Chapter 36
AUREN
I don’t know who kisses who first, but our lips come together in a clash of craving. It’s both cold from the winter air and hot from the heat of the campfire, the temperatures warring as much as our drive to fulfill the lust pumping in our veins.
Slade cradles the back of my head, fingers digging into the strands of my hair like he wants to dig deeper into me, keeping me against his mouth so that he can have his way with mine.
And he does.
His dominant hold tilts my head right where he wants me so his tongue can sweep in further, as if he’s drinking me in.
When I pull away to take in a breath, he growls, like a predator being taken from his catch. “Don’t turn away from me,” he rumbles.
Laughing, I say, “You have to let a girl breathe.”
“I want to breathe you in,” he counters. “Your every exhale, your aura, your very essence. I don’t want to miss a single part of you.”
My stomach leaps right up to my chest, his words elevating me like the climb of a mountain and taking me right to the peak. My ribbons lift up and wrap around him as much as he’s curling his arms around me, and once again, the rest of the world just fades away until it’s just us. Just here.
Bringing up a hand, I let my fingertips graze against the ashen scales along his cheekbones, marveling at the smooth texture of them. They reflect the firelight, making the fae in him stand out.
“Did your parents have scales?” I ask curiously.
“My father.”
I try to decipher the tone of his answer, but I get distracted by the light puffs of snowfall that land in his black hair. Slade looks up and glowers at the sky. “This place is always snowing.”
“It’s Fifth Kingdom, what did you expect?” I tease. “At least here it isn’t constantly blizzarding. The snowstorms have been pretty mild.”
“I can’t wait to be back in my own kingdom where I’m able to see the sun.”
Nostalgia floats over me like a warm summer breeze. “Goddess, I can’t even remember when I spent a day in the sun. It’s always overcast and cold in this part of Orea. In Highbell, it was always snowing, and even if the sun did come out, which was very rare, I wasn’t outside to see it.”
Agitation snaps in his gaze like impatient fingers. “You will see the sun again, Auren. You will see everything and anything you want.”
My heart swells at the determination in his voice, at the way his fingers tighten on my waist. “I will,” I agree.
He nods, as if we just made the same vow. “Let’s get you inside where it’s warm.” I expect him to step away and just grab my hand, but instead, he sweeps me up in his arms, making me let out a noise of surprise.
Striding through the snow, he carries me toward the tent, and when we’re closer, I send some of my ribbons out to hold up the tent flaps to make it easier for us to duck in.
As soon as we’re inside, I’m wrapped in warmth from the coals simmering in the center. Slade sets me down on the furs, and I look around, noting that everything is exactly the same, except…
“Got rid of my pallet?” I wander over as I note the metal armor stacked in the corner where I used to sleep.
“Not exactly,” he replies, nodding toward where his own pallet is. “I just shoved yours against mine since our sleeping arrangements are a bit different now.”
I send him a sly smile. “Awful presumptuous to think I’ll be sleeping with you, Commander Rip.”
“Call it presumptuous all you like,” he replies smoothly. “We both know I’m going to be buried inside of you soon.”
“Is that so?” I peel off my coat, but the fae book that I’d forgotten about drops from its pocket and lands on the ground.
“What’s that?”
I lift it up, checking to make sure the pages are still intact. “A book I found in the library,” I explain, and I see Slade’s eyes light with interest. “But…we’ll talk about that later.” I place the book and coat carefully on top of his armor before I sit down on his—our—pallet. I cross my legs, lips lifting up in a seductive smile. “For now, I’d like to do something else.”
He stalks forward and then braces his hands on either side of me, leaning down until our faces are right in front of each other. “All I could think about today is what you felt like last night,” he murmurs before he leans in to run his nose against my neck, skimming over the sensitive parts ever so slightly with his hot breath. “All I could smell was your skin, and all I could hear was the noises you made while I was deep inside of you.”