“Let’s eat,” he suggested, his voice quiet. He led us into the middle of the setup, atop the plush cushions, before lowering to the ground and gently pulling me down with him.
The next moments were full of food, laughter, wine, and quiet chatter. Here, weweren’tthe King and Queen of the South. We were just Robyn and Aviva—twofaewhowere madly, sickeningly in love with one another.
Once Byn had fed me the last of the strawberries—so slowly it was antagonizing, to my dismay—I picked up a napkin to wipe my mouth with, but he beat me to it. He gently cupped the side of my face, using his thumb to wipe away the tiny droplet of juice that had rested near my lip.
But he didn’t stop there.
“You know,” he said as he slowly ran his thumb against my bottom lip, “I believe…I’mstill hungry.”
My eyes flicked up to meethis, and the desire in his gaze made my core run hot. I could tell hewasn’thungry for more food.
And if he was hungry, I wasravenous.
Picking up onthe desirous shift in my emotions—emotions that matched his own—his grip on my jaw tightened as he tugged me closer to him and brought our lips a breath from eachother’s.
My breathing hitched at the nearness, but our lips failed to meet.
I cracked my eyes open, meeting his hungry gaze as he murmured,“I plan onworshippingyou tonight.”
My core tightened at just the thought of such a thing.
Then his lips were everywhere but on my own. He left a trail of kisses down the column of my throat, which I gladly exposedto him. When he made it to my shoulder, he looked at me for confirmation—of which I happily granted—before tugging my shirt off, undoing the buttons on the back for my wings as he went.
Then, without my shirt, he gently laid me on my back while being mindful of my injuredwing. He carried on his trail of kisses, stopping every few to leave small purple marks.Whenhe reached my waist,he paused to look up at me.
“May I?” he asked.
“Please,” I responded, breathless.
Icouldn’tignore the smirk that made his dimple pop as he looped his fingers into my waistband and tugged.
He tossed them away mindlessly before beginning another trail, this time on the opposite side of my body as before, of kisses and marks.He moved excruciatingly slowly, taking his time to taste me on his lips.
By the time he reached my shoulder again, I groaned impatiently.
“You’re such a tease,” I said, my heart racing at the close contact—yet not close enough.
Hechuckled, butmade no effort to quicken his pace. I lifted a hand and fisted it in his hair, my patience wearing thin as I tugged him up and crashed my lips into his.
It was as though we were trying to devour each other through a single kiss. It was all lips, teeth, and tongues as we explored territory we both knew by heart at that point.
Ipulled back moments later, panting, as I lifted his shirt off over his head, exposing his toned and golden torso.
“I want all of you, Byn.” I ran my hands over his soft skin as I peered up at him.
“Your desires are mine, Avi—I want all of you, too.”Hetucked a stray lock of hair behind my pointed ear. “Your mind, your emotions, your body, your soul—all of it.You’remine.”
I leaned into his touch as I agreed, “Yours.”
With that to set the tone, the rest of the evening was, indeed, full ofworshipping. Not the Stars, as some had the custom, but each other.
That might not have been our first time, but it was one of the most meaningful. As our bodies melded into one form, that bond tying our souls together became one, too. His feelings were mine, and mine his, and wedidn’tneed words to know exactly what the other needed.
We moved together in perfect harmony, our essence like that of an eclipse.
Skin met skin.
Emotion met emotion.
