Page 46 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

His lips crush against mine with the force of waves breaking against a rocky cliff, and my heels hit the ground from the impact.

He dips his head lower to cling to my lips, and I tangle my arms around his neck and push back onto my toes.

The kiss isn’t elegant. Our teeth clack against each other’s, and our tongues slip in and out of our mouths. Zero finesse, all desperation.

But all I can think is ... at last .

With a muttered curse, Ethan picks me up, his fingers digging into the backs of my thighs, and I wrap my legs around his waist, pressing my torso against his. I moan when the sensitive tips of my breasts crush against his chest, and I rock my wet core against him, the ache already unbearable.

“Gods, Sunny.” Ethan pulls my legs tighter around him to give me the friction I seek, and I hump his six-pack like a rodeo queen.

“More.” I bite his bottom lip with my elongated incisors, making him hiss against my mouth.

He hitches me up higher and moves us without once taking his lips off mine. My back hits a tree with enough force to knock a grunt out of me, and Ethan rears his head back with wide eyes, an apology tripping off his tongue.

“Shut up.” I fist my hand in his hair and tug his head back down. He groans into my mouth, his apology forgotten.

I protest when he loosens my legs from his waist. But all is forgiven when he shifts our bodies by a couple of inches and pivots his hips, pushing his hard length against the juncture of my thighs.

My head tips back, and Ethan drags his mouth down the side of my neck, grinding against me, harder and faster.

I squirm and jerk against him, needing to get closer.

“I need ...” I whimper, clinging to his shoulders.

The delicious friction stops, and I squawk in outrage. But Ethan chuckles darkly and dips his hand into the waist of my loose dobok pants. I hold my breath in anticipation, then cry out when he runs his thumb down my seam.

“Gods, you’re so fucking wet.” He buries his face where my neck and shoulder meet. I suck his earlobe into my mouth and bite down hard. He jerks against me and groans deep in his chest. “Impatient, aren’t you?”

My retort dies in my throat when Ethan slides a finger deep inside me, and my eyes roll back as he works it in and out of my hot core. I clench around his finger and swivel my hips, but with my legs wrapped loosely around him, I can’t find purchase.

“I got you,” he rasps and adds another finger inside me, his mouth devouring mine.

He pumps his hands until I thrash my head against the tree.

He crooks his fingers, and a sharp, delicious ache gathers low in my stomach.

He presses and presses against that magic spot, and shocks of pleasure travel down my stomach to the pulsating pinpoint at my center.

I moan and whimper, digging my nails into his biceps.

“You’re going to come for me,” he rasps against my mouth, circling his thumb around my swollen clit.

The ache at my core grows exquisitely agonizing, and a scream gathers in my throat.

He pumps his fingers against the bundle of nerves inside me and presses his thumb down hard on my clit. “Now, Sunny.”

I obey his command. With a hoarse scream, I shatter into a thousand pieces, stars bursting behind my eyes. My pleasure borders on pain, but I’m not ready for it to stop. Knowing exactly what I need, Ethan prolongs the sweet torture with soft sweeps of his thumb until I flop limply against him.

“There’s my good girl.” He drops a tender kiss on my temple, and I know that he’s about to set me down on the ground. He thinks all I wanted was physical release. Of course he does. That’s what I wanted him to believe.

But now . . .

“Ethan, I want you to ...” I tighten my legs around his waist in desperation. What am I doing? I ... I can’t let him go. “I want you inside me.”

“Sunny—”

“I won’t get pregnant,” I blurt gauchely, too frantic to feel embarrassed. “All the cadets have to drink an elixir every day. They can’t risk someone participating in the trials getting pregnant. Ethan, please.”

“If I make love to you ...” He pushes my back more firmly against the tree and pinches my chin between his fingers so I can’t look away. “If we make love, know that I’ll be giving you all of myself—heart, body, and soul. Don’t ask me to pretend it means anything less. Don’t make me lie.”

As impossible as it seems, I fall more in love with him.

He offered me his everything but asked for nothing in return.

Love shines in his eyes, ardent and heartbreaking, and I can only manage a jerky nod.

I want all of him, no matter how selfish that makes me.

I want him to have all of me. I can’t give him the words, but at least I’ll know I’ve given him my everything.

I just hope my wordless nod is enough for him.

