Chapter 14
Taryn drew in a sharp breath. That had been the last thing she’d been expecting Verden to say. He loved her? No. He liked her maybe. He liked sneaking off with her. But love, that was impossible. Fairy men didn’t gamble their hearts on love.
“That’s the whiskey talking,” she murmured, even though she wished it could be true.
He used a tendril of hair to draw her closer. “It’s not. When I’m with you, I don’t care about Court politics. You make me live again. I don’t want this to end, yet I should be turning away. I should never have started it.”
“You didn’t.”
“If I hadn’t offered to take you across the veil, would you have sought me out?”
She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Verden was looking at her, his usually pale eyes were dark and unreadable in the shadows. “Yes. My mother gave me a list of people to talk to, to try and secure the pardon. You were on the list.”
He laughed, cold and bitter. “So you played along, thinking I could help you. I am a fool.” He tried to sit up, but she placed a hand on his chest and he lay back down.
“No. At first, I used you to cross the veil, to escape Court, but then it became something more. I longed for each visit and I never wanted them to end. We are both fools for letting it get this far, knowing we had no chance.” She swallowed down the lump in her throat. It wasn’t fair. “I never planned to fall for anyone. I just wanted to help my parents and go home.”
His fingers moved over her skin, as if he couldn’t stop touching her. Her thoughts tumbled around and tangled. The warm summer air clung to her skin and made her ache for something more. She needed to do something; there was an edge in her blood that he sharpened with every touch.
His hand stopped. “We should break up.”
“What?”
“Until Felan is King.” He looked her in the eye and she saw the cold glint of a fairy plotting. “Until then, we play it safe, no risks.”
“No crossing the veil.” There would be nothing to look forward to.
His fingers traced the curve of her breast. “No stolen kisses.”
“No secret liaisons.” She moved her thigh over his, her hand trailed down his chest, over smooth bands of muscle.
“Definitely none of them.” But he made no effort to stop her fingers as they traced the length of his erection. “After tonight.”
“Once more for old times’ sake, then we break up to save our relationship.” And ourselves.
“Yes.”
She laughed. “Only a fairy would think that was a good idea.”
“But it is, because if we aren’t together, we won’t be thinking about being together when we aren’t together, which means we won’t accidentally get caught.”
It took her a moment to process what he was saying. She may not be drunk, but the edges were fuzzy. She could see why no one drank at Court. One too many wines and all the clever plans would come unraveled. But here they were making plans—not great ones, but the best they could do.
“This is why humans like alcohol. After a couple drinks, you can solve all your problems.” She leaned in and ran her tongue over his lower lip. He opened his mouth to her.
They were going to regret this in the morning, she was sure of it. But right now they were breaking up so they had to break up really good. She eased her leg over his hip to straddle him, then pinned his hands beneath hers.
“I’ve caught the Hunter,” she said with a smile as she rolled her hips against his, feeling his hardened flesh pressing close, teasing.
He closed his eyes and groaned, but made no effort to pull his hands free. “No one has ever tried to catch me before.”
“You like?”
“I like everything you do.” Then he arched his back as if attempting to throw her off, but he wasn’t trying hard and she remained seated. “Looks like you have me trapped.”
She leaned forward so the tips of her nipples brushed his chest; then she nipped his lip. “And what do I get?”
“What do you want?” His hips lifted suggestively.
This was going to be a problem. She couldn’t hold him and angle his shaft to be able to have her way with him. She broke eye contact, tried not to laugh, and failed. She should have had an extra glass or two to drink.
He joined her laughter, the dusting of hair on his chest tickling her breasts. “You didn’t think that through very well did you?”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She’d been joking about catching him, but she could see the appeal of holding down one of the most powerful men in Annwyn. He was hers. For tonight. What if they never got back together? She couldn’t think like that.
She shifted her grip. “You want me to hold you?”
“And never let go.” He was smiling, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight, but she felt the weight of his words. He was giving himself to her.
She leaned down and kissed him as if the world was ending. He slid one hand free, his fingers grazing the side of her breast, then skimming lower, over her butt, between their bodies. His hand slid up her inner thigh and then over her sex, his fingers dipping into the slick heat of her core. His gaze was on her, watching as he played and stroked her clit. Tension tightened in her belly, but before she got close, his hand eased away and was replaced by the heat of his shaft nudging at her sex. She rocked back, ready to take him. Then stopped. She wasn’t ready to end this.
“Ride me.”
“Not yet.” She released his hand and sat up. In the soft light, his muscles dipped and curved; dark hair trailed down his stomach. She flicked her tongue over one flat brown nipple. Then she moved lower, kissing and licking her way down. He drew in a breath and his body tensed.
Her tongue touched the tip of his shaft and he flinched. A breeze traced across her skin, but instead of cooling her, it made her hotter as she realized how sticky her skin was becoming and how hard her blood was pumping. She could feel the lust coiling in her body, waiting to be released.
She took him in her mouth. Satiny, hot, hard flesh against her tongue. When she sucked, he tasted like tart berries. Her hand glided down the length of him as she watched his every reaction. The tightening of his stomach, the hiss of his breath as he clamped his teeth together, but his eyes remained open, watching. She circled the crown with her tongue, her lips caressing the smooth skin one last time before she eased back up his body, aware of the tension in her belly and the need slicking her sex. She positioned his shaft and took him into her core slowly, enjoying every inch until she was fully seated.
Their gazes locked as she began to move. He shifted beneath her to thrust deeper, one hand on her hip. With his eyes on her, she let one of her hands slide over her thigh, to the junction of her legs. Her fingers pushed through the dark, damp curls to her clit. His gaze dropped to watch her hand.
He was all hers. His body was tense and spread before her, waiting for her to come. His gaze tracked every movement. He dragged her down for a kiss, his hand in her hair, his touch rough and needy. He moved, and in her next breath she was on her back looking up at him as his sank back into her.
She moaned and arched toward him, each thrust becoming more urgent. Her core clenched around him as she came, her hips moving faster as she tried to drag every drop of pleasure from the moment. He shuddered and stilled, his head resting on her shoulder. His breath on her skin. Above her the stars glittered. They were so far away here, shiny dots of far-off suns. In Annwyn they hung heavy and close in a purple sky.
He lifted his head and looked at her before placing a soft kiss on her lips and easing away to lie on the grass next to her.