Page 53 of A Crown of Tears and Treason (The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #1)

Chapter

Fifty-Three

EVIE

M y mouth went bone-dry. My body understood before my mind wrapped around the question and it adored Zandyr’s idea.

“What–what do you mean?” Exactly ? Because it sounded very much like–

“I want to see you touch yourself,” Zandyr said.

Gods. I didn’t know I could redden even more. My skin suddenly felt too constricting. I wanted to squirm out of it, especially when Zandyr was looking at me with molten desire. His pupils had completely devoured the blue in his eyes as he watched me.

His fingers still traced circles on my skin. Patient. Waiting.

“Yes,” I said before I lost my courage.

A deep, primal part of me purred as soon as the word slipped from my lips.

The grin that grew on Zandyr’s face should have been illegal. Damn, how could he look so good? So confident and in control and focused only on me.

“Yes what, Evie?” Zandyr whispered in my ear, sucking on my earlobe.

My toes curled. “I…”

“Say it.”

“Yes, I want–I want you to see me to-touch myself.”

This man was going to kill me, one word at a time, and I was loving every second of it. Stutter or not, saying what I wanted made me feel…powerful.

He hummed low in his throat and we melted in more heated kisses. Next thing I knew, we were on the bed, tangled together until I didn’t know where I ended and he began.

His hips flexed against mine. I gasped when I felt him against my heated flesh, big and straining against the pants of his leather armor.

“On one condition,” I said, my own grin twisting my lips. He was doing this. Corrupting me with his uninhibited ways.

“Name it,” he said hoarsely, as if he was ready to carve his heart out right now if I asked. “Anything, it’s yours.”

I swallowed my doubts and apprehension. “It’s unfair I’m the only one who’s undressed.”

I wanted my eyes to feast on him, too.

“Completely and gloriously naked.” He kissed the tip of my nose, a playful little moment in a sea of primal lust. “But if my queen demands I accompany her debauched state of nudity, how can a mere mortal like me say no?”

He stood up in all his glory, tall and looming. His eyes glimmered as they trailed over me, lounging on the bed, twisting the sheets in my fists.

“You look amazing.” His hands went to the buttons of his pants. “But…”

“But?” My breath hitched as he unbuttoned the last button.

“I can’t wait to have you in my bed.”

Desire jolted through me as that same instinctual side of me hummed in agreeance. Yes. His .

He tore the pants away and my breath hitched. Every inch of him–and even to my untrained eye, there seemed to be a lot of inches to him–was perfect. Toned and honed and hard . The perfect blend of power and royal elegance. And he was all mine to explore.

“To your liking, Your Highness?” he asked, just as confident in the nude as he was when dressed and armed to his teeth. The moon shined over his muscles, as if the light itself couldn’t help itself but caress him.

“Yes,” I said. Fine, squeaked.

“Good. I’d hate to disappoint.” He nodded at me. “Your turn.”

The courage that had been slowly bubbling inside me vanished as he kneeled on the bed and crawled over me. He must have sensed my hesitation, because the next kiss was languorous and slow.

He slid to the side, his body molded to my right, as he kissed my neck, waiting for me to start exploring my body on my own, him a silent guardian. The length of him touched the top of my thigh, tightening that little coil of desire inside of me.

I licked my lips and twisted my fingers, waiting for some miracle to guide me. None came, but I wanted to again feel the heights of passion I’d soared to with him.

“I don’t know where to start,” I finally admitted. I wanted to touch myself, I just…lacked the skills. “But I’ve been a very good and attentive student so far, no point in changing that now.”

Zandyr hummed low in his throat, nipping at my neck.

“Imagine I’m coming home from a battle we have won,” he began, mesmerizing me. “And you feel how much I miss you and want to be with you, even from so far away. And you want the same. But I’m not there. Maybe you’re on the throne, ruling over our Clan, and the lust is too much. You’re rubbing your thighs together to keep the pressure from building. But it only grows and grows and grows .”

