“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “For earlier. For yelling. You are a warrior, entitled to make your own decisions. I was angry because I was frightened for—”
She leaned forward and kissed him.
He tasted ofkavage, sword oil, and strength.
Snowfall moved closer, pushing him down, demanding more. Simus obliged, opening his mouth, falling back to let her press him to the blankets and deepen the kiss. She took every advantage, straddling him so that her hips rode his, anticipating what was to come. But for now all that mattered was their lips locked together.
And when she finally needed to breathe, she pressed soft kisses to his face, his nose, his closed eyes as he panted beneath her.
Simus arched his neck as he ran his hands over her back, cradling her buttocks and then moving up again, long sweet strokes across her skin.
Snowfall nuzzled his neck, her teeth biting playfully before her lips sought the skin beneath his ears. She cradled his skull in both hands, using her short nails to scratch at his scalp. She shifted back as she did so, pressing down, feeling his hardness against her stomach.
Simus moaned and arched, then grasped her hips and lifted her up slightly before rolling her to the side. She chortled softly into his neck as he tried to calm his ragged breathing. She’d done this to him, had him quivering under her hands. She took a deep breath of the scent of their bodies together. There was so much more to come, and she ached in anticipation.
She let go, and allowed her tattoos to dance.
Simus caught his breath, watching as the vines swirled and moved, as the flowers bloomed along their lengths. They moved over her shoulders, and down her arms. Snowfall closed her eyes in the pure pleasure of it as Simus stroked her skin and pressed his mouth to the blooms.
“These,” he said. “They weren’t there before.”
“I flower for you,” she whispered, and kissed him again, hard and fierce, claiming his mouth.
Simus closed his eyes and kissed her back. “You taste of a sweetness all your own,” he murmured against her mouth. He didn’t deepen the kiss, letting her control their soft and slow touching of lips and sharing of breath at an awkward angle.
Snowfall stroked her hand down his side, over his hip, and then reached between his legs. Simus caught her hand. “Slow,” he whispered. “Slow is good.”
Snowfall leaned in, her forehead against his. “It’s been some time since I’ve shared,” she admitted to his ear.
“Why so, a warrior as lovely as you.” Simus rolled back, pulled her down to stretch out on top of him, skin on skin.
Snowfall shrugged, reaching to run her fingers over his chest. “So much to learn, I think. Then Wild Winds grew ill, and, to be honest, no warrior-priest held much appeal to me.”
“I trust I appeal?” Simus asked.
“I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” she said quietly. She lifted an arm and pulled him into another kiss.
Simus was more than willing, and now his hands were free to explore, stroking her soft skin; Snowfall returned the caress. It became a long, slow exploration that left them both breathing harder, and their bodies warm and filled with desire. Simus’s hands slipped lower, to her core, stroking her folds with the tips of his fingers but not going deeper. A simple, slow touch.
Snowfall shifted to her side, putting one leg over his hip, trying to thrust herself against his hand.
“Slow,” Simus reminded her, chuckling against her mouth.
“Simus,” she moaned, looking at his with dazed eyes. “Death comes in an instant,” she said him.
Simus drew a breath. “Truth,” he murmured in her ear, and for a moment they stilled, memory of the day hanging between them.
She’d almost died.
Simus looked at the lovely, strong warrior beside him and his heart almost thumped out of his chest. He could have lost her so easily...
Simus eased her onto her back, moved between her legs, and pierced her heat in one strong thrust.
Snowfall gasped, her hands clutching at his shoulders, her eyes wide.
Simus froze, keeping his weight off of her. “Snowfall?”
“Simus,” she said, arching her neck back. “Elements.” It was almost a prayer as she shuddered around him, adjusting her legs, spreading them wider. The movement made him gasp, and he sucked in a breath, trying to forestall his own release.
