Page 112 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)

“Goddess,” he murmured into her skin between kisses on the planes of her stomach.

His hands reached up, caressing her breast as his mouth nipped at her hips, causing her back to arch.

“Let me be your most fervent worshiper,” he said, dropping to his knees next to the bed.

With his hands on her hips, Az pulled her to the edge, draping her legs over his shoulders.

“All I wish is to please my goddess,” he said into the inside of her thigh with a kiss. “And to pray at her temple.”

The heat of his mouth washed over her, flicking his tongue slowly until Elyse shuddered with a whimpering moan.

A deep laugh came from Az as his tongue licked up her center, her body arching from the bed.

With his third teasing flick, Elyse grabbed the back of his head, his eager tongue sliding inside.

It was like nothing she had felt before, to be so barren in front of someone, to be pleasured so fervently.

A moan escaped her as she melted between her legs, her head growing light.

Her toes began to tingle as her stomach contracted, a deep thrumming coursing through her body.

It was like a moment of weightlessness, where she could hardly catch her breath.

Elyse’s mind grew hazy as he slipped in his fingers, feeling the curl inside her while his tongue circled the top of her center. The feeling turned sharp and her body tightened. As she lifted her hips, Az’s free hand reached out, pinning her to the bed, holding her writhing body.

Her breaths turned to pants as her body surged with pleasure, the sensation snapping through her in a way she hadn’t felt since that evening in the piano room. She came in shattering waves as Az grew hungrier, more impatient. His tongue and fingers frantically moved against her.

When she couldn’t take it a moment longer, she grabbed his hair, causing him to look up with a wet smirk. “Az, please,” she whimpered,

“That’s what I’ve been doing,” he said, flicking his tongue against her, causing her to shudder. “Pleasing you, my goddess.”

“Az,” she moaned, deepening his smirk.

“Tell me what you want, Elyse,” he said, his voice rough.

“You.”

“And how do you want me?”

“Az, please,” she begged.

He kissed between her center, his fingers teasing. “Say it, Elyse.”

Exasperated, she said, “I want you inside me, please. ”

Az’s fingers slipped in again, causing her to grip the sheets with a moan. “Like this, goddess?”

Elyse stared down at him with ragged breaths. “I want your cock inside me, Az.”

His smirk turned devilish, and he pulled himself on top of Elyse, kissing with the taste of herself still wet on his lips. “And where inside do you want my cock?” Az teased, a free hand undoing his pants.

Elyse hesitated, hating that he led her along, that he could predict what she wanted, so she decided to be unpredictable. “My mouth.”

Az pulled back in surprise. “Goddess,” he whispered, gaze heavy on her lips. “Only if you want to.”

When she nodded her head, Az’s breathing deepened as he clawed to remove his pants.

Elyse knelt before him, knees on the carpeted floor with his legs hanging over the edge. Propped up on his elbows, he looked down at her as she regarded his cock. Suddenly, she regretted her choice—what was she supposed to do with it?

“There’s no pressure, Elyse,” he said, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. “You can change your mind at any point, no questions asked.”

“But I want to,” she said, placing a hand on his knee, looking between his legs. “I just don’t know how to do it.” Elyse hated the heat that crept on her cheeks, the smirk that came to his face.

“Well, you just… put it in your mouth, whatever fits. The rest grip with your hands. Avoid your teeth, move your tongue, suck.”

With a hesitant hand, she grabbed him, his body shuddering. “Like this?” she said, lowering her mouth to his cock. It didn’t taste like much, which surprised her a bit. What she wasn’t expecting was the stiffness of it, nor its length.

Az moaned her name, grasping the sheets on the bed. When she looked up at him, Az furrowed his brows, his mouth parted. “I’ve imagined this a thousand times as well, and I didn’t think I’d be blessed with such a sight tonight.”

His head dropped back as she went deeper, gliding her tongue along him. Elyse watched how his body reacted, how his breathing changed as she pulled his cock out and flicked her tongue against it. He moaned her name, over and over, shifted his hips to meet her at the back of her mouth.

When tension seemed to coil in his body, he jerked away from her. “If you keep doing this, I won’t get a chance to put it anywhere else. Elyse, I am completely unworthy of you.”

She wiped her mouth and crawled on top of him, straddling his stomach. Elyse’s limbs shook with nerves, but she wanted it. Wanted him. “Don’t say that—you’re worthy. More than worthy.”

He shook his head, wrapping his arms around her as he shifted to be on top.

“Elyse, you are incredible—and not just because of this,” he said, gesturing to her naked body.

