He doesn’t stop until he’s right in front of me, his hands coming up to brace on either side of my head. His power presses against my skin, making chills scatter down the side of my neck. In one inhale, I breathe in his scent like it’s my very own aphrodisiac.
This dangerous closeness is heightening everything. Desire coils between us so thick that I can taste it. The temptation of him is just a breath away, and yet, we can’t touch.
Not yet.
Holding back from him is its very own sweet agony of craving ache.
When Slade inches his face closer to my ear, I don’t dare move or blink or even breathe.
His voice is a seductive grit of palpable hunger that has my ribbons twisting on the floor and my own want surging. My eyes flutter closed as his words stroke my ear and slip inside to settle beneath my ribs like they carry their own beat.
“It’s fucking torture to have you stand there and tell me you want me, and not be able to do anything about it. But I’m a patient male, and as soon as I’m able, I’m going to touch and taste every inch of you. I’m going to have you writhing and begging, and I’ll give you every bit of pleasure I can wring from your delectable body,” he murmurs in a wicked promise. “The moment that sun dips, Goldfinch, you’re mine.”
Chapter 30
AUREN
I have never wanted someone as much as I want this male. I have never felt as wanted as Slade makes me feel.
My chest heaves, my heart pelting out a percussion against my ribs that somehow matches the timbre of Slade’s carnal promise.
“Tell me, Auren.”
I didn’t even realize I’d let my eyes flutter closed until I spring them open again, my head braced against the wall behind me, Slade hooking me against it with forbidden closeness. “Tell you what?”
“Tell me again that you want this. That I can have all of you. I want to hear it.”
Parched heat forces me to lick my lips, and Slade’s eyes flare as he watches my tongue drag across before I can answer him. “I won’t ever be an object for someone to possess ever again, but I don’t think that’s quite what you mean.”
“It’s not,” he replies, the flames behind him bedecking his silhouette in its gleam. “I don’t want to be your master, Auren. I’m not asking to keep you like property. I’m asking you to give me your all and not hold back, because I’m far too deep with you to settle for anything less. It’s what our fae nature demands. It is what I will demand. Once I have you, I’m not going to give you up.”
“I don’t want you to,” I whisper, and the vulnerability I let slip softens his eyes. The green of them is so deep it reminds me of the darkest grass at the very cusp of summer. Of sunburnt moss burnt against shoreline rocks. It’s the green of secret forests so thick no one ever attempts to traverse them. But me, I’d let myself get lost in it just to remind myself of this moment.
“Undress for me, Goldfinch,” he murmurs. “I want to see you.”
I bite my lip with hesitation, though my body pulses. “Promise you won’t touch me yet.”
“Until the sun sets.” He makes it sound like a sensuous warning, and I find myself shivering when he pulls away. I miss his presence immediately, even if our proximity was entirely too dangerous. The fact that he even would be that close to me during daylight is a big deal. He trusts me enough to be a mere breath away. He wants me enough to risk it.
Slade walks out onto the balcony and drags in a chair, the iron feet scraping against the floor as it comes to a stop in front of the fire. He shuts out the wintry air with a click before striding back over, and then sits down with a cocked brow. “I’ll stay right here in this spot.”
The breath I let out is shaky, but not in fear. Instead, I’m full of anticipation.
For the first time in my life, I’m choosing the person I take to bed. I get to see what all of this sexual tension and spiking chemistry between us is going to surmount to. It just took a restless night and a dwindling hourglass to face my truth.
I want him.
I’m sick of pushing him away, of trying to confine myself to denials and doubts. I understand the importance of him doing his kingly duties, of not playing into Midas’s hands. But I also want to know what it feels like for Slade to be truly mine, and that’s what I had to face when I woke up. Because if I were to leave without telling him, without giving myself this, then I would have regretted it forever. