Page 7 of Waves (Tangled Crowns #6)

Avia

E ach one of my eyelashes became prominent as my heavy-lidded eyes fought unconsciousness and a haze of red pain danced on the periphery of my vision. There was some sort of loud commotion in the distance, but I couldn’t make it out.

I blinked, and a moment might have passed or an hour–I wasn’t sure. The only thing I was certain of was the throb rippling up my spine.

“What the sard?” A furious yell rent the water in two.

My bleary gaze lifted to see Felipe racing forward, a jet stream left in his wake.

I blinked and it took me a moment to realize that he and Ugo probably had some agreement about alerting one another …

But that’s as far as my thoughts got.

My eyelids were sinking again. Heavy.

Lizza’s rotting face suddenly shoved into the space in front of me. “Here. Eat this. Sometimes you undead are so sensitive.” With a roll of her eyes, she shoved something black into my mouth.

A leaf.

“Chew that up now.”

Dear god, Lizza thought I needed one of her creations. That was never a good sign.

The leaf had the texture of taffy, and the tar taste intensified, the smell making my stomach churn. But it took only seconds for the charred feeling on my wingtips and back to recede, thank goodness. Whatever spell she’d done on this disgusting leaf was a good one.

Even though the pain was fading, Felipe’s wrath charged through the water like a shark.

“What the sarding hell did you do to her?” he barked, his navy tail lashing.

“Noth—”

A second later, his rough hands were encasing mine, pulling me away from Lizza and Posey before placing himself in front of me like a shield.

“I told you she needed rest. And then you took her out here and shoved her at these—” he gestured at the smokestacks before swimming right into Lizza’s face, crowding her and leaning over her.

“I don’t care if you’re undead. If you ever do anything like that to her again, I’ll find a way to make you suffer. ”

Whirling around, he came back, and his navy eyes roamed wildly over me before he reached out and cautiously cupped my cheek. “Avia?” My name came out as a harsh whisper, as if it was the only word he could speak without shouting at the moment.

“I’m alright,” I murmured. Belatedly and a little resentfully, I added, “Now.”

“See? She’s fine?—”

“You’re coming with me.” Felipe’s hand moved from my face and latched onto my wrist. He pulled me roughly into him and the ferocity in his gaze was nearly as intense as the black smoke I’d just encountered. It made it just as hard for me to breathe…but for an entirely different reason.

My lips parted but no words came out.

And when my former guard dragged me away from my mages, I let him.

When we reached my tent, as was his habit, he left me outside and went in to check it, just as he would have back when he was my guard.

I floated for a second, tentatively testing my wings to ensure there was no remaining pain. But Lizza’s leaf had done the trick.

Recalling how nasty her concoctions normally were, I took a quick moment to swipe my tongue over my teeth and ensure they were clear of any taffy.

At the same time, I watched servants as they packed up the tents nearby, readying us for a night of travel.

This morning Sahar had agreed that the rebels would expect us to travel during the day and we'd throw them off by setting out at sunset instead.

The tent flap lifted, and Felipe’s scarred face softened when he gazed at me. “It’s safe. Come on,” His hand once again shackled my wrist, and I liked it. Quite a bit.

“I really am alright,” I murmured as he led me inside.

“I want to…I need to check.”

Pressing my lips together so he wouldn’t see my smile and suspect that I found his anger endearing, I nodded.

“On the bed.”

Oh.

Oh dear.

A man had never uttered a phrase like that to me.

Demanding.

Commanding.

My throat dried out as my eyes flitted over to the full mattress laid out on the floor of my tent.

There was no frame, but the bedding itself was fluffy enough that it rose a good two feet from the tent floor and was lit by a single floating sphere off in the right corner.

My pale sheets and comforter were neat and tucked in but had never looked so intimidating.

Fluttering filled my stomach and my response was breathy. “Alright. How?”

“Your wings were hurt?”

I nodded.

“Sit on the end so I can get behind you.”

Perching delicately, I flared my wings out for his inspection. Though I didn’t feel a jot of pain anymore, I didn’t mention that because I was very interested to see what Felipe thought he could do about it.

The water rippled and I turned to look over at him, realizing his mer tail was gone. In its place, he had his spelled human legs encased in a pair of tight black pants and black boots. His broad chest was shirtless.

My lungs froze and I quickly whipped my head back to face the plain side of the tent in front of me, nerves jangling.

As he climbed onto the bed behind me, I felt his weight shifting the mattress. He was so close that I imagined I felt him against me, though I knew I couldn’t.

But then he leaned forward. His masculine scent surrounded me as he murmured, “I’m going to touch you now.”

God.

My thighs clenched even though I knew his words were innocent. Caring and not daring. But I’d dreamt of Felipe in my room, on my bed, and my body’s reaction couldn’t be helped.

“Of course.” Dammit all, my voice came out like a nervous squeak.

A tender touch began on the tip of my wing and traveled down the top edge of it toward my spine in a slow, mesmerizing line that made my eyelids start to close. Even though his hands were calloused, his caress was so light and smooth… soft.

My wings were barely ever touched and this…this moment was showing me that was clearly an error I needed to rectify. The silky glide of his fingertips unfurled a sense of relaxation I didn’t know was possible. Relaxation coupled with acute awareness.

“Did that hurt at all?” Felipe’s warm breath ghosted over the back of my neck. If he just lowered his lips the slightest bit, he would kiss my neck.

“No.” I whispered.

Anticipation curled my toes.

“Good.”

His other hand carefully traced the other side and by the time he finished, I was certain my spine had melted. A bewitched smile sat on my lips, and I wanted to purr like a kitten.

“That one?”

“No. But maybe you should check again. Just in case.”

“Of course.” The mattress moved and his legs stretched out on either side of me and bracketed my hips. The warmth of his body soaked into mine in the most exquisite way. And then he touched both wingtips at the same time.

My soul danced as his sunshine fingers lit me up.

My eyes closed and my head fell back against his chest as his hands moved slowly back and forth on my wings.

Over the tops. Down the back. Along the joints where they emerged from my skin.

Tracing soft circles. Brilliant sensations wove through me, and I hummed gently in appreciation.

His soft massage continued and he wrung tension from me bit by bit, the constant touch kept me utterly focused on the present moment instead of berating myself for the past or dreading the future. Only focused on his touch.

Him.

There was a slight catch in his breath when he got to the base of my wings in the middle of my back. “Your shirt…” he trailed off.

Heat billowed up my spine and reddened my cheeks. But it also tunneled in the other direction and my lower belly caught fire. “Go ahead,” I murmured.

So gently that I hardly felt his touch, he undid the few pearl buttons that held my sheer shirt closed around my wings. The fabric slid down my skin in a soft caress and my hands came up to block my chest and keep it from falling off.

Back bared to him, vulnerability washed over me. I was vulnerable but not scared, at least not of him. It was nervous excitement that pranced through my ribcage as his fingers dragged lazy zig zags across my back.

“Any pain here?” he whispered.

I had to bite down on a moan and was unable to give a response. I merely shook my head.

“You’re sure?”

I nodded.

Without warning, his fingertips abandoned me.

My mouth opened to protest, but his hands were already back at the base of my skull, pressing gently before moving my hair aside.

And then his lips were on my neck. Kiss after kiss inflamed my pulse and the sensations rippled across my skin like waves on a lake during a summer’s day. Hot, shimmering feelings glimmered within me.

One of his hands traveled to my waist and my own hands slid down from my chest, uncaring that my shirt slid down with them as I reached out to his hips, gripping, demanding.

I wanted more but I wasn’t certain how to ask.

Felipe didn’t make me.

With a few quick movements, I was turned on his lap, my legs straddling him, arms wrapped around his neck as my wings flared wide.

A demanding hand came up, wrapped around the back of my neck, and Felipe pulled me in. Nose to nose, we stared at one another, and I drank in the protective possessiveness in his gaze. And then he leaned up and kissed me for the first time.

It was not a gentle kiss—it was a domineering one.

He ravaged my mouth as his hands moved to slide up and down my sides.

My shirt became an impediment preventing me from wrapping my arms around him, so I shed it, pulling it off at the wrists and letting it drop to the ground, leaning further into our kiss and nipping at his bottom lip as my hands settled onto his shoulders.

My aggression spurred more of Felipe’s. Placing his hands on my ass, he yanked my body in closer and I felt his hardness pressing against me. His fingers tightened and held me in a way that was both pleasure and pain—something new to me, but something I quickly decided that I liked quite a bit.