“Even if I want you to stop?”
“Especially then.”
“Take my diamonds off. Please.”
The prince undid each strand of precious stones, letting them clink to the ground.
“I’m curious.” His voice was velvet soft as he leaned in and removed the final necklace. “About the Sin Corridor. What you experienced that night you called out my name. Tell me.”
There was no magical command or demonic thrall attached to his request. Only genuine curiosity. I realized the feeling of dizziness brought on by drinking was also gone. I was no longer under the influence of anything, save being drunk on my own passions, and hadn’t been since before he first kissed me.
Maybe it was our current position—the fact I didn’t have to see his face—that made my confession easier. Or perhaps I simply did not wish to feel guilt or shame regarding my body and the things I wanted and craved. I gathered up my courage, knowing precisely where this admission would lead. Praying for it to travel that path, really.
“You were… you were behind me, like this. Except we were laying down.”
He rewarded my honesty with a gentle stroke along my arm. “And?”
“I was wearing your shirt and you were unbuttoning it. So slowly I was going mad.”
“I imagine you demanded I remove it.” His fingertips ghosted across my shoulder, then my clavicle, before dipping lower, teasing the skin exposed above my décolletage. My breath hitched as he paused his ministrations, one hand slipping beneath a strap of my gown. Only the thin scrap of silk stood between us. “And I obliged. Is that correct?”
“More or less.”
“Would you like me to do the same now?” With only the slightest pause, I nodded. “I need to hear the words, Emilia. Do you wish for me to stop?”
“No.” My grip on his thighs tightened as if I could keep him there forever. “No, I do not.”
He moved my hair aside and leaned back in his chair, allowing enough space between us for him to lightly massage my shoulders. Gripping one strap in each hand, he pressed his lips to my spine, kissing me there as he slipped the top of my gown off.
Cool air blew across my flushed skin.
“What happened next?”
Fantasy and reality were colliding. My breaths quickened in anticipation. “You wanted me to tell you that you are my favorite sin.”
His chuckle was low, deep. It made me ache for him all the more. “Am I?”
“At the moment, yes.”
“You didn’t confess it then.”
I heard the question even though he hadn’t phrased it that way.
“No.” My eyes fluttered shut before I opened them again. “You started touching me and I could think of nothing else.”
He nuzzled the back of my neck before reaching around to cup my breasts. Heat shot through me. His fingers traced the outer curves, circling closer to the peaks in the center. When he brushed across them, they hardened. My breath caught as I sunk my teeth into my lower lip. I inched back, craving more of his heat, and noticed how affected he was.
“Tell me what I did in your illusion that made you call for me.”
I flushed. There was no way I’d tell him about that part. I closed my eyes and gathered my resolve, forcing myself to not be embarrassed. With renewed confidence I allowed myself the freedom of letting go. “You were gently pulling me against your arousal and your hand slipped under my skirts. You touched me. There. With your fingers.”
“Did it feel as it did in the Crescent Shallows?”
“Almost. It felt incredible, for a mere moment. Then I awoke.”
“Before you climaxed?”
“I… believe so.”
“Allow me the honor of making that up to you now.”
He didn’t move right away, and I realized he was waiting for my consent. Wrath would never take without permission. “Please.”
“With pleasure.”
He slipped one hand beneath the silk gown and his light touch slid over my calf, against my inner thigh, then slowly traced circular patterns there, roving a bit higher with each daring stroke, until I could no longer stand it. I stopped pressing my knees together and he dragged a finger across the apex of my body. It felt better than the Sin Corridor and Crescent Shallows combined.
Wrath pressed me forward until I was nearly bent over him, then trailed kisses down my spine. My skin tingled with each pass of his lips. All the while his fingers teased and danced across my body, driving me into a frenzy.
Once I was convinced I’d perish from the pleasure, he slipped them inside me. I stilled, getting accustomed to the feel of it as he slowly began moving them.