She didn’t know who leaned in first, but suddenly her lips were on his.
His lips were warm and sure, and she melted against him. His arms wrapped around her, holding her waist. Her fingers fisted in his hair, pulling him close.
He kissed her soft and slow, and she gripped his shirt. He placed another hand upon her cheek and devoured her mouth with his. She wrapped a calf around his, desperate to have him closer still.
“Wrap your other leg around me.”
“What?” she murmured, amused.
He smirked, his lips tugging upwards. “Jump, I’ll catch you.”
She looked down skeptically at the elaborate ballgown. “Have you seen how much fabric I’m wearing?”
His eyes darkened with amusement. “Allow me.”
Before she could protest, his hands found the hem of her skirts, gathering the layers of tulle and silk. She gasped as he lifted the fabric, the cool night air hit her legs as she wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped, managing to lock her legs around his waist despite the bulk of layers bunched between them.
He caught her, gripping her hips and holding her up in the air.
She grinned widely. “What if you drop me?”
He gave her a look and said seriously, “I would never drop you.”
He held her as if she weighed nothing and walked over to the courtyard’s stone wall. She felt the sharp bite of stone against her back, and he braced her back against the wall, devouring her with his mouth. Her hands found his bearded jaw, holding him close.
It was a crime how much she wanted him.
She made a sound low in her throat, and her hands roamed over his back, his shoulders. Aching for the warmth of skin on skin.
He gripped her thighs, and she felt his hardness brush up against her. She gave a sharp intake of breath. He kissed her neck, grinding himself against her. A sigh loosed from her lips. He was showing her exactly what he wanted to do to her, and seemed unconcerned they were fully clothed in the middle of the courtyard.
She gripped his shoulders. “Someone could see,” she breathed against his ear.
He gazed down at her, his voice deep as he asked, “Is that your only remaining objection?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
He breathed in, and as he exhaled, a torrent of shadows flew from his skin. His hands bled plumes of black magic, and it curled around them, cocooning the two of them in black fire.
Mesmerized, she watched his magic envelop the entire courtyard, until the air was thick with darkness. She moved a hand in the air, parting the shadows over his shoulder as if parting water. She couldn’t see more than a foot in front of her, beyond that, the air was thick with shadow.
He set her legs down gently until her feet touched the ground. Her body protested the loss of contact. Before she could protest, he turned her roughly around.
She felt a warm breath on her neck as he pulled her against him.
“Better?” he whispered against her earlobe.
She moved his hands to her chest in answer.
He gripped her chest and held her against him, his hands roaming over her, down her waist, over her backside. Back to her chest.
His hand slipped under her skirts and massaged a hand between her thighs. She arched into him, aching with need. He moved her undergarments aside and groaned at what he found there.
He lifted her skirts and bent her over, grazing his fingers against her.
She felt him take his hardness in his hand and rub it against her, teasingly. She arched into him, begging him with her body. He slipped it in. Her eyes flew wide. He wasthick.She looked back at him and fisted her fingers in his tunic.
He pulled out, and her body crumbled with the loss of contact.
