Page 79 of With Wing And Claw

‘Almostanything, then,’ Thysandra finally said, her voice a little weaker now.

Not unexpected. Really, it had been an experiment rather than a genuine request in itself. Naxi was pretty damn sure she knew exactly what demand was expected from her, what demand Thysandra washopingfor her to make – four nights in the same bed with not even a chaste kiss between them, and finally the High Lady of the Crimson Court had found a way to justify what she wanted. No vines this time. No pretence of powerlessness. Instead …

Loyalty. A simple, dirty bribe.

Fucking your enemy, the safe way.

Which Naxi should probably point out, ethically speaking. Clear as hell the trust wasn’t there. Shewasn’tgoing to betray Thysandra, bribes or not, and accepting the bribe nonetheless would only undermine that simple fact – which could only cause plenty of problems along the way, she was perfectly aware of that.

Then again …

She hadn’t stopped dreaming of that warrior’s body unravelling around her fingers. And damn it all, what was the fun ofethics?

‘As you wish,’ she said, smiling wide – revelling in the astounding lack of fear that followed, person-to-person rather than monster-to-victim. ‘In that case, you could always just fuck me, of course.’

The relief echoing back at her almost made her laugh out loud.

But Thysandra merely hummed and sipped her drink – as if the flare of heat in her lower body wasn’t so perfectly obvious even through the haze of Naxi’s own. ‘Suppose I could. As a purely political course of action, of course.’

Oh, yes. This wasmuchmore fun than ethics.

‘Of course,’ Naxi said with an innocent flutter of her lashes. ‘Perfectly diplomatic. I never feel more loyal to you than when I have three fingers inside you, as a matter of fact.’

Thysandra half-choked on her drink.

‘In fact,’ Naxi added, setting her glass aside and scrambling to her knees to shed her coat, ‘I feel like this is theperfectmoment to fortifyinternational relations, don’t you agree? To, let’s say, lay the groundwork for fruitful future collaborations?’

Her reward was another of those intoxicating, half-reluctant stings of both shock and arousal. ‘What—Here?’

‘Yes?’ Damn it all. She needed to forget this mess of a day. She needed, most of all, to forget the slumbering questions it had so cruelly unveiled, of home and belonging and a future she did not want to face. ‘You didn’t think you could present me with a picnic and expect it to stay purely platonic, did you?’

Again there was that war waging in Thysandra’s expression – duty against want, good sense against the delightful madness slumbering beneath her skin. Half-heartedly, she stammered, ‘The Labyrinth might be unhappy about that particular sort of diplomacy, don’t you think?’

The air grew noticeably warmer around them, or at least Naxi was quite sure it wasn’t just her own blood rushing to the surface.

‘I think the Labyrinth might be quite excited about us,’ she cheerfully countered, a little apologetic giggle escaping her. ‘May or may not have spent several hours rhapsodising about your pretty pussy, so—’

No matter how dark Thysandra’s skin might be, it turned out shecouldblush – explosively and feverishly. ‘Naxi!’

‘What?’ She grinned, crawling closer. ‘I promised to entertain it. And it’s not like I had anyone else to talk to.’

There was a sputter about something-something dignity and something-something manners, which Naxi wholeheartedly ignored. Her fingers brushed along the length of Thysandra’s toned shin, pausing at the knee – soaking up the exhilarating hunger reverberating back at her, every nerve burning with the urgency of a dying plea.

Thysandra didn’t move. Her breath had gone shallow and strained, the swell of her bosom heaving temptingly against her red dress.

‘You know what?’ Naxi said, pulling back her hand and schooling her face into an expression of severity. ‘I’m suddenly overcome by an urge to betray you in the most dastardly ways. To all of your enemies at once. Unless you give me a very good reason to—’

Hands fisted in thefront of her dress.

Raw warrior’s strength yanked her forward.

Their kiss was rough, almostviolent, slamming the both of them against the glowing walls in a burst of sudden closeness. It was a pent-up kiss. A break-free kiss. A kiss that saidfinally, even if Thysandra’s ravenous lips would never speak the word out loud, and Naxi did the only thing she could think of through the roar in her ears – reached up, clawed her hands into the flight-mussed mass of gold-black curls, and drew herself even closer.

Hands dug into her hips in turn, flipping her onto the smooth stone floor.

Thysandra’s lips were greedy, hot and urgent, as if this one taste might be all she’d ever have. Her lust flared like a wildfire. Which was surely an invitation to do much, much worse … so Naxi untangled one hand from her silky locks and brushed down a slender neck, a rock-hard shoulder, the plump, magnificent swell of a breast – finding the hard bud of a nipple, finally, beneath that blood-stained dress.

She pinched, sharply.