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He pressed back over me, and I could feel the hard length of him through the material of the robe. I wrapped my arms around his hips and pulled him closer as he ground into me. I threw my head back with a soft gasp. I had never,ever,feltwantlike this. He grabbed the knot of my robe and glanced up at me with a question in his eyes. I nodded fervently, and he loosened the knot gently, pushing the top of the robe aside to expose the hardened peaks of my pale breasts. His eyebrows raised as he realized I wasn’t wearing any undergarments.

Once the knot was loosened, the bottom of the robe slipped open as well, and I could feel him pressed against me. Almost skin to skin except for those damned boxer briefs. His hair was still wet from the rain and it dripped onto my chest as he hovered over me, admiring. His lips were parted slightly, and he held me tightly around the ribcage, his hands warm against me. I made an impatient noise that broke him from his trance with a wicked grin.

“I love that sound,” he breathed as he lowered his mouth to my body, taking my full breast into his mouth and the other in his hand. I gasped as he sucked on it and bit down gently, his hand massaging the other. The pulse between my legs grew into a strong need as I ground myself into him, groaning at the feeling of friction. His mouth made his way up my breast to my neck, and finally captured my mouth again with his.

“I know what you want…” he spoke softly against my mouth, “but I want to take things slow with you. I’ve…” He broke off, blinking fast. “I’ve never felt like this…about someone before,” he confessed.

“Me neither,” I whispered against his mouth.

“But I won’t leave you with nothing…” he teased.

He spread my legs with his and slipped his thigh between them until his knee hit the center of me. Stars exploded behind my eyes at the feeling of his skin meeting my core. I threw my head back as I ground into him, his thigh moving against me.

“Does that feel good?” he asked, knowing the answer before even having to ask.

“Yes,” I spit out, unable to concentrate my thoughts on anything but the sensation of his leg between mine, his mouth on my neck, his hand at my breast.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, pulling back to meet my eyes.

“Don’t youdarestop,” I told him, grabbing the back of his neck and bringing his mouth back down to mine. I bit his lower lip with a hiss as he took my breast between his fingers, massaging in time with the movement of my hips.

There was a point of pleasure I wasdangerouslyclose to, and soon I would go tumbling off the edge. I panted against his mouth and he let out a groan, moving back down to take my breast into his mouth.

“Like this?” he asked, grinding his thigh harder against me.

“Just like that.” I nodded.

I threw my head back and cried out, my hand curled into his mess of wet hair, my legs shaking, as I fell over the cliff and was consumed by a pleasure I had never known before. My body contracted, my back arching off the bed into him as everything tightened and released. My breathing was hard as he kissed me again, this time more softly. If he could do that with just his thigh, I could only imagine…

He fell to my side and pulled me close, my back nestled against his chest, his mouth at my ear.

“How was that?” he asked, his voice low and sultry.

“It was…amazing.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of him cradled against me. “But what about you?” I asked, moving to turn around, but his tight grip held me in place.

“I’m just fine, Firecracker. That wasn’t only for you,” he assured me with a gentle kiss on the back of my neck.

“Did you want to wash up?” I asked, realizing he had never had a chance to when we had gotten back in from the rainstorm. I could still hear the rain battering heavily against the windowsill of our room, the thunder echoing directly overhead loud enough to shake the floorboards. I hadn’t even noticed.

“That can wait,” he repeated his sentiment from earlier.

I liked the idea that he didn’t want to waste one second with me, that he couldn’t get enough of me, as I couldn’t get enough of him. Somehow, I felt giddy and sated at the same time. I curled deeper into him, his leg slipping between mine as he cradled me against his chest. He slid the duvet over us and I fell asleep wrapped in his arms, the warm fire crackling, his wet hair dripping onto the pillow we shared.

WhenIwokethenext morning and rolled over, Nikolai wasn’t in the bed next to me. The blankets were still warm, and I raised my head to see the door to the washroom was closed. The room was filled with the soft sound of a running shower.

I turned over and pulled my robe with me. It had slipped open again in the middle of the night. I couldn’t help but flail my legs and giggle. Last night had beenamazing. The feel of Nik’s skin against mine. His mouth on my body. I suppressed a squeal as I rose from the bed, pulling on the only other pair of pants I had brought with us to Istmere and a long sleeve navy sweater.

My stomach grumbled, and I wondered if Puck and Tess had gone down to grab breakfast yet. I felt a pang in my chest as I realized this was our last day in Istmere, and we would need to return to our own realm by nightfall. I dreaded the conversation I would have with my mother, and returning to school to see which Nightshade would be after me this week…Fletcher or Ms. Finch.

As I tugged my sneakers on, I heard a knock at the door.

“You better be decent!” I heard Tess call from the other side.

“Of course, I am.” I opened the door with a laugh. Tess quickly surveyed the room, and when she realized Nik was in the washroom, she threw herself down onto the unmade bed. “Spill. How was last night?” she asked with a raised brow.

“You spill. I want to know howyournight was,” I told her as I joined her across the crumpled duvet.

“No way, you first,” she insisted with a shake of her head.