Page 15 of Dance of Kings and Thieves

I caused his body to twitch in pleasure.

I caused his fingers to dig into my skin like I was the only thing keeping him steady.

I had the power to draw out the short gasps and long groans.

It was my most beloved power, and a bit of magic I planned to use often.

Kase burrowed his face into the crook of my neck. My coveted control lasted a matter of moments before he gripped my wrist, pulling me back from his pleasure.

He looked at me like a hunter, like I was his prey. I squealed in surprise when he scooped me up again and pinned my back to the wall of the washroom. The walls were sealed in clay, mud, and slats of wood. Cold, but sturdy.

Like I weighed nothing, Kase let my hips and backside settle on the surface of a low chest of drawers holding the soaps and linens. He tugged my hips toward him and reclined my shoulders as he aligned with my center.

“Kase . . .” My voice trailed off into nothing when we slid together.

Adrenaline pounded between us. From the battle, from what was to come, or from the sheer rawness of this moment, I didn’t know, but Kase’s face was fixed in tension. Only his eyes gave up the love, adoration, and passion he gave without end to me.

To me alone.

One hand on my hip, he rocked against my core. Friction and pressure built until I was lost in a stupor of sensation and burning need.

I clung to his shoulders. Kase palmed one breast, his mouth claimed my throat.

I locked my ankles around his waist, tugging him closer. Gods, no matter how close we were, I wanted more. I couldn’t fill my lungs and gasped through the rough thrusts as if I might never breathe right again.

His forehead rolled against mine, and he glanced at a polished silver mirror on the wall.

“Look, Malin,” he gritted out. “Look at us.”

My body shuddered in a heated wave when I caught sight of the reflection of our bodies locked together. Of the flex and pulse of his muscles as we rocked and bucked, claiming the other with every desperate touch. The flush of his heated body tangled in my arms and legs was a sight I’d not soon forget.

“I want you to watch me worship you,” he said in a hoarse voice. “I’ve always worshiped you. No crown, no ring, no bleeding kingdom will ever change that.”

Kase quickened his pace. Conscious thought faded from my mind. Sound choked in the back of my throat when I fell apart in his embrace. Waves of violent shivers lifted the hair on my arms and sent my heart fluttering in my skull. Bright light blurred my vision, and I could hardly keep my head upright.

Kase held me steady, deepening his movements until he froze and growled out his release against my neck. “Gods, I love you.”

For a long, breathless moment we stayed there, connected and unmoving. I didn’t mind.

In truth, the only safe place to me was in the arms of a killer, of a thief, of my husband.

CHAPTERFIVE

THE MEMORY THIEF

Kase was a busy sleeper.As a girl, I’d grown accustomed to his endless shifting and jolting in the hayloft. Again, as his lover, I found ways to sleep through it, but he hadn’t moved since we’d fallen into bed, sated and sore.

I rolled onto my shoulder, gently tracing the ridges of his beautiful face with my fingertips. The constant furrow between his eyes was relaxed and smooth. Under my touch the corner of his lips twitched into a hidden grin.

Careful not to wake him, I eased out of the furs on our bed, and slipped into a loose-fitting gown, adding a fox fur stole over my shoulders.

It must’ve been night again. Since the Falkyn Nest was underground, time of day was tedious to track. But in the frosts, when the corridors were frigid, each breath could be seen in a cloud of white in front of my mouth. It was easy enough to guess the sun had set.

I was envious that Kase's stomach didn’t rouse him from sleep, but mine was a fiend. I realized I had not eaten for over a day when my insides gnawed at my ribs and shook me from the warmth of my husband’s naked body.

The rooms were quiet as I strode past. The relief of silence meant, for now, the guilds could sleep and rest. Turmoil would come, but my chest loosened in relief knowing those I loved were safe for a time.

“Cursed hells.” The clang of a wooden bowl falling onto the tabletop in the kitchen rooms echoed through the darkness, followed by more cursing. “How the hells do they see?Gods.”