Page 52 of A Crown of Tears and Treason (The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #1)

Chapter

Fifty-Two

EVIE

T his kiss quickly turned heated, all thoughts of laughter and jokes melting away in a pool of pure desire. How, in all of Malhaven, had I lived twenty-one years of my little life without experiencing this ?

This flurry of craving and pulling and tugging, like we wanted to devour each other alive. His breaths were mine and my heart beats were his, the connection between us tugging taut and tense.

He twisted his fingers in my hair, wringing out what remained of the water and the worries of the day. How could I think of anything else when his teeth gently grazed my bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth?

His lips trailed lower, kissing down the column of my neck with clipped groans at the back of his throat. Not to be outdone, my hands unfastened his armor like it had personally offended me. Perhaps it had–after all, it hid that glorious body Zandyr had honed through years of training and fighting for his people without a moment’s rest.

He found that little spot right at the junction of my neck with my shoulder that made my knees weak. My nails scraped against the dragon’s teeth on his neck, holding on for dear life.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he whispered against my damp skin, his large hand cradling the back of my head. “Couldn’t think clearly. Couldn’t drink. Couldn’t eat.”

Eat? That little hungry child in me would never vanish completely and was rattled. I leaned back, licking my lips. “I’m sure Goose has some of those squishy fruit cakes stashed in the kitchen.”

A slow smile twisted his lips. “I have something even sweeter in mind.”

He stole the question on my lips with another kiss, arms coiling around me. He lifted me in one fluid motion, as if I was a mere feather to his power. I groaned as his tongue twisted around mine, hot and demanding.

But instead of walking toward the bed, he headed to the window, the draft cooling against my back.

“If you’re into being watched, I hate to inform you that everyone in my house is already asleep,” I said. “And there are no more guards.”

“Your ravished state is for my eyes only,” he growled. “I love seeing you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Wild.” He set me down on the table in front of the window, making sure to explore my mouth fully. I finally ripped off the top half of his armor and threw it somewhere. If it could survive swords and blows, then it could lay on the floor for a bit. My shift vanished in one tug.

I was totally and completely bare and Zandyr’s hungry eyes drank in every line of me. My fingers ached to trace each and every one of his sinewy muscles, tensing right in front of me. He truly was gorgeous, in every single line, from his sharp jaw, to the well-defined peaks and valleys of his chest and abdomen. Like the gods had sculpted the perfect specimen of a man and had blessed me to have the chance to admire him.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, caressing my cheek with a gentleness that was so at odds with the ruthless crown heir everyone thought him to be. “You’re so godsdamned beautiful.”

I might not have been the shiest when it came to nakedness, but my return to Clan life had rattled whatever shreds of confidence I had in my beauty. My mousy hair, the slight frame of me, the jutting collarbone. All those little comments had cut through me.

But hearing Zandyr utter those words and feel how my bareness affected him, lust radiating off him, began to heal those small wounds.

“I am going to take my time with you,” he purred. “You deserve to be savored. Every last drop of you.”

In a flash, he sat in the chair before me, while I stayed perched on the table right in front of him. With our height difference, I was finally the tiniest bit taller than him. His tongue darted out, tracing my clavicle.

“Your soft skin.” A groan laced his mutter. “The little shivers coursing through your body right now.”

Oh, they didn’t course. It was a full on flood of sensations, all racing straight between my legs, as the pressure built and built.

Once his lips wrapped around my nipple, a shameless moan broke free from my throat.

“That’s it,” he muttered. “Feel everything.”

Everything was overwhelming . All these new emotions that only he stoked in me. The burning. The craving. The intimacy.

It was too much and not enough at the same time.

His palms slid down my body reverently as his lips and tongue did wonderful, wicked things to my breasts that had me throwing my head back. Gods, the window was open, I’d never felt more exposed.

I swallowed another loud moan as his fingers dug into the tops of my thighs.

