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He dropped his head and buried his face in them, groaning, “By the power vested in me by the sovereign nation of Ghislain, these lands are hereby annexed for royal use.” He breathed her in, pressing a slow, open-mouthed kiss to the warm skin there. “They will be maintained, worshipped, and protectedaccordingly. All foreign access is now considered an act of treason.”

Beneath him, Taly sighed. Deeply. “It’s honestly impressive—how you can be this good with your mouth and still say the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard.”

He nipped her through the fabric, and her words cut off in a sharp breath.

One-handed, he worked on the buttons to his trousers. Her legs parted beneath him, welcoming him in.

Time slowed down.

It wasn’t her magic. This was all him. He simply stopped pushing against the deluge of his senses, and his mind adjusted to the onslaught, stretching each second wide.

He wanted to remember everything—to see everything,feeleverything.

He wanted to burn this moment into memory so it never left.

The throbbing in his cock turned painful. She was so warm. Her scent filled his head, making it impossible to think past the pounding of his own heartbeat.

Even her music, blaring in the background—the rhythm surrounded him, seeping into his bones, and for a moment, he thought he could feel it the way Taly had always seemed to feel it, like euphoria in his blood.

Drowning in sensation, he felt the tug too late. She ripped open the front of his trousers, reaching in.

Desire. Craving. Need.

It was all amplified.

It came with no warning, no time to brace himself.

It pulsed in his blood and shot up his cock as she pumped him. Once, twice. Her palm was a wicked mix of heat and friction.

Time stretched as if in a dream, and he got his wish.

He experiencedallof it.

He saw in excruciating detail every minute tick of dawning surprise that swept across her beautiful face as the sensation of finally having her hands on him, around him, worshiping him, detonated the last of his restraint in a sudden, blinding surge.

Time snapped back. The climax ripped through him. Taly didn’t let go, thank the Shards, and stroked him through to the end.

On and on, the humiliation was endless, splattering across her sex, her thighs, her stomach. It was everything he’d dreamed, made real in all the wrong ways.

Panting into her neck, Skye held himself over her. “Don’t worry. I can do better,” was all he could think to say.

And he would. Right now.

Then—because the Universe hated him—a knock sounded at the door.

“This is starting to feel pointed,” he muttered, pumping his shaft between them.

“Hurry.” Taly’s voice had taken on a needy, breathy little edge that had him pumping faster.

Then the door opened.

Taly jerked back so fast she nearly headbutted him. “Wait, are they— Skye, they’re coming in. Put on your clothes!”

He was going to commit murder.

Taly scrambled for her pants. It was a travesty. He stared, committing every last inch of bare skin to memory until she yanked her sweater down.

She threw his shirt at him, and he shoved it on with a growl. The scent from the hallway was familiar—rose petals and chamomile.