Page 17

17

Merrick

“ F orget that,” Reyla huffed, though the sparkle in her eyes told me she wasn’t irritated one bit. “Why did it work for you the first time when I can barely get it to work one in ten times when I try?”

I flitted to stand beside her, the faint hum of the spell still buzzing through my veins. She sucked in a gasp and stepped back too quickly, her heel catching on the edge of the rug. Her balance wavered, her arms flipping outward as she tried to catch herself.

I tugged her into my arms, against my chest. “Careful there, Wildfire. Obviously, I've impressed you so much with my flitting ability that you're feeling faint.”

Her glare was as sharp as one of her blades, but there was no bite behind it. “Don’t get cocky just because you managed it on your first try. You may find it doesn't work again for you for years. ”

“I’ve done it twice now, not once.” Grinning, I tightened my arms around her. “I was meant to be good at this.”

She smacked my chest, though her grin matched mine. “Ass.”

“No, that's the other man. I'm the witty, charming, and infinitely sexier one.”

“You really are full of yourself, aren't you?”

“It comes with the crown and the throne.”

Her pout was so cute, I wanted to taste it on her mouth. “It’s not fair. Flitting is hard for me. It should be hard for you too.”

“Says the woman who was able to call shadows the first night she was taught. Flitting is simple compared to that.” Her scowl eased. “It took me years to summon enough power to command even one element.”

That did it. Her shoulders loosened. “Years? You're teasing me, right? You always seem so poised. Patient. In control.”

“Do continue naming all my stellar qualities. If you run out of them, I could mention a few.”

She huffed, but her lips curled up. “You're the guardian.”

“While someone else is the assassin.”

“The harmony.”

“To their chaos.”

“Empathy.”

“Ruthlessness,” I said.

“When you were split, he took the darker attributes like despair, destruction, and intimidation, while you were left with hope, restoration, and inspiration.”

I blinked to show her she was right.

“To survive what's coming, you need both,” she said sadly.

I blinked again, and I could see that the unfairness of my probable fate was sinking through her skin, making her sad as well, and that was the last thing I wanted for my wildfire. She deserved to blaze brightly, to scorch across this world to make it anew. Not mourn me. I was nothing when compared to her, and I accepted that.

“I'm no closer to figuring this out,” she said. “For the last few days, I've lounged in bed when I could be researching in the library or… I don't know. Doing something . I'd do anything, Merrick. Know this. I don't want to remember you. I want to see you each and every day as you stand by my side, to build memories with you every single day of our very long lives. I want to lie in bed with you and talk about our day. Laugh. Grow old together.”

“Reyla,” I breathed.

She was so close…

“You're strong.” I tilted her chin up, brushing my fingertips along her jawline. “Extraordinary. You may not see it yet, but everything you need is already inside you.”

Her lips parted, questions flickering in her eyes, but I didn’t let her speak. I kissed her, gently at first, savoring the heat of her mouth against mine. Then deeper, because I was unable to bank the fire that always roared to life when she was near.

She was like the first taste of spring after a cruel winter, her warmth seeping into every part of me, erasing the cold that had lived there for too long. I could live a thousand years and never tire of kissing this woman.

Sliding my arms beneath her, I lifted her. I pivoted us toward the sofa, falling to pin her underneath me.

Her breath hitched.

I broke the kiss to grin down at her. “Comfy?”

“I—” Whatever witty retort she might’ve used vanished into a soft exhale as my hand trailed along her side, my fingertips grazing the curve of her hip.

Fire sparked in her eyes, and her lips curved into a smirk that should’ve warned me. With a blink, she flitted out from beneath me, reappearing by the windows, facing me, her hands braced beside her thighs on the sill.

“Catch me if you can,” she said, the challenge in her voice making my cock kick forward against my pants.

I growled and leaned back on the cushions, sliding my palms beneath the back of my neck while watching her. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Wildfire.”

“One you're going to lose.”

She wanted to play? Fine. I had no well, but I’d quickly discovered I could still flit as long as I used the spell.

I drew power to me, the familiar pull surging faster this time, as if my blood was eager for the chase. Spell cast, I flitted to her side, ready to grab her before she could bolt again.

But she was quick this time, and her laugh filled the room as she left me clutching at the empty space where she’d been a moment before.

“You can do better than that,” she said with a grin, now standing in front of a tapestry hanging on the far wall. Its woven threads depicted my ancestor Wobert, his stern gaze majestically locked on the distant mountains, his cloak billowing dramatically behind him as if he was facing down a storm.

Reyla was much more appealing than Wobert.

She tilted her head. “What’s wrong, my king? Surely you're faster than that.”

I stalked toward her, reached toward her. “When I catch you, Reyla, I’m not letting you go.”

Her smirk deepened. “I don’t want you to.”

I flitted to her and latched onto her. But before I could kiss her again, she spun us around and pressed me against Wobert. With a smirk, she trailed her fingertips across my chest, not stopping until they reached the waistband of my pants.

“My, my, my, what do we have here, my king?” She glided her hand down the outline of my erect cock before returning her fingers to the top fastening and undoing it.

She released them all. Released me.

“Reyla,” I groaned, not sure what she planned but unbelievably eager to find out.

She dropped to her knees in front of me and oh, how beautiful she was as she looked up at me with joy in her eyes.

“I believe it's time that I tasted you, my king.”

She leaned forward and ran her tongue up the base of my cock.

I almost came right then and there, but damn, I wanted to make this last. She was touching me. Loving me. Giving me pleasure when I should be doing it for her.

But while I told myself I should do it, I was unable to push her away.

Her tongue traced the length of my cock, her gaze locked on mine. The heat in her eyes made it a challenge to breathe. She swirled her tongue around the tip, drawing a groan from deep inside me. Holding myself back was not an option. I thrust into her mouth, unable to focus on anything but how amazing this felt, how perfect she looked with her lips spread wide around my cock.

She took me deeper, her mouth wrapping around me in a way that made me shiver. Shudder. And struggle not to come on the spot.

“Reyla,” I growled, latching onto her hair, wrapping the silky strands around my palms so I could hold her right where she was. “That feels amazing.”

She hummed, the vibration sending waves of bliss through me. Her head moved in and out, her tongue working magic on my shaft. I was a trembling wreck already, about to spill myself into her like a youth palming himself for the very first time. Control was such an exquisite thing, and I clung to it, determined not to give in too soon. I wanted to hold back, to make this last, but the feel of her mouth on me was going to make me explode.

“You're going to make me come,” I snarled, wrapping her hair tighter. Her eyes were so filled with desire, it made me unravel. She wanted to do this for me, and that knowledge only made my cock grow stiffer.

Her movements became more insistent, her mouth taking me deeper, her tongue working faster. Pressure built within me, and my body shook. Tensed. I jerked my hips forward, my eyes spiraling. I was spiraling.

I could not control this any longer. She took all of me, her lips tight around my cock as she moved, her eyes never leaving mine.

The sight of her, on her knees and with her eyes filled with fire was more than I could take. With a heavy growl, I came, shuddering with the intensity of my release. She kept moving, taking all of me before sliding back out, her lips quivering with her smile.

As the last waves of my pleasure eased, she pulled back, her mouth glistening. She licked her lips, capturing every last drop.

That satisfaction in her eyes…

Reaching down, I tugged her to her feet, pulling her against my chest where my heart pounded. “Wildfire. You…”

“Well,” she said pertly, her pretty eyes sparkling. “I suspect that felt good.”

My laugh made my chest ache, though in a good way. “Good is not a big enough word for that .”

Her hands splayed out on my chest, and she kissed me through the fabric. “Let me know when I can do it again.”

My laugh rang out, rich and full.

I was lost.

Completely, utterly lost.