Page 46 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

“I don’t want to leave you, Ash. Far from it.”

He pauses, his lips grazing mine. “Say it again.”

“I don’t want to leave.” My heart is beating so hard I feel it in my throat. “And I want you—I want us.”

“I want this—us—too.” He swallows, pressing his forehead to mine as his fingers trace lazy circles over my sensitive skin, right beside where I truly crave his touch.

A tease, but it keeps the fire burning in my veins as his words sink in.

He wants us too, and somehow, this isn’t a one-night thing for him either.

“Ash...” I tighten my arms around his neck, dragging my fingers over the thick layer of feathers wrapping around the base of his skull. I move my hips to the side, just enough so his fingers actually touch me where I want him. So I can find some relief.

“Demanding little Monster.” His dark, sexy chuckle makes my stomach flutter. His thumb finally strokes me in excruciatingly slow circles that send pleasure burning through me. He presses one finger inside me. “Has anyone touched you like this?”

“No,” I gasp, and heat flares in my cheeks. I haven’t told a soul how little intimacy I allowed myself as a librarian. I’ve touched a man before, even if at the time I wasn’t ready to let him touch me. This feels much different.

Before I can say anything else, Ash is kissing me. He presses two more fingers into me, still stoking the fire with his slow circles, and my breath stutters at the slight burn and the delicious stretch that follows. Harder, faster, setting a rhythm that matches my breathing.

“Ash, I need more of you.” I feel like I may explode from the pleasure he’s giving me. My power simmers under my skin. Just there as a reminder it comes alive when emotions are high.

“I have to get you ready.” His eyes are locked on mine, and he swallows deeply as his expression tightens with the same need I’m feeling.

He continues moving his fingers between us, bringing me closer to my release.

My body stiffens, and I come apart under his touch so fast I can barely catch my breath.

When the waves of pleasure turn into gentle rocking, I’m done with his hand and want something more. I reach for his trousers, finishing the job I started before by undoing the ties.

My name on his lips sends a shiver down my spine.

He pins me to the wall and hooks his arm right under my knee, pulling my leg up so he’s pressed right to my heat.

His mouth comes to my neck, licking, sucking again as he carefully presses into me until he’s fully inside and I’m struggling to breathe against the tightness and the pleasure of being connected in this way.

“Mia.” He pushes the hair out of my eyes, his face hovering close to mine, his expression contorted as he holds himself still. “Is this alright?”

I nod, and just to prove to him how right this feels, I rock my hips over his. Ash’s eyes roll back and he groans, loudly. His hand grips my waist, and he moves. Slow, deep thrusts, hitting a spot inside me that makes my blood heat again.

Moaning, I writhe against him. Warmth spreads in my core as a breath catches in my throat. The second climax that rolls through me is less intense than the first, but takes me by surprise.

Ash’s movements become erratic as the waves of my pleasure die down, and his begin. He kisses me, hard and needy, as gooseflesh roams over his skin. “Fuck, Mia.” His voice roughens at the same time his hips buck into me. Deeper. Harder.

My walls clench around him, and his movements drag my orgasm on and on, pulling every ounce of pleasure out of me, until I go limp in his arms.

Ash cock twitches right before a grunt leaves his lips, and he trembles as he comes inside me.

Slowly, the room comes back into focus around us.

Water trickles over the edge of the bathtub, spilling onto the tile floor.

Steam clouds the windows and hangs heavy in the air.

Ash’s arms tighten around me, and he doesn’t put me back on the ground but instead walks us to the tub, leaving his trousers behind.

He tsks as his feet splash through the water around the tub. “Look at the mess you made...”

“Me?” I say, unable to hide the smile in my voice. “I was perfectly ready to bathe until a beast ravished me.”

My arms tighten around him, knowing him well enough by now that I can see when mischief glows behind those golden eyes of his.

“That wasn’t me ravishing you, Mia. Not yet, at least. I intend to do much more than that.” He steps into the tub and finally lets me down, dragging the shirt off his body and tossing it onto the pile of my dress.

