When they turned a corner, Neoma bumped into Seda, knocking her back.
“Oh! I’mso sorry, Seda! I didn’t see you there,” she said to her with a mock expression of shock on her face. She let her top loosen, pretending to catch her breasts to hold them steady, as if Seda was the reason they slipped out.
