Ma’anyu.
Cassandra’s insides glowed at the secret message.
“You wound me, Cass. When have I ever taken advantage of such a situation?”
Cassandra snorted a laugh, then leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I’ll be your reward at home later.”
“Proper motivation,” he murmured, before gripping her chin and leaning in for a kiss. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, overwhelming her senses with the tastes of coffee and cured meat.
Her back tingled again, and his magic stirred through her veins, settling in her chest.
“I leave you two,” Hella piped up, rising from her seat.
Tristan broke their kiss, leaving Cassandra aching for more despite the slight soreness between her legs.
He stood, shaking Hella’s hand across the table. “Thank you, Hella. For watching over her and keeping her safe this week.”
Hella waved him off. “Is no trouble. I pack things and head back to barracks. We meet later, yes?”
“See you then,” Cassandra nodded as Hella left the kitchen and clomped up the stairs.
As soon as she was gone, Tristan grabbed Cassandra by the waist and hoisted her onto the table. He carelessly pushed plates of food away, spilling the remnants of breakfast.
“One more time,” he begged, pushing his hand up under her shirt to caress her breast as he tugged down her shorts and panties. “I’ll be quick like a bunny.”
She laughed, pulling down his waistband and freeing his cock. She gripped his hard, silken length and settled him between her thighs, then bit her lip to stifle her groan as he sank into her.
“Sweet Amatu, I can’t get enough of you,” he grunted as he fisted her hair, pulling her head back and exposing her throat to his hungry mouth.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her hands along the shifting muscles of his back as he pushed into her again and again. The breakfast dishes clattered against the table with the force of his thrusts.
“The feeling is most definitely mutual,” she gasped as he splayed his broad hand across her lower belly and stroked her tender nub with his thumb.
She ran her fingers along the downy feathers where his wings met his shoulder blades and his thrusts became harder, frenzied. She clamped around him, dazzled by the number of orgasms he’d coaxed from her body over the past few hours.
“Fuck, fuck,fuck,”she moaned in a series of breathy hiccups as she toppled over the edge.
Tristan chased behind her with his own shuddering grunt of pleasure, then laughed against her neck. “Filthy mouth.”
They stayed like that for a moment, Tristan’s head burrowed into her shoulder, his arms braced against the table as she clung to him.
“Nice ass, bunny,” Hella sang from the hallway on her way out the door.
“It’s the nicest!” Tristan shouted, and Cassandra broke apart into a fit of giggles beneath him.
She wholeheartedly agreed.
CHAPTERFORTY-ONE
That’sRhamnos?”
The pictures didn’t do it justice. If this was the cesspool of the continent, Xenia couldn’t imagine how grand and beautiful the other cities must be.
The glittering metropolis unfurled before them in strokes of gold and cream, gleaming towers bracketing the Dordenne and kissing the cloudless sky. Flashing glares of midday sun bounced off rows upon rows of windows, bathing the orderly grid of streets below in an otherworldly sheen.
Sandstone bridges lined with ornate pillars crisscrossed the meandering path of the mighty ink-blue river, her waters mingling with the Sea of Thetis in a crescent-shaped bay capped by a massive concrete dock. It speared into the sea like the pointed tip of a fish hook, with cargo ships and smaller vessels cramming both sides.
The gilded port city, capital of the territory of Akti that spanned the continent’s southern coast, seemed built for commerce, not corruption. Though Xenia supposed the two often went hand-in-hand.