I gulped, my mind already conjuring up the image of me squirming on the golden throne, crown on my head. Struggling not to move too much to not rattle the strands of pearls and let everyone know I was dying for Zandyr to come back and come inside me. I might have lacked real world experience of love making, but my parents had made sure to describe the basic technicalities, none of them focused on deriving any enjoyment from the act.

With Zandyr, it was all about pleasure, searing away the logic from my brain.

“You rush back into our room,” he went on. “You can’t wait any longer.”

In my mind, I saw my pacing frame in the room, glancing at the clock and then at his bed. Knowing he was safe and victorious, but so far away.

My hands unfisted from the sheets, slowly rising to my shoulders.

“So you start to picture us together.” He flicked his tongue against my earlobe, one hand cradling the back of my head. “Show me where you’d want me to touch you. Lick you. Kiss you. Show me what you want, what you think would feel good for you.”

Aware of every breath, sigh, and the way my fingers twitched, I let my hands slide down my chest.

“That’s it,” he whispered, breath hot against my shoulder. “Good girl. Gods, you’re magnificent.”

His fingers flexed against my scalp, digging into my hair. But other than that, his hands didn’t touch me, letting mine do all the work. I felt his restraint in every shudder he tried so hard to leash. He couldn’t hide, not from me. The turmoil inside him, the restraint, I felt them all.

My palms circled my breasts, hesitant and so aware his eyes were on me. Then I twisted my fingers around my nipples and the shreds of my hesitance vanished.

“You like that?” he growled.

“Yes.” I arched my back. The way he practically vibrated next to me made me braver. Reckless. “Kiss me.”

He did. His tongue slipped into my mouth, demanding, and I met him stroke for stroke. I didn’t know how it was possible, but he hardened even more against me, almost twitching with need. But he held back. For me. So that I could savor this fully.

He broke the kiss with a haggard breath, eyes darting to my hands, which now slid to my belly. Going further down and not stopping.

“Glorious,” he said, sounding as lost as I felt. “Absolutely glorious.”

His words only spurred me on. I bit my lower lip as my left hand delved between my thighs. His groan reverberated through me. “That’s it. Show me everything .”

“I liked it when you touched me here. And kissed me,” I moaned. “Zandyr.”

“Yes,” he hissed, a primal, territorial sound that rattled me. My fingers moved faster, circling that same bud of nerves he’d flicked so expertly with his tongue. “That’s what you imagine me doing? Licking you like that?”

I nodded, jaw clenched. The pressure was building again.

“I can’t wait to be inside you,” he whispered hotly against me. Whatever leash he had on his own emotions was very close to snapping, I could feel it. “Feel you moving against me, moaning my name.”

My right hand tangled around his neck and pulled him closer to me. “Gods, yes.”

I held on tightly to him as my entire body arched against the bed. It was too much. His harsh breaths against my cheek, his eyes watching my every move, the pure lust that radiated off him.

With a cry, that coil of tension snapped inside of me, breaking my mind until I was a creature solely driven by sensations. My fingers twisted frantically, Zandyr’s name a chant on my lips.

“ Mine ,” he growled, arms coiling around me. “All mine. Only mine.”

Yes, yes, yes . Just as he was only mine.

Even before I’d come back down to earth, he crawled down my body, peppering kisses on every inch of skin he found.

Then Zandyr, the prince of the Blood Brotherhood Clan, the one they called the Dragon, who instilled fear in the heart of the continent, kneeled in front of the bed.

He tugged on my ankles, pulling me down. One hand pinned my hips to the bed as the other hooked my knee over his shoulder.

“My mouth is watering.” He licked my thigh, inhaling deeply. His eyelids fluttered. “Gods, you smell amazing.”

“What–” I licked my lips, half of my wits returning. “What about you?”

I could feel his pain of holding back. It was killing him to stave off his own release.

