Page 41

He glances up then as he grabs the edges of the torn tunic and wrenches it down.

There’s a sharp sound of ripping fabric, leaving my torso exposed to the frigid air.

My nipples harden, pebbling from the breeze and the eagerness of his stare.

The second the cold breeze hits them, Evander’s mouth tips up, a grin gleaming on his face.

When that dimple pulls into his left cheek, my chest tightens.

He’s gorgeous. Made all the more beautiful because he’s seen me . He’s seen me and he is still here.

With one arm propping him above me, he moves to cup one of my breasts that feel full and heavy under his watchful gaze, almost painfully waiting for his touch.

And when his finger drags across the center of it, my body pulls back into the mattress at the jolt that runs through me.

His grin widens, watching me as he flicks his thumb over the sensitive area again before dragging it in lazy circles, teasing.

The need for him pulses between my legs and I ache for more.

He tips his head down and I suddenly feel the warm wet of his tongue slide over my breast, following the same circles as his thumb.

Pressure increases in my body, and I grasp at the crimson sheets below, twisting my fingers into the soft material as my body writhes under him.

Evander grazes his teeth along my skin and fastens his mouth over my nipple, flicking his tongue.

I gasp, relishing the deep tingling sensation that comes along with the motion.

Releasing me, Evander slides his body up mine.

He’s heavy on top of me and the hardness of his cock presses against me.

His trousers are low—low enough that I could easily slip my hands in, already knowing his body is just as ready for me as mine is for him.

He stares into my eyes, and I can see the tiny flecks of gold sparkling along the deep brown backdrop.

Reaching up, I smooth away a strand of chestnut hair from his beautiful face, needing to see more of those otherworldly eyes.

Ev smiles again and brushes his lips against mine, a whisper of a touch.

Velvety smooth. I push back, eager for more.

I circle my arms around his neck and pull him into me, thrusting my tongue back toward him, devouring him.

Evander lets out a low laugh into me and I still, pulling my head back to assess him.

“There’s no need to rush, Bria,” he drawls, his gaze sweeping over me.

“I’ve wanted this for so long, I’m taking my time.

I’m not going anywhere.” The words send a wave of heat rushing into my cheeks and he bends to kiss my forehead.

A tender kiss that pains me as reality comes crashing back into me, knocking the breath from my chest and replacing it with real, raw fear.

He notices the shift in my features. I pull an arm from his neck to stroke his cheek and my eyes sting, tears fighting their way to the surface.

“But I am.” The words stick, clogging in my throat as I try to swallow over the thickness building there. “You know that.”

He flinches. “The prophecy.”

I nod. “It’s the only way we win this. The moon shall die, and the sun shall give birth to a new day ,” I quote the line that tells of my demise, the words that have echoed through my mind for years, have forced me to bear the weight of my fate.

Because I am the moon, the descendant of Lilith, the darkness.

“I have to die. For all of you to live.” My voice cracks and a tear escapes, running down the side of my face.

He reaches up and gently wipes away the tear before kissing the area where it had been. He brushes his lips back to my ear, letting them coast along my skin, the softness of his breath tickling when he speaks.

“But not now,” he breathes.

My brows furrow with confusion as he lifts his head back to look at me. There’s the beginning of a grin again, a devilish look that tells me all I need to know about his intentions.

“For now, we live,” he says, his eyes searching me for understanding. “Do you want to live, Bria?”

I want to live. I need to live. To be with him, even if only for a few hours, a few days. And he feels the same, I realize. No matter the agony it causes in the future, we will live. For now.

“Yes. Yes, I want to live.” I have not spoken truer words in my life than in this moment.

He gently sweeps his tongue across my lips once again and I know I want this. To live. With him. So I push back, deepening into him.Our tongues slick against one another as he angles his mouth over mine, kissing me as if it’s the last time. And it genuinely could be.

The hem of my torn tunic is pulled away and his fingers trail along my exposed stomach, tracing the edge of my leggings.

The pulsing between my legs picks up speed, needing him to move his hands, to touch more than the flat expanse of skin.

Just as I notice it, he dips that hand below my waistband.

He creeps lower, a gentle caress against my hip bone, fingers dragging across my thigh, then moving between them.

Rough fingertips press to the very center of me, and I suck in a sharp breath.

He moves in slow circles at first, his touch makes me writhe and I close my eyes, taking in the feeling. The intensity.

He quickens his fingers, and that pressure starts building again.

I let out a low moan into his mouth and reach out to grab his shoulders, letting my fingers grip his tight muscles.

But before I know it, his hand is gone, and he pulls out of the kiss.

The ache inside me seems to cry out. But it isn’t the ache, it’s me.

A small cry escaped my lips when he stole his hand away, shocked at the sudden coolness I was left with.

I open my eyes to see the smirk on his face as he slowly grabs the fabric on either side of my knees and begins to slide down the leggings.

His fingers scrape along my skin, sending pulses of pleasure through me.

He’s staring at me as he pulls the pants to my ankles then tugs off each boot before sliding them fully off my legs. Slowly. Torturously. Teasingly.

Evander kisses the inside of my ankle then works his way up, laying gentle kisses along my skin, causing my body to become more wet, more ready with anticipation.

When he reaches my inner thigh, his tongue traces a line along the sensitive skin, sending a shudder down my spine.

And then he pulls that tongue right across to my center, where his fingers had been only moments before.

It feels glorious and unlike anything I’ve felt before. Not something Cedric had ever done.

Dear gods, how could I ever be angry about his time in the capital if he learned how to do this there?I grasp the sheets, tangling them around my fingers, holding on to anything to keep me grounded as he moves.

He hums, a distinct sound of pleasure forcing its way past his lips when he makes contact. That small sound vibrates through me, eliciting another moan from my needy body.

“You taste even better than I imagined.” My body reacts to his words almost as much as his touch. There is no hiding how my body is responding, he can taste the arousal building. And when his fingers drift back to me, moving one inside and then two, I see his eyes flare.

“Fuck, you’re so wet. Just for me?” he asks, a grin creeping into his face as he curls those fingers inside me, causing a whimper to escape my lips.

The ache deepens between my thighs as he moves his tongue, alternating between swirling and flicking and sucking.

All the while, those fingers proceed deftly—curling and pushing, causing the burning to build, becoming unbearable and delicious at the same time.

I dig my hands into his hair, groaning as I move my hips into him, unabashedly grinding myself on his face.

“Ev,” I breathe, ready to beg him to let me come, to give me the release I’m chasing.

He pauses, but only briefly to speak. “Just for me?” he repeats, “Say it Bria,” he commands before sending his tongue straight up the center of me.

“Just for you.”

Taking that as the confirmation it is, I feel his mouth latch onto me, increasing the pressure and the pace while he drives his fingers into me again and again.

I cry out as waves of pleasure crash over me,arching my back and tensing my legs with the contractions deep in my core as his fingers fuck me into oblivion.