She opened her mouth to argue, but the only sound she made was a strangled moan as he bent his head to kiss her. His fingers hooked under her jaw, his thumb pressed against her cheek, holding her in place while his mouth devoured her. His tongue pushed between her lips, sending searing heat spiraling through her. He bit her lower lip, soothed it with his tongue, and then licked inside her again, tasting, exploring. Catching her up in his arms, he pushed her back until she hit the smooth trunk of an old tree.
When she caught her breath, she whispered, “Casrian…”
“It feels like a spell, doesn’t it?”
His knee slid between her thighs. One hand settled on her hip, the other curved lightly around her throat. His thumb pressed against her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his. He leaned forward, letting her feel the weight of his body, his hard cock against her belly. “It was so hard to make myself stop last night with you slick and hot, spread open and begging for my cock. And then all day today, watching you and wondering if I’d made the right decision. Knowing I made a mistake.”
She bit her lip and his attention fixed briefly on her mouth before lifting.
“I should have fucked you then. Days ago. Every chance I had. Maybe whatever this is eating at me would be sated by now and I could think this through with a clear head.”
“I didn’t even want you days ago.”
“You did.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t want you now.”
“You do.”
She swallowed, her throat moving against his palm, but she didn’t argue the point. She couldn’t. They both knew it was the truth.
“I may not understand what the fuck you’re talking about with the trees, but that is not a natural ability.” His fingers flexed slightly and relaxed. “I saw you lick the blood. Incantations or not, that was a spell you cast. Ishouldbrand you. I should put you in irons.”
“You won’t do that.”
He gave a soft, bitter laugh. “I know you’re guilty, but I’d rather cut off my own arm than see you condemned. What is that if not witchcraft?”
His expression was tortured, like he was admitting to the foulest blasphemy. She ached for him, but she needed him to understand.
“I’m not a witch.”
“It would almost be easier if you were.” He leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with you?”
She should tell him to let her go, but she couldn’t make herself form the words. Not when she was riding his thigh and his lips were so close to hers. She must have shifted a little. Just enough and in the right direction to make his eyes widen. He huffed out a soft breath and then pressed harder against her.
“You do still want this, don’t you?” Casrian pulled back just enough to capture her gaze again. “Tell me I’m right.”
A smarter woman would say no. A smarter woman wouldn’t want to fuck the villain of her childhood nightmares. A man who thought she needed to be tamed and tutored and tied into a corset to fit into his world. A man who’d just accused her of witchcraft. Maybe everyone was right and there was something wrong with her after all.
“I want you.”
God help her. It was the truth.
“One time,” he murmured. “Just once. Maybe it will break the spell after all.”
His hands moved, shoving her breeches down, pushing her shirt up to her neck so he could palm her breasts. His thumbs worried at the stiff peaks of her nipples until she moaned.
Casrian cursed. “God, that sound. Do it again.”
She tipped back her head as his mouth slid down the column of her neck and then clamped around one nipple, drawing hard. Another moan tore from her lips.
“Fuck…You drive me crazy.” He tugged her breeches the rest of the way off and while she kicked her feet free, he loosened the placket at the front of his trousers. “I was going to keep my hands off you. I was going to save you from fucking Toam. But you don’t want that, do you?”
“I don’t need to be saved,” she said, tangling her fingers in his hair. It was soft—softer than she’d imagined, fine as spun silk. “I’m not going to the capital with you.”
She didn’t want to be a governess or marry whatever prick of a husband he’d pick out for her.
Hooking his hands around her thighs, he spread her wide. The broad head of his cock prodded at her entrance. “This is what you want from me. This is what you’ve wanted all along.”
