His jaw quivers. He’s barely restrained. “You drive me to madness.”
“I could say the same about you.” The forest above me whispers rhythmically, almost as if it’s singing. I can feel the power of the earth flowing through my veins, swelling, creating warm pressure inside my chest.
And of course, I’m aroused.
This man could do anything to me right now, and I wouldn’t care. “Stop overthinking things and bite me,” I growl.
Corvan laughs softly. “My dear Finley, it almost sounds as if you enjoy being bitten by me.”
He isn’t entirely wrong. I relax my arms and let him take my weight entirely. “As long as you’re gentle…” In fact, I yearn for his lips against my neck; for his tender, bittersweet bite, for the sublime hint of pain that would accompany it.
“Never in a million years could I have imagined my dear wife would enjoy being bitten.”
“I’m not your wife yet.”
“But you will be, very soon.”
“Your Highness, I need you sane, so hurry up and bite me. We’ll worry about the rest afterwards.”
He makes a soft sound; halfway between a strangled cry and a groan of desire. “As you wish.”
Then he presses his lips against my neck, just beneath my jawline, where the large blood vessels run. He kisses me tenderly. His lips are warm and savage. He runs his hands up my back and through my hair, holding me, twining his legs between mine.
In the middle of the winter night, I don’t feel the slightest bit cold.
I feel pain.
Warm, blossoming pain, more pleasure than agony, floods my consciousness. The whispering of the trees becomes a symphony.
He takes.
He takes my essence; that strange energy that swells inside my chest, and I can feel the wild magic flowing out of me.
It’s only when he brings me release that I understand how much pressure has been building up inside me.
I melt into him.
He’s here now.
I close my eyes and let him drink. His mouth is the most tender, decadent thing. My pain dissolves into pure bliss, and my body is on fire, arousal unfurling in me like a blossoming bud.
My hands, still connected to the earth below, suddenly feel lighter. The tendrils or whatever they are start to retract, ripping through the earth, returning to my body.
And all of a sudden, I’m no longer trapped.
I can move. The whispering of the trees isn’t as loud anymore. The rush of the wind dies down. The burning pressure in my chest is gone.
And Corvan lies beneath me, his lips stained with my blood, and he’s smiling, and he looks so damn irresistible that I can’t help but lean in and kiss him.
He runs his fingers through my hair; tenderly, reverently.
Nobody’s ever held me with such tender feeling.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers in my ear. “For causing you all this trouble. But I’m glad you’re safe, and I swear to the Goddess that this will never happen again.”
I reach down and caress his cheek, basking in his protectiveness.
Then the most ridiculously outrageous thing happens.
Before my very eyes, his hair begins to grow, moonlight-streaked tendrils extending at an impossible rate, until his once-cropped hair is long again; as long as it was when I first encountered him.
“Corvan,” I gasp.
His eyebrows narrow. “What is it?”
“Y-your hair. It’s grown back!”
He runs his hand through his pearl-hued hair, a look of bemusement crossing his features. “I knew your blood was powerful, but I didn’t realize it was this potent. And it smells sweeter than ever.”
“Must be the dryad thing,” I say weakly. “And you drinking from me has tempered my magic.”
He grins wickedly. “So you need me to drink from you now.”
“It appears so. I suppose it isn’t the worst outcome in the world.” I curl my arms around his neck, staring into pools of depthless crimson. The unearthly glow in his eyes has faded. “But I’m left with…”
“Oh?” One eyebrow quirks. His expression turns darkly mischievous.
I can feel his warmth through my clothes. I can feel his hard, tempting body. It might be the middle of the night in winter, but I don’t feel cold at all, and my need for him is almost unbearable, making me twist and writhe ever so slightly.
It’s a tender, throbbing ache between my thighs, spreading through my very core.
Out here in the cold; in the moonlit darkness, I want this man, more desperately than ever before.
“Corvan,” I say quietly, urgency in my voice. “I… I have a terrible need of you.”
His damnable smile could melt snow on the mountains. “Why Finley, are you asking me for something?”
“Yes, you idiot.”
“Begging?”
My insides twist, in a good way. “If that is what you please.”
“For what, exactly?”
I grit my teeth. “Do I have to spell it out for you?”
Even though the heat in his gaze is obvious, on the surface, he’s insufferably calm. “I just like to hear you beg, that’s all.”
“I want you to fuck me, Corvan.”
The magic has left me hollowed out and wanting. His blood-drinking has aroused me to no end. Even his silly, haughty teasing turns me on.
He falls silent, staring at me with all the intensity of a hungry wolf. Now he’s perfectly serious, and once again, his eyes faintly glow red.
He slides his hands down my back; over my hips and ass. Then he kisses me; deeply, insistently, and he tastes sweet and spicy and faintly of coppery blood.
“Finley, as much as I love hearing you ask, you must know that there’s no possible scenario where I wouldn’t want you. I can barely hold myself back as it is.” He kisses my neck, my jaw, my cheek. “And your blood is the perfect aphrodisiac to me. You smell incredible. Even more so than before. I don’t know what that damn tree did to you, but you’re driving me insane. So even though I’ve vanquished an undead horde and the world around us is unravelling and I have to strike at the heart of all this madness before it destroys us, I don’t care. You get what you want. Always.”
Oh. This man. How is it possible that when everything’s falling to pieces, his presence makes everything better?
“As much as I’m dying to have my way with you right here and now, I cannot in all good conscience allow you to be fucked on the cold, hard ground.” He rises up into a sitting position, bringing me with him. “Let me bring you somewhere more comfortable. A place more befitting of my queen. From now on, I only want to see you ensconced in the finest luxury.”
“I refuse to be cosseted,” I remark, keenly aware that Corvan’s the sort who might react to my abduction by going overboard to protect me.
He slips his hands into mine and rises, pulling me to my feet. Then he kisses me again, pulling me close. “Never that. Soon, you’ll become too powerful to be held back—even by me. Is it so wrong that I just want to give you everything?” He leans close, his breath feathering my cheek. “So much has happened since you came to me. And… I never expected someone like you. How easily you fit with me and all my fucking foibles, even though the why of it all has been kept from me—by intention, I suspect.”