“I felt more with you.” I leaned into his palm. “In the tree. On the swing. At the tower. Those times meant something to me, in ways others didn’t. Even so, flowers and serenades before rutting aren’t part of my backstory. Not like the kind of sex you’ve had.”
Aire struck his fingers into my loose hair, bowed his head, and dragged his mouth back and forth over mine. “You are not the only one out of your element. Mating roughly in the throes of anger had been uncharted for me. Yet Seasons help me, I would unleash with you like that again, if you wanted. None of the past relations I’ve had hold up to this. No one has ever stirred my desires this way. No one has extracted this unhinged side.”
“No kinks or hard sex?” I rasped into his lips. “No games or public locations?”
The knight groaned. “None but with you. Though, I’m a trained knight. That makes me a quick learner.”
Of this, I had proof. Aire cleaved through my locks, his touch sprouting tingles across my scalp. “I’ve also never bedded someone I loved. For all that comes next, I’m just as afraid as you are.”
My heart pattered. “You said it first.”
“I did.” Aire dashed the second hand into my crimped layers. “And no, I don’t expect reciprocation. As much as I long to hear those three words, I don’t seek anything in return. It will not affect my love for you.”
Tears stung my hooded eyes. “I lied to you. I betrayed you.”
“I know what you’ve done.” The harsh lines of his face creased. “It pains me still, yet I love you.” We panted, hurt and desire mingling as our bodies pressed firmer. “I will remember it, yet I love you.” His lips dove to the edge of mine. “I fear it will crush me, yet I love you.”
A sob caught in my throat. “No more secrets.”
“No more. Only truth.”
“I’m so sorry, Aire.”
“And I forgive you.” His fractured hiss struck my mouth. “And I don’t want to lose you. And I would fucking die for you.”
Same. A thousand times over.
As he thumbed the moisture from my lower lashes, the weight of seven lying years dissipated, replacing guilt with heat. With our heads angled together, I rested my palms on his coat and pushed, the material skidding off his frame. Swallowing, Aire allowed me to strip off of the garment, a muscle leaping in his jaw as it dropped to the floor.
My stomach flopped as he reached for the robe’s sash next. And when he plucked the knot apart, my clit pulsed. He’d barely raised a finger, yet this gingerly action incited a maelstrom, heightening expectation like the most excruciating kind of tease.
The flaps spread. My covered breasts shoved into the view, the shadowed crests of my nipples poking through the fabric, and a shuddering noise fled Aire’s throat. He took his time, peeling off the robe, which cascaded down my arms.
With a gravely hum, Aire scooped up my hand. Turning his face into my palm, he cradled it like a relic, then kissed the inner skin.
The soft press of his mouth wracked me with tremors. “I don’t know how to make love.”
“I do.” Aire murmur into my life line. “While I cannot read you, I know you. That is far more potent than any sensory magic.” His lips sketched every nerve ending. “I can draw out the exquisite torment until the sun rises. I can reach the intimate parts of you that no one has.” We panted as this knight drew his mouth over the pulse in my wrist. “I shall bring your body to life so that it feels eternal and endless, until no other sensation exists. Until your heart and your pussy feel the same infinite ecstasy.” Then he inched back, rasping, “Will you permit me? As you’ve taught me to fuck?”
My own fingers skated over his jaw. “Yes.”
The blaze writhed across his face. The blue oracles of his eyes went up in flames.
With a loving growl, Aire hoisted me off the ground.
46
Aspen
My surprised gasp came out soft, a delicate thread echoing through the cabin. The floor vanished under my feet as Aire packed me into his arms. Hooking beneath my thighs, he swept me against him like a bride.
My hands found his nape, then crawled higher into his hair. As his forehead dipped against mine, we grinned into one another, our faces resting close.
The pose was new for me. Not that I didn’t enjoy pulling a man across a room while tearing off our clothes, but this was mighty incredible. Especially with him.
A man I trusted. A man who saw me. A man who knew me.
All of me now.