“You’re intelligent, talented with magic, and singing, and drawing.

I love that you’re always thinking, that you surprise me in so many ways.

Long before tonight, I gave myself to you, my whole heart.

It is yours to keep and each day I promise to earn yours.

” He tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

“You already have it, Az.” Staring into his gaze, she knew he’d had it since the night of the ball, since that first kiss.

Elyse couldn’t let herself believe it, that she would give it to a stranger, even when he chased after her.

With a clear head, missing the self-doubt and hate that used to pollute it, she stared at him as a new person.

Elyse didn’t love him, not yet, but he held her heart.

Az kissed her, his body becoming flush with hers. “It’ll hurt at first—so you know; but it’ll pass. If it’s too much, please say something.”

Elyse nodded, and he kissed her, cupping her face.

Az was gentle as he eased his cock inside her, a spark of pain causing her to hiss.

He stopped, letting her adjust, and continued when she nodded her head.

It took a few moments, but the pain subsided, heat filling her center as he thrust his hips.

Elyse gasped with a moan, arching off the bed as her nails dug into his back.

The way she felt full sent her head spinning.

“Elyse,” he moaned. “Goddess, you’re incredible.”

His body over top of her was strong, and she watched the way his shoulder muscles shifted with effort, watched the way the pleasure changed his expression. Even in the low light, his russet eyes seemed to glow near red the longer he moved.

The deep thrumming within her started again, aided by Az’s thrusting, with sharp breaths and nails at his back.

He smirked down at her as his pace changed, faster, rougher, and her back arched underneath him with a whimper.

The tension was near unbearable as he kissed her, tongue sweeping across her mouth.

He pulled back, his forehead resting on hers as he continued to move. “Do you trust me, goddess?” Looking from eye to eye, she nodded through the haze of her pleasure.

Az slowed, shifting his weight to one arm as a hand moved to her chin, tilting her head to the side.

He lowered his mouth to her neck, kissing from her jaw to her collarbone as his hips moved faster, panting.

Without warning, his nails grew sharp against her chin, his body tightening as he bit down on her neck.

The scream in her throat released in a quivering moan as the sudden sharp pain in her neck gave way to pleasure. Everything else faded away, her body only aware of where Az touched her. His mouth at her neck, his hips as he came close with every thrust, his cock deep inside her.

Something beyond chaos filled Elyse—thoughts emptied her mind, and there was only her and Az, his moan in her neck as he continued to move, his own breathing ragged.

Elyse’s orgasm crashed through her body in thundering waves.

Her vision faded to white, nails clawing into his back as she cried out for him.

With the utterance of his name, Az lost himself, his body holding her tight against him, his teeth still digging into her skin as he moved faster. He groaned as release found him, only removing his mouth when his body stopped shuddering.

His lips met where he bit with a kiss, her body going lax. Elyse melted into him as Az collapsed to the bed. She looked over at him, sweat slick on his brow and breathless. “Elyse,” he whispered, cupping her face, his slacked with awe. “You’re mine, and I am yours.”

Elyse stared into his russet eyes, knowing that it was true. “You’re mine, and I’m yours,” she repeated, causing him to close his eyes with a shudder.

“Don’t leave tonight. Stay with me.” He kissed her deeply.

“But Keyain is expecting me back—”

“Don’t go back to them, ever. Stay with me,” Az whispered. “We can leave for Chorys Dasi in the morning, you and I.”

“Az,” the name was awkward to say as her haziness lifted. “I can’t just leave.”

“What’s stopping you?”

What was stopping her?

Guilt that she could make Keyain angry? Disappointment from the King? Was leaving on a whim such a bad thing that they couldn’t forgive her? Perhaps the King couldn’t, but Keyain was like a brother—he’d always forgive her, right? “Nothing.”

“Then stay, Elyse. We can be married in a week, as soon as we’re in Chorys Dasi.” Az kissed her, the promise on his lips sweet as she held his face.

“I’ll stay,” Elyse whispered. “I’ll be your wife. Just one more week.”

Az smiled and it was the most beautiful thing, with his eyes aglow. “A dream that came true. A future that can be,” he murmured into her hair.

The decision was impulsive, but that’s what she wanted. Az was what she wanted. In her gut, Elyse knew he was her future, that she would see all Chorys Dasi had to offer.

Thoughts of walks along the beaches of The Mavros Sea, of holding his hand in the streets of Chorys Dasi, of doing magic in public filled her mind as she nestled into Az, sleep taking hold of her. Freedom was at her doorstep. Elyse just needed to cross the threshold.

That night proved she could.