“No,” he grunted. “Don’t hold back. Nobody’s around. Nobody will hear but me and you. And once we rid our Clan of the traitors, I won’t care if the entire Capital hears that you are mine.”

Gods, I didn’t know what I loved more, his words or his touch. Both. I loved everything he did.

“I need you to promise me something.” His slow smile was positively sinful. “Keep your eyes on me, menace.”

I nodded. Words would have betrayed me right now and come out like depraved things, like saying how I wanted him inside me.

His tongue darted out to wet his lower lip. Then he lowered his head right between my thighs.

There was no caging my moan again. He licked my heated flesh right from my entrance up to that little bud of nerves that made my legs widen. He swirled his tongue around it in maddening circles.

“You taste amazing.” He sucked on my flesh, groaning. “Delicious. Sweet. You.”

I leaned back, spine arching against the table, fingers digging into the wood. Small miracle if there wouldn’t be scratch marks on it tomorrow. The table shook, the papers and pen Goose had prepared for me falling to the floor. I couldn’t care, not when Zandyr was groaning against me, my body vibrating in tune with his.

“None of that.” He nipped gently on my thigh and my eyes popped open. I hadn’t even been aware I’d closed them. “A promise is a promise. Eyes on me as I devour you.”

I watched him lean back down, face disappearing between my legs once more. The muscles of his back tensed in tune with his movements, the mighty dragon tattoo dancing across his shoulders.

And the sounds he was making, gods. The growls and groans raced through me, making my blood sing.

I thrashed on the table, ignoring the scrapes on the floor.

“Just like that,” he moaned, as his tongue flicked against me. “Let yourself go, I’ll catch you.”

Go where? I’d never felt this, this, this…burning. A pressure built up inside of me, and it would either shatter me or I’d implode, there was no other possibility.

When his tongue dipped inside me, there was no stopping my legs from pressing against his head.

“Yes,” he hissed. “Come undone, Evie. Come for me. I want to drive you wild with desire.”

He was. He was bringing me closer and closer to a point I didn’t recognize, but my entire body tensed for.

Then he inserted a finger inside, lips sucking on me, and I was lost. The coil of tension that had been building inside me burst. My entire body trembled out of control as a sweet, freeing sensation raced from the tips of my toes right up into my brain. I felt weightless and unleashed. Pure pleasure shocked my brain, all my senses igniting.

My lips were moving and sounds were coming out, but I couldn’t recognize them. Except one. His name.

“Zandyr,” I moaned as my body flattened against the table, absolutely and deliciously spent.

“I love my name on your lips.” His darkened eyes were focused on me, as if he wanted to delve right into my soul. He straightened in his chair, a pure satisfied smile playing on his lips, as he licked them with a groan. “And I love your taste on mine.”

In a flash, I sat up and captured his lips with mine. We both moaned as our tongues danced together.

“A feast fit for a king,” he muttered as he leaned his massive frame over me. “Did you enjoy that?”

“That was…” There were no words to describe what had happened. But I settled on one. “Amazing. If I had known that’s how it felt–”

“Wait.” He stilled, eyes widening as his mouth hung slightly open. I’d never truly seen Zandyr surprised until now. A small part of me was delighted that I’d caught him off guard. “You’ve never had an orgasm before?”

“I–” I gulped. “I lived in a cabin with my parents. The only touching under the covers I did was counting my ribs and rubbing my tired muscles.”

And that was all I’d needed to say, apparently, because he closed his mouth with a snap and nodded.

A lull settled between us, but it wasn’t the least bit tense. It was, gods help me, comforting. The way his palms softly kneaded my thighs in soothing, nonsensical patterns. How his eyes softened on me. I felt safe. I knew there was a big difference between us when it came to experience, but he was patient, and the wave of desire rushing from him never wavered for a moment.

“I understand,” he said. “I’m also going to ask you something. And you can always say no.”

“Go on.” After he’d made my body sing, I would agree to just about anything else he suggested.

“Do you want to practice? With me?”