Page 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

A s our mouths met for a second time, every barrier between us snapped. Every unspoken word, every look that had lingered too long was resurrected from the past and brought forth to feast upon. The fragile thing I’d felt inside for him was no longer breakable. It was full grown and fierce. Hard as stone, yet soft in all the right places.

There was no denying it any longer: I was irrevocably and hopelessly in love with Caelum Ashford.

One of his hands cupped my face, his thumb brushing away a remaining tear as I clung to fistfuls of his shirt. He walked me backward, his lips never leaving mine.

Each step brought me closer to the tent’s outer edge until my back hit one of the poles, trapping me between it and the solid wall of him. With the rough wood digging into my spine and Caelum’s warm body flush against mine, something deep and wild stirred within me until I was a well, overflowing with desire for more.

Still kissing me, he slid his hand from my cheek, over my breast, past my waist—his touch leaving a trail of embers in its wake. His wandering palm stalled when it reached the back of my thigh, where he grabbed it and tugged it up against his hip. A gasp slipped through my lips.

A deep guttural noise poured from Caelum as he pushed himself closer into me, the evidence of his own longing a rock against my stomach. With his other hand, he grabbed mine and forced it between us so I could feel his hardness.

“Do you see what you do to me? What you’ve been doing to me?” he said in between frantic kisses as my palm traced the contours of him through his trousers. “Ever since the day you stormed into my tent and called me a highborn rake, I’ve wanted to devour you and that wicked mouth.”

A moan escaped me, but he captured it with his eager mouth. “I think we can arrange that,” I breathed against his lips, surprised my mind could even form the words.

Hallows be, I need him closer still.

My hands moved of their own accord, tracing the lines of his shoulders, down his solid chest, until I found the edges of his shirt. Desperate to do my own devouring, I tugged it over his head and immediately explored every inch of his exposed torso with my fingers, a thrill running through me when goosebumps rose on his warm skin from my touch.

“Do you like what you see, Tempest?” he murmured, wrapping his arms around me.

I nodded, biting my lip as his deft fingers unlaced my corset, his eyes holding mine as he did it, his lips red and swollen. He grinned when it slipped off and fell to the floor. His hands moved quickly to deliver my chemise to the same fate, pulling it up and over my head to leave me shivering in anticipation.

I fought the urge to cover my chest when he stepped back, his cheeks flushing slightly as he took in my half-naked form. “You know,” he said, his voice deep and gravelly, “I was wrong about you. You’re not a tempest.” He dropped to his knees in front of me, his palms finding their way under my dress to run up my thighs and rest on my backside.

I couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped when he squeezed and tugged my hips forward, his warm lips kissing me just above my navel.

“You’re more of a goddess.” He stared up at me then, reverent and eager.

It took every ounce of my willpower to not pounce on him.

“Can I not be both?” I whispered back, teasing.

With that cocky smirk I loved, he pulled my skirts down around my feet. “Tempest, queen, goddess.” His mouth found the inside of my thigh, and he nibbled lightly between words. “You can be everything. You are everything to me.”

My body quaked. Here he was, on his knees in front of me, his midnight-blue eyes brimming with desire. I was being worshipped—by the crown prince of Eyre.

A sly smile unfolded across my face as I dug my fingers into his blond hair. “You are no god, though, Prince.” I tugged his head back, forcing him to look up at me.

The want in his gaze almost sent me to my knees next to him.

“No, I’m not,” he said. “I am but a humble servant, hoping you’ll have me.”

“And how will you convince me?” I played along.

Another infuriating grin. With those long, nimble fingers of his, Caelum slid my underwear down to pool on the floor, leaving me completely bare.

“I’d love to give an offering to My Goddess if she’ll let me,” he answered, his eyes sparkling.

Hearing him speak in that fevered and husky tone made my mouth drop open. Warmth blossomed in my belly.

I shivered, my cheeks warming as I nodded in agreement. Keeping his eyes on me, he kissed down the flat plane of my stomach, venturing lower until his mouth hovered over the very center of me, which ached with his proximity.

My throat tightened, my pulse spiking. He wanted to do that ?

“Hmm,” he murmured, his forehead against my navel. “No. No, this won’t do. A goddess made to stand? I won’t have it.”

I yelped as he stood and scooped me into his arms, his stare never dropping from mine. I flung my arms around his neck and buried my fingers in the tendrils of hair that curled near his neckline. Grinning widely, Caelum laid me down on the soft silks of his bed. My heart fluttered in response as the gold and maroon colors of Eyre swallowed me up.

It was as divine as I imagined.

I shut my eyes and stretched out, reveling in the fabric’s caress against every inch of my skin, breathing in the heady pine and leather scent that was purely him .

I glanced up to find Caelum staring down at me, his face stilled. My stomach twisted.

I sat up on my elbows, heat flushing through my exposed skin. “What?”

“It’s just...” He ran a hand through his already-disheveled locks. “Seeing you stretched out on my bed before me might be my new favorite view in all of Eyre.”

Desire spiked through my blood once more at his words.

“You said you wanted to devour me.” I stared up at him through my lashes. “Are you still hungry?” I’d never said such teasing words to a man before, and it left me feeling raw and exposed.

That mischievous look covered his face again as he grabbed my hips and dragged me closer to the edge of the bed.

“Starved,” he replied, breathing needily through his nose as he bent down to place achingly slow kisses along my inner thighs again.

My entire body trembled, goosebumps rising on every limb. But despite the well of anticipation bubbling up inside of me, apprehension wormed its way in too, and I froze.

He had so much more experience than me. I’d never had a man stationed between my legs like this. What if he didn’t like how I tasted? What if I didn’t measure up to all the other women he’d had?