“Tonight is all about you and your desire.” His mouth drew closer to the apex of my thighs. Even after two orgasms, my body was ready for his attention once more. “My turn will come. And I’ll want you in the same position as me, kneeling. You’ll be a good little student then, too, no?”

I thought it wouldn’t be possible to blush even more, but blush I did. “Yes,” I muttered, already picturing him growling above me.

“Before we get lost again, one more thing,” he said, sounding so serious and solemn all of a sudden.

I leaned on my elbows to see him better. This sounded important.

“I’ve never bowed for anyone and anything in my entire life and I never will. Except for you,” he said. “And it’s my honor.”

Then he plunged his tongue inside me once more, and I was lost. Again and again and again.

I woke with a start when the stars still ruled the night sky. Zandyr’s powerful arm was draped over me, his chest to my back, our legs twisted together. Our new favorite position, apparently.

I blinked the sleep away from my eyes, my body feeling utterly, deliciously spent and satisfied. Gods, the things this man could do with his tongue and fingers…

It felt so good, so right, to lay here, Zandyr’s soft breaths tickling along my jawline.

But the thought that had woken me wouldn’t let me rest.

I had to get up. Now.

We were leaving tomorrow morning and I already knew Goose would come knocking at the crack of dawn, to be sure we checked and rechecked everything. Adara would probably be right behind him. She’d been pouring over maps for the last few days, muttering under her breath about “strategic points” and farmers who could be “assassins in disguise”.

Getting up was easier said than done when a steel arm coiled around me. I relaxed my body into Zandyr’s for one more moment, images of our night bursting to the front of my mind.

The sounds.

The groans.

The unbelievable, exhilarating feeling that had ravaged through my body.

Exquisite. I almost giggled at the idea of tomorrow night. Another evening spent with Zandyr. Maybe next time I’d be the one kneeling, with him guiding me through it.

I twisted my body to the edge of the bed. I didn’t get far.

Zandyr’s arm tightened. Still caught between reality and dreams, he growled.

“I’m safe and I’ll be right back,” I whispered, but he kept his hold. I bent and kissed his forehead. “I promise.”

In his half-conscious state, he smiled. His arm loosened, but didn’t drop away from me until I slid out of the bed.

I looked back at him over my shoulder. Gloriously naked, his skin glowed in the moonlight. He shifted his position, muscles tense as if ready for an attack. Always on guard, this one. No wonder, when he’d spent his life defending his Clan, shouldering all the duties which should have fallen to the king and queen.

I picked up the pen and paper from where they’d fallen on the floor, casualties of our desire. They had been taunting me these past few days, since Zandyr had given me his letter and I only gave him a promise of one in return.

Silently, I climbed out the window overlooking my wild garden; it was officially Zandyr’s in my mind. It led to nothing but a steep drop down overgrowing with stubborn plants and trees, but above it, a sturdy beam kept the roof up.

In my silken slip, I pulled myself up and climbed on top of the roof, bare feet skittering over the terracotta tiles without a sound. I wiggled between the two dormers jutting out, completely invisible for anyone who bothered to look.

I took a deep, steadying breath as the emotions whirling inside threatened to spill. And spill they did, right onto the paper. The pen scratched furiously, with only the moon and the night breeze as my witnesses.

Ironic that I’d hesitated to start writing and now couldn’t stop. Every line I filled, every sigh that ruffled the paper, they all spoke of the same thing.

I felt safe next to Zandyr.

Protected.

Seen.

Cherished.

He saw the potential in me, the things I could accomplish given the chance.

He laughed at my weird jokes.

He mesmerized me with his very essence and made my body and mind sing.

My greatest enemy had become my closest ally.

Even as I wrote furiously, knowing nobody but myself would ever read this letter, I swear I could feel eyes staring at the words from over my shoulder. Judging. They curiously felt like my parents’, trying to warn me from beyond the grave.

I ignored the shadows. I shouldn’t have.