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Shudders rack my body as Sterling trails his hands down to the backs of my thighs. He lifts me into the air, and my legs automatically wrap around his waist.

Growing need has me arching my back, pressing my softness against his hardness.

“Here?” I manage between breaths, though it’s less a question and more an acknowledgment of our reckless abandon. “What if someone finds us?”

I may not have to fear Jasper discovering our relationship and throwing me in a prison cell again, but I still don’t want my actions to cast the crown prince of Tirene in a bad light.

“Is that your way of telling me to stop?” Sterling sways his hips, positioning himself between my thighs.

“No.” I slide my left hand between us and wrap my fingers around him through the fabric of his pants. I tighten my grip slightly, causing his breath to rumble in his chest. “I just. Well…”

I don’t even know what to say. How to express everything that’s going on in my head. So much has happened lately, and we have a lot to figure out.

Something not aboveboard is going on with Xenon, the king of Aclaris. His terrifying behavior at the Flighthaven Academy trial ended in multiple deaths. Then, I was kidnapped and brought to Tirene against my will, only to discover I’m Tirenese, and a dragoncaller at that. Shortly after my arrival in this kingdom, entire herds of animals and flocks of birds began to die with no apparent cause.

A week ago, we weathered a brutal attack on the palace grounds…not from humans but drachen.

Drachen. Ancient, evil creatures supposedly defeated centuries ago. Now they’re back, and no one has any idea why, or knows how to defeat them.

Lately, I’ve had difficulty shutting off my brain.

“Stop fretting.” Sterling’s hand covers mine. “And don’t try to deny it, because I can practically see the wheels spinning in your head. Our problems will still be waiting for us when we step out of this room. For a few minutes, I want you to forget about everything. Everything but us.” He kisses the corner of my mouth. “Can you do that for me?”

I nod, wondering what I ever did to deserve a love like this.

When he turns my hand away from him, I go still with shock. That is, until he presses my hand against my own flesh and every worry melts away.

Oh dear gods. This man.

“Mine.” His fingers graze over the backs of mine, directing them as they caress and slip inside me. “You’re all mine, every incredible inch of you. I want you to feel what I feel when I touch you. How fucking perfect you are.”

If his words weren’t enough to arouse me, his manipulation of my fingers against me certainly is. He knows my body well and plays it like a talented musician. Even in the dark, without feeling anything other than the backs of my fingers, he knows exactly what to do, where to touch.

With just a few strokes, my fingers are wet.

My eyes have adjusted to the dimness enough to tell when his dark eyes light up with that spark that’s reserved just for me. I study him as my fingers find the perfect spot under his guidance. Shivers race over my body, and I wrap my other hand around his neck for support as my knees start to buckle.

He pushes closer, pinning me against the wall as pleasure builds inside me. My head falls back, and I shift my hips, unable to keep still under his ministrations. Under mine.

He matches my movements.

My right hand tangles in his hair, searching for something to grasp.

“Sterling.” His name is a moan pulled from my throat.

“Yes.” He moves his fingers faster, gaze focused on me as I hit that edge. “Just like that. That’s the way you like it.”

A whimper of pleasure escapes me. I clench my jaw to keep from screaming as he pushes me over the edge, leaving me to fall alone while he holds me tight.

As soon as the tide recedes, I crave more.

It’s not enough to go alone. I hunger for the sounds, the movements he makes when he joins me. When he says my name like a benediction.

He’s so tantalizingly close to me, yet I still haven’t even gotten to kiss him. I pour heat into my hand on the back of his neck, prompting him to flinch away in reflex. As he does, I slide down him until my feet hit the floor and capture his lips with mine.

“Oh, that’s playing dirty,” he whispers against my lips.

I draw his lower lip into my mouth, not releasing it until he groans. “And what you did isn’t?”