My knees drew closer to his head as my thoughts spiraled, and Caelum pulled back, his brow furrowing.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No. I mean, yes. Maybe,” I fumbled. “You don’t need to do this if it’s not something you really want to do. I?—”

“Eedy,” he said with a playful sternness, his blue eyes glittering in the everflame. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. And I want all of you. Everywhere, every way, any place I can.”

My heart thundered in my chest. He hadn’t paused. He hadn’t stuttered. He didn’t reconsider. He was the same pompous prince as the first day I had met him: confident in what he wanted.

And that was me. Like this. Or any way I desired.

“Okay,” I said, the taut coil inside of me slowly unraveling.

I couldn’t help but dig my fingers into the sheets as he pushed my thighs apart again with a gentle firmness.

“Lay back and relax, My Goddess. Let me take care of you.”

I held my breath, anticipation now running alongside the heady desire still heavy in my veins.

He took one tentative lick at the apex of my thighs and all logical thought left my mind. I whimpered, positive my nails would tear a hole in these silk sheets from my clawing of them. He continued, sucking gently at the bud of nerves at my very center, and I could not stop the feral moans that escaped. My thighs loosened more, and my hips moved of their own accord against his devious mouth until a wave built deep in my core.

Gods, why did I even try to stop this?

He really was devouring me, and I would die from the pleasure of it.

“Caelum,” I moaned, pushing against his shoulders. The things this man could do with his tongue. “ Caelum ,” I breathed his name again more urgently.

“Hmm?” he murmured against me, and it almost sent me over the edge.

I paused, my chest heaving. But I knew what I wanted. “I want you inside me.”

He lifted his head, his eyes darkening. The look made my breath hitch. I gripped at the sheets again as he stood, his movements growing increasingly slower as he drank in the full view of me once more.

“As the goddess wishes,” he finally said, unbuckling his belt and dropping his trousers.

My eyes grew wide, and my cheeks burned at the sight—the size—of him. Hallows be...

Caelum chuckled softly, moving to crawl on top of me, but I shimmied over to the side before he could.

“I want to be on top,” I said, my heart fluttering like a frantic bird.

He raised an eyebrow but lay down on the sheets, a new layer of awe falling over his features. “Before this happens,” he said, “just know that if my heart bursts from the amount of pleasure it gives me to see you atop of me, tell them all I died the happiest man in the kingdom.”

I rolled my eyes playfully as I straddled him, and his hands immediately found my breasts, pinching my nipples with his thumbs methodically. I arched my back, and the length of him brushed against my wet center.

A bolt of ecstasy rolled through me.

I reached to take him in my hand, to lower myself onto him, but he swiped me away and swirled his fingers over my swollen bud instead.

I groaned as I toppled forward, gripping the silk on both sides of his head.

“Hmm, I think you like this,” he murmured as I ground against his hand.

“Caelum, please,” I moaned breathily.

“Please, what?” He took hold of himself and rubbed his tip against my entrance, teasing me. His other hand found the back of my neck, tugging me down so his mouth could graze my jawline.

All focus was lost, my body vibrating with so much pleasure.

“Please,” I panted, “I need you.”

“Where?” he whispered into my ear. “Where do you need me?”

My skin was electrified by his whispers.

“Inside me,” I groaned, trying to align myself over him, but he pulled himself away and guided my mouth to his again.

My dark hair curtained around us as he kissed me. I tasted myself on his lips, and a fresh shock of pleasure sprinted through me. His hand fisted in my hair, holding me in place as his tongue pushed at the seam of my lips. I let my mouth part for him, his tongue exploring, but I had little patience left. I pulled away, a frenzy roaring through me.

“Caelum , ” I growled against his lips. “Give me what I want before I strangle you with these silk sheets.”

He chuckled, running his nose against my jaw. “I quite like hearing you threaten me.” Breathing deeply against my throat, he finally conceded. “Alas, I’m yours to command.”

He pushed the tip of himself into me, and I lowered myself slowly, whimpering as he stretched every inch of space inside of me to fit.

“Hallows be,” he breathed, squeezing me closer, pushing himself in farther.

I gasped, marveling at the feel of him and the way my heart expanded as our eyes locked onto each other. It was like a tether had snapped into place between us, something eternal.

He was staring right into the heart of me, just like he had since the first day we’d met. Only this time it wasn’t as a challenge; it was to know me like no one else had before.

His hands roamed my body as I rolled my hips against him, our breaths coming in short, hurried bursts. It didn’t take long before a glorious pressure rose inside of me. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling as if I might shatter at any moment.

“Eyes on me, Goddess,” Caelum pleaded, bracketing my face with his hands. “Don’t storm away from me. Not yet.”

My eyes flung open, my gaze locking onto his once more. A sheen of sweat covered his skin, and his pupils were blown out so widely that only the smallest hoop of my favorite blue still showed. He was inside me, all around me, his every touch lighting up a different part of me.

His mouth hung open, and he panted as I rocked my hips against him, harder, faster, sucking in deep breaths of fresh pine and worn leather. The storm swirled inside again, the waves building higher and higher. I arched my back, chasing after it.

“You feel so damn good.” He groaned, moving his hands to anchor onto my hips, his body tensing. “Don’t stop, Goddess. Please, don’t stop.”

In the midst of his praise and his flushed face, I found it. It was like lightning, shattering me, blinding me, making me cry out as I’d never done before. Caelum pulled me against him as I shuddered, holding me tightly as our bodies twitched and pulsed in the aftershock.

He didn’t let go, even after the waves of pleasure ceased. His long, slender fingers drew circles across my back, coaxing me back down to the ground after flying as high as a crackling storm cloud.

And, my gods, I could not wait to claim my own lightning again with him.