I don’t think whoever built this house designed the bath for two people, much less one as large as he. But we squeeze tightly as the scalding-hot water sloshes around us, easing the ache of walking across the forest, and everything that happened after.

We stay in the bath long enough that the water turns lukewarm. Ash strokes what appears to be lavender oil over my arms with a sea sponge and presses a kiss to my temples. “You’re awfully quiet,” he says. “That usually means you’re up to something.”

I lay my head on his chest, enjoying the gentle beating of his heart as I stare at my surroundings.

When I came into the washroom, I didn’t catch all the details, but now I drink in the wooden ceiling beams, carved with beautiful designs of flowers and nature.

There aren’t any mirrors in here either.

I feel too tired and too comfortable to move much. “Ash?”

He hums distractedly, encouraging me to keep talking while still pressing his nose to my hair.

“Why do you look different from all the other cursed fae?”

He stiffens under me, briefly pausing the gentle stroking of his fingers over my skin.

“Was that the wrong thing to ask?” I rest my chin on his chest to catch his expression. “I was wondering why the curse shows up so differently for you when even Nera has turned into stone.”

“I don’t get to speak of what it means very often, not anymore at least.” Ash resumes his stroking, caressing my forearm and then moving to the side of my ribs. It’s not sensual, more soothing and gentle. Still, my body reacts to his touch by warming up again.

His dark lashes shroud most of the gold of his irises as he looks down at me.

“This”—he waves his other hand over his neck and pectoral muscles where the feathers have grown thicker in the last few days—“is my spirit form. Or so I was told by my court advisers before they lost their minds to the curse years ago.”

I blink. “What do you mean, spirit form? Like Naheli?”

He nods. “Once, the unseelie lived in the spirit realm, and our true forms were more animalistic. The feathers, talons, and sharp teeth are mine.”

“Then why does it become more apparent when the blood moon gets closer?” I sit up and turn to meet his gaze fully.

“The curse takes its toll on my body the closer to the blood moon we are.” He reaches for me with a pinch to his brows, pulling me back to my previous position, lying on top of his body. I like this much more.

“Naheli lends me more of her magic to keep me sane, and so my true spirit appearance reveals itself.”

My lips round as I digest all this new information. It matches with the legends and what I learned from Finley and Nera. I think back at the gaps in the information in all the books I studied growing up.

Ash stands and brings me along with him. He’s so large he blocks what little light comes from the lantern, his body and wings casting a shadow, and his eyes taking on a glowing appearance.

“So, does that mean Nera will turn into a bird like you if she connects with her spirit?” I grin at the glint that shines in his expression. “What do you think her spirit will be like?”

“My family believed the spirits that connect with us match our temper. Naheli, for example, is calm and reasonable?—?”

“More like sassy and snippy,” I scoff, shaking my head as a drying spell wafts around us, leaving traces of Ash’s magic clinging to our bodies.

I suppose both things can be true. Naheli is sassy and mischievous, but also calm—and perhaps even reasonable.

“You think Nera’s spirit is going to be stubborn and strong, craving freedom and adventure? ”

“Yes, and it will be what keeps her sane—and safe—when Sylas comes for her. The seelie kingdom is not like Aphelion. The only spirits roaming freely there are evil ones.”

I shiver, remembering the creatures Ash talked about. The Naga, serpents that eat magical humans.

“Even the shadows will try to kill you there.”

Whatever playful mood I was in is dampened by the horror of Nera’s future. Judging by Ash’s sulking expression, he is there as well.

“Can we do anything to stop Sylas from taking her?”

He swallows, thickly, before shaking his head. “I’ll try anything, if—when—it comes to that. But the contract is binding.” He hesitates, pain flashing in his features as we step into the room. “He’s her mate, Monster. Even if I hate him, she belongs with him, much like he does with her.”

I’m angry at the old king of the unseelie, her father, who gave Nera away in an unbreakable magical bargain with the seelie. I’m furious that if I’m able to lift this curse, I may bind my friend to another prison, when all she wants is to be free.

But perhaps Nera will use her vast power and strength to carve out a destiny for herself. One she wants, instead of the one males are forcing her to carry.