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Sebastien opened his fingers, letting the petal flutter to the ground between us. His hands moved to my hips, pulling me closer, and I reached out to slip a hand beneath the shirt plastered to his skin. I trailed my fingertips down the sinewy planes of his stomach, feeling a shudder pass through him.

I’d read enough books to know that killing a monster was far easier than taming one. But as my fingers circled lower, Sebastien’s eyes slid shut and a soft groan fell from his lips. It was hypnotising, watching him melt for me.

His mouth parted, hands skimming up my sides. I tilted my chin to meet him, lips hovering a hair’s breadth from his, our breaths mingling.

‘Tell the fleet to stop killing.’

Sebastien’s eyes blinked open, diluted with longing. ‘What?’

‘Send word that you won’t harm those who resort to the seas, no matter who raises their swords against you,’ I said softly. ‘Teach them mercy.’

I felt the huff of his laugh against my cheek, his hands tightening on my hips. ‘Aye, all right.’

I inhaled sharply. ‘Do you mean it?’

Sebastien nodded, fingers gliding up my spine, into my hair, pulling my mouth to his. ‘Whatever you want, blackbird. It’s done.’

His words unfurled in my stomach, his voice rich as velvet, harsh as a cliff face. He was crumbling, I realised. From my touch.

His head dropped low, our noses bumping as I brushed my lips lightly over his. A heady meld of lust and power swirled in the pit of my stomach as I peeled my chemise over my head, letting his hands chase away the frost.

His eyes widened, throat moving as he swallowed. He kissed my forehead, the bridge of my nose, the corner of my mouth.

I ran a hand back up the exposed skin of his stomach and he looked down at me, tilting his head.

‘I want to look at you,’ I whispered, trying to stifle the heat rising in my cheeks. I wanted to see him the way I had once, his back drenched in light, shadows speared by the sun’s glow. I wanted to see all of him.

His lips twitched, apparently satisfied, before he began to undress with slow, fluid motions. I glanced away as he shed the last of his clothes, my cheeks burning hotter.

‘Look.’

I did, letting my eyes linger on his silhouette in the candlelight. And I thought: no wonder so many had bowed before him. He truly was a thing of glory. Staggering, brutal glory.

His breaths were shallow in my ear as I trailed a hand down his great, marbled chest, hunger growing inside me with every passing moment.

‘Gods, Ria, not like that.’

I glanced up at him, confusion lacing with my desire.

He grasped me lightly by the chin, stepping even closer and kicking aside his discarded clothes. ‘Unless you want me to finish before we’ve even begun,’ he murmured, ‘I suggest you don’t look at me like that.’

I bit my lip. ‘Like what?’

Sebastien’s hooded gaze searched mine. His eyes were the exact shade of the night, an ocean encompassed in their depths. ‘Like . . . I might be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.’

‘You might be,’ I whispered.

His breathing shifted – quickened. He took my hand, sliding it up over his chest to the place his heart should’ve been. His skin was warm and supple despite the hard muscle beneath, but there was no sound, no gentle rhythm against my fingertips.

‘Wish you could feel what you do to me,’ he rasped, before capturing my mouth in a kiss that burned like fire.

I tugged his lower lip between my teeth, a groan melting from his tongue. His satisfaction hummed, making his chest vibrate under my touch.

He pulled back a fraction, looking down at me with the eyes of an abyss. The coal in them flashed bright, but his voice was hoarse when he spoke. ‘Tell me you want me.’

I grinned. ‘Why don’t you make me?’

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