I tap my chin, pretending to think this through. “Can I?”
Her springy hair shudders when she nods. “Yes.”
Well, then . . .
I hook my finger into her sash and yank. She stumbles forward, her knees colliding with mine. With another tug, the bow is gone, and the strap dangles free.
Cold hands brace against my shoulders, nails digging into my fresh scars. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“You say I can do what I want. This is what I want.” To have her bare beneath me.
My hands shake as I unfasten the tiny buttons one at a time and push the arms of her dress down until it is a puddle of green at her dainty feet.
“You can’t possibly. They’re beautiful and all of them want to mate with you.”
Not all. I doubt the ones whose bellies are swollen with younglings are interested in me. The ones with silver-streaked hair did not seem intrigued either.
I press a kiss to the swell of her breast, right above her fluttering heart. “And I want to mate with you.”
“Maddox—”
“Nia.”
Her mouth snaps shut.
“I am going to take this off.” I slip my finger beneath the flimsy strap of her bra. “These will be next.” I trace along the delicate line of lace beneath her navel. “If you do not wish for me to do this, I suggest you tell me now.”
35
“I choose you.”
— Nia Quill, An Exclamation
Idon’t know why in the world Maddox would choose me over all the other women in Riverglade probably crying over their plates of food, but he has.
He’s choosing me.
It’s all we want, isn’t it?
To be chosen.
Not by just anyone but by the right person at the right time.
I really hope this is the right time, and heaven help us both, because I think this might be the right person.
My body comes alive under his touch like all those fires he built, sparks growing into flames.
My bra falls to the ground, followed by my knickers. His low hum of pleasure vibrates against my skin as he urges me between his parted knees and takes the stiff peak of my breast between his lips. Large hands knead my hips, squeezing,marking, branding as I press kisses to his damp hair that smells like rain andhim.
The problems that exist outside this cavern fade into nothing.
It’s just the two of us.
Discovering ways to lose ourselves in each other.
Maddox tugs me onto the bed, and I fall down next to him, loving his shadow as it comes over me. The weight of his body dipping the mattress next to mine. The heat radiating from his beautiful, colorful skin.
My Unseelie is a quick learner, his hand slipping between my thighs to where I ache. Soothing. Teasing. Torturing until my legs begin to quiver.