His mouth captures mine in a hot, hungry kiss. Thank gods. He stalks toward the cave as he sweeps his tongue inside my mouth, plunging it in and out, foreshadowing what we’re about to do. Nerves stutter in my chest even as my body alights with desire.

I’m scared. Not only about the intimacy of having him inside me but also about how vulnerable it’ll make me feel. But I want to share that intimacy and vulnerability with Ethan more than anything. I want to feel close to him. I want to show him all of me—which is the most terrifying part of all.

“Put me down,” I say when Ethan carries me into the cave.

He immediately sets me down on my feet, uncertainty flashing across his face. “We don’t have to do ...”

I tug on the belt of his black dobok and untie it with surprisingly steady hands. Then I push apart his shirt, baring his chest and stomach. My mouth waters at the sight of him. I smooth my hands across his chest, then over his shoulders, sliding his shirt off his back and down his arms.

I reach for the drawstring of his pants and glance at Ethan from beneath my lashes.

He stands as immobile as a statue, but I see the frantic fluttering of his pulse at the base of his throat.

Holding his gaze, I slide his pants and undergarment past his narrow hips and down his legs until I’m kneeling at his feet.

I tap him lightly on the calf, and he meekly lifts one foot, then the other out of his pants.

I slowly stand, letting the fabric of my dobok brush against his bare skin. He shivers, clenching his fists. I take one step back, then another, and sweep my eyes over his naked body.

“Beautiful,” I murmur softly. His eyes darken, but he stays silent and still, relinquishing all control to me.

I study every sculpted muscle, every dip and shadow, but my eyes skitter away from his hard length.

I focus my gaze on his face and reach for my belt.

Oddly, my hands shake more as I work to loosen it.

Once the knot is free, I let the belt fall to the ground, and before I lose my nerve, I shrug out of my shirt and let that drop as well.

Ethan struggles to swallow as he follows my every movement, and I grow bolder at the feral light in his eyes.

I quickly untie the drawstring of my pants, and taking a deep breath, I push everything down to my ankles and kick it away.

I doubt I did that last part with any semblance of grace, but his breath stutters as I straighten to my full height.

He takes himself in his hand as his eyes roam over the small globes of my breasts and the dark triangle between my legs.

He groans as he pumps his fist once, then twice, and I watch fascinated.

This time I don’t look away. I remember how he felt in my hands, hot, hard, and silken.

I want to touch him again. I take a step toward him.

“Wait.” Ethan holds up both hands.

I falter, confused and worried. “Am I ... doing something wrong?”

“No. Gods, no. I just need a minute.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “If I touch you right now—if you touch me —it’ll be fast and hard, but I want to take my time with you. I want to make this good for you.”

“I ... I want it to be good for you too.” My voice is small. “But I might be bad at it.”

“You might be ... what?” Ethan looks so incredulous that some of my anxiety melts away. “That’s not possible.”

“I don’t ...” I clear my throat. “I’ve never done this before.”

I see the change in him right away. He doesn’t look any less ravenous, and his ... Well, he’s still obviously very aroused. But an aching tenderness steals into his eyes, making something unknot in my chest.

“There’s no chance in hell you can be bad at this.” Ethan closes the distance between us and cups my cheek with one hand, sweeping a strand of hair out of my eyes with the other. “You’ll be fucking spectacular.”

“You don’t know that,” I say with an embarrassed laugh.

“I do know.” He takes my hand and wraps it around his rock-hard erection. “See what you do to me? All you have to do is look at me to undo me. This is already the best sex I’ve ever had, and we’re only getting started.”

I beam at him, relief coursing through me. Relief and ... desire. Gods, I love the feel of him. I tighten my fist around him, and he groans as though he’s in pain. I slide my hand up and down his length.

“Easy.” He grabs my wrist and holds me still. “We’re going to take this nice and easy.”

“That sounds boring.” I tug on my wrist, but he doesn’t let go. So I shrug and wrap my other hand around him.

“Unhand me, woman.” He presses his forehead against mine with a chuckle. But when he leans back, his expression is tender and worshipful. “Let me make you feel good.”

This time, I don’t fight it when he draws my hands away.

He rewards me with a toe-curling kiss, then sweeps me off my feet.

Then he gently sets me down on top of the robe I flung away this morning, the silk soft and cool against my bare back.

He covers my body with his, bearing most of his weight on his forearms.