Page 50

“Cheaters never prosper.” He was laughing as he said it, the words nearly lost beneath her squeal of surprise when he lifted her off her feet.

His fingers immediately went for her ribs, and she let out a shriek, twisting and writhing, using the glass for leverage and just managing to wriggle out of his grasp.

She retreated further in. Skye matched her step for step, until her back hit the shower wall.

It was easy to forget sometimes just how much larger he was. But not when he was this close. Standing with his body just brushing hers, arms braced on either side of her, caging her in. She had to crane her neck to find those green eyes staring down at her.

They were both panting, grinning, though his had an edge to it. For the first time in her life, Taly knew without doubt that he hadn’t meant for her to win.

That felt good. That felt really good.

“You cheated.” He said it like he was stating a fact.

Taly fought her smile. The issue wasn’t that Skye was a sore loser. He was just unfamiliar with the concept.

“Even if that were true,” she said, placing both hands on his chest and giving a firm push. He humored her by stepping back. “That doesn’t change the fact that I got here first, and that this is now my shower.” She reached behind her. “And I take trespassing very seriously.”

Then she turned the faucet, watching as ice-cold water rained down on his head.

Skye’s lips thinned as he closed his eyes. His dark hair quickly became plastered, water streaming down his face and soaking his collar. Any part of his clothing that wasn’t already damp from the rain became drenched.

“You did say that you wanted to shower first.” Taly pressed against the wall just out of the way of the spray.

He glared at her. Or tried to. It was a valiant effort with water dripping off his nose and chin.

She tried to hold it in—she really did—but a snort slipped out. Then another. Then she was gone, and Skye followed. In seconds, they were both doubled over, laughing harder than they had in years—gasping, clinging to each other like they might collapse from it. Like they were still kids.

It felt normal. In a way she’d been afraid she’d never get back with everything that had happened between them.

“You’re soaked,” Taly gasped between giggles, brushing water off the shoulder of his overcoat.

“And now you are too.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her towards the spray—holding her there while she laughed and slapped his shoulders because shit that water was cold.

“Truce?” Skye asked when her hair was dripping, her curls a tangled mess against her back. He was shivering, so was she, and—

“Fine.” She danced back as soon as he put her down, turning the faucet to warm.

He kicked off his boots, and she quickly followed, her shoes already waterlogged, her thick winter socks completely soaked through.

Coats came next, collecting in a pile on the floor.

Taly turned, lifting her hair so Skye could tug at her laces. She took a deep breath when the velvet bodice finally came off, the first she’d been able to take freely all evening.

His hands went to her hair next, helping to pluck out the pins. She sighed softly as his fingers kneaded her aching scalp.

“This is still my shower,” she said, removing the glamoured bracelet. Water magic evaporated from her skin, mixing with the steam already collecting in the air. Tilting her head towards the spray, she scrubbed what felt like residue from her face.

Skye tore his shirt over his head. “Kick me out then.”

“I’m going to. As soon as the truce is over,” she threw out, openly admiring the sight of that lean, powerful body. He ripped off his belt. The muscles of his abdomen flexed with the motion. “You’re going to have to earn more time if you want to stay.”

His gaze darkened, heat flickering behind it. “And how would I do that?”

Taly was suddenly glad for the wall, leaning heavily against it as Skye took his turn beneath the shower head. Her eyes tracked the rivulets of water flowing down his chest, breaking against the edges of his ribs before converging at the sharp taper of his hips.

“Taly?”

Her eyes flicked up. From somewhere far away, she saw her lips tilt into a sly smile as she angled her head, sultry and smooth and entirely by accident. “Use your imagination.”

She turned toward the spray. Hot water hit her face. Then Skye’s hands landed on her shoulders. In the next breath, he had her spun around and pressed back against the wall.

The fabric of her shirt was soaked through, nearly sheer, as it clung to her breasts. He pushed her hair off her shoulders before attacking the buttons.

A bit of that shyness bubbled up. “What are you doing?” she whispered, heart beating too fast. She was sure he could hear it, probably felt it where his fingers brushed her skin.

“Using my imagination.” There went the first button. “You said I needed to earn more time.” There went the second, then the third. “I can also work buckles and zippers.”

She swallowed hard. “It’s a start, I suppose.”

The smile he gave her promised such dark, wicked things.

The last button slipped free. Steam wafted against her rain-soaked skin as he gently nudged the edges of her shirt open, revealing the swells of her breasts. But he went no farther.

His hands dropped.

A question, she realized. A chance to turn back. If she told him to leave, he would.

She hesitated—just for a moment, just long enough to gather her courage. Then she peeled off the sodden garment and let it drop to the floor.

An answer.

“Don’t think this is an invitation to stay,” she whispered as Skye’s fingertips grazed down her neck. His face was so open, so raw, it left her breathless. “This is still my shower. I’ll be checking your timecard.”

“You’re really committed to this bit.”

“I’m nervous.” His thumb grazed her nipple. Her breath hitched. “Just let me have it.”

Dipping his head, he touched his brow to hers. “Fine. The shower is yours.” She shivered as those fingers continued to circle her breast. “Though I’ll need to find my timecard. I think I left it in my coat—”

He moved to pull away, but Taly gripped him by the shoulders and hauled his mouth back to hers.

The first time he kissed her—the first time she’d ever been kissed—he’d been so gentle. It was the kind of kiss she’d always read about, the kind of kiss that still brought a dreamy smile to her face.

This wasn’t that. This was teeth and breath and desperation. Her nails carved down his back, and he groaned, low and wrecked, into her mouth.

Each kiss blurred into the next, more frantic, more frenzied. It was everything at once—years of tension and restraint crashing together, longing unfurling like a whipcrack. They were two forces colliding, with no hope of slowing down or pulling away.

Except then he did. He broke free of the gravitational pull binding them together. Taly’s growl was immediate. Any hard feelings, however, were immediately forgotten when his lips found her neck.

“Tell me that you love me,” he demanded, nipping and licking a slow, teasing path down.

“I love you,” Taly sighed as warm water cascaded down her body, competing with the heat of his mouth.

“Say that you’re mine.”

“I’m—” But the words got caught when he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth. His teeth scraped against her, biting down gently. Her entire body arced off the wall as she moaned, “I’m yours.”

Skye moved to her other breast, teasing her with tongue and teeth. Nimble fingers made quick work of the buttons on her trousers.

Then he was on his knees.

His mouth moved lower, pressing searing, open-mouthed kisses along her stomach. His fingers skimmed down the backs of her thighs, and only then did she realize her pants were gone, tossed onto their pile of discarded clothing—along with her undergarments.

He hooked a hand beneath her knee, lifting and shifting her leg aside with clear purpose.

Taly was shaking—from fear, nervousness, but also heady anticipation.

Their eyes met through the valley of her breasts. He didn’t ease her into it.

Spreading her with two fingers, his tongue dragged clean up her center.

Taly jerked, more surprised than anything.

On the second pass, he ended with a flick to her nub that sent sparks of electricity sizzling through her.

“Like that?” he murmured.

“I, uh…” It was a whimper that turned into a groan as he licked her again, flattening his tongue over that little aching nub. “Oh my Shards, why do you have a magic tongue?”

He pulled back just enough to breathe against her, the heat of his mouth replaced by cool air and a smirk she could feel more than see. “Yeah. Like that, I think.” One finger pressed into her, already hot and slick. Her hips jerked instinctively. “So, exactly how much time have I earned?”

When she didn’t answer—couldn’t gather enough conscious thought to form words—he licked her again.

Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head as her head hit the shower wall with an echoing thud.

“Does that mean I can stay?” One finger became two, and Taly whimpered at the fullness. “Because it feels like maybe you wouldn’t mind if I stayed.”

It made no sense how good Skye’s fingers felt between her legs, why they felt so much better than her own.

“Answer me, Taly, or I’ll stop.”

“Yes,” she managed between gasps, and oh Shards, there it was again. That spark of aether inside her that made her forget how to breathe, let alone think.

“Yes, what?” His fingers stopped moving.

He was trying to kill her. She was convinced of it. Her skin felt too tight, her heart was beating too fast. She tried to move on him, but his other hand flattened against her stomach, holding her in place. “Yes, you can stay.”

That was all it took. His mouth was on her in the next breath. He set to work between her legs with the same ravenous hunger she’d seen him decimate whole kitchens with, licking and suckling like she was the first real thing he’d tasted in weeks.