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Chapter thirty-eight

B e ready .

Astrid seethed, trapped beneath silk, furs, and the weight of Dimitri’s outstretched wing.

Anticipation had been a constant scrape against her nerves the first week.

The news of Clorea’s Queen escaping Ledivion should have reached her quickly, but nothing came.

The days had dragged into weeks and now, nearly two months had passed.

Without a word.

Without a sighting.

Without a signal.

The letters to her cousins went unanswered and Dimitri had yet to leave her side. He refused the assassination he’d been assigned, disobeying his king. The only positive outcome Astrid had in these weeks was the war archive.

Dimitri brought her the volume which included Incarnadine Fields, as promised, but the only documentation within the heavy tome was the location and the date.

Both pieces of information of which she’d already known.

When she glared at Dimitri, he’d shrugged and said, “The war archive chronicles an entire year. You’ll have to research a different battle, neva. ”

Dimitri’s wing lifted off her legs and straightened like a cat stretching its limbs after a nap. His callused fingers caressed the side of her throat and Astrid closed her eyes.

When he was gentle, his touch consumed her.

“I need to finish a kill before the Ascension,” he groaned into her hair. “I’ll return before you can miss me too terribly.”

Astrid sighed as Dimitri kissed the point of her ear and trailed his lips over the slope of her shoulder.

He’d learned her body over these weeks. The black velvet pouch had grown into a suede box.

He introduced new pieces to his arsenal every few days—Nipple clamps, steel replicas of his cock, vibrating plugs of various shapes and sizes.

Last night, Dimitri worked a vibrating plug into her ass and tied her to the bed before turning it on. She moaned his name when he teased her nipples. Pinching and tugging on them until she cried out. Until they were stinging and tender. She’d writhed for hours as her pain wove into pleasure.

He pushed her to orgasm again and again, but it never satisfied him. He was relentless until she was breathless and unable to move.

Dimitri’s callused fingers closed over her mouth and pulled her head to the side.

“Are you thinking of my cock, neva?” he asked at her lips.

He leaned into her, the quiet routine of their morning kiss.

His hand moved lower, caressing the front of her throat.

“I can smell your wet. You can sit on my face once I’ve returned. ”

Astrid turned into the tight circle of his arms and ran her night-streaked nails over the stubble on his chin. “Leave tonight, and spend the day with me,” she pleaded. If the spies were waiting for Dimitri to leave, she needed to buy as much time as possible for her mother’s escape.

“I should have left last night, but I can make up for it,” he said stroking her hair. “I’ll be back before dawn.”

A promise steeped in yearning.

Astrid hid her curse behind a smile. “May I go to the library while you’re gone?”

He chuckled and pulled away, getting out of bed. “Keres will take you. She’s bringing you a gift this morning.”

Dimitri disappeared into his closet and when he emerged, her brows came together. She’d expected him to don armor, but the common-born, understated clothing in which he dressed gave her pause. The trousers and collared shirt would allow him to blend into a crowd, to slip in and out unseen.

Astrid doubted he could do anything unseen. The male could dress in moth-eaten rags, and they wouldn’t diminish his molten gold eyes or striking features.

Her gaze fell to his sword’s pommel as he fastened his belt. The sight of his sword handle alone had been enough to send her into a roiling fury when she’d first arrived. Astrid stared at the gleaming pommel and leather-wrapped handle. She’d lost her virginity to a crude thrust of metal.

Where was her rage?

Dimitri’s actions simultaneously enraged and soothed her. He’d used her body, but also brought her pleasure. He’d forced marriage onto her but never dismissed her.

I would expect nothing less from the princess who carved my chest and split my aorta. He recognized her intelligence—her viciousness—even if he was too foolish to believe she wouldn’t turn on him.

Astrid wrapped herself in gray fur and sauntered toward him. She hooked her fingers into his belt and stood up on her toes, still not quite tall enough to press her lips to his.

“Will you leave me one of your swords so I can defend myself?” she asked, playing the part of his tamed wife.

He chuckled and unfastened the scabbard at his hip. Leather trimmed in metal pressed into her palm and Astrid wrapped her fingers around his weapon.

“Tonight then,” she said.

His palms warmed her arms, and Astrid closed her eyes as he lowered his head.

“Tonight,” he agreed at her lips. He lingered a moment. His thumb slid across her jaw as his fingers tangled in her hair. Instead of a kiss, he cupped the back of her neck and gently drew her forward until his forehead touched hers. Their breaths mingled for the space of a heartbeat.

Two.

Then he stepped away from her without a word and opened the tall window. Snow crunched beneath his boots as he stepped out into the garden. His dark wings seemed even larger against the stark blanket of white snow.

He was gone the next moment, launching into the sunlit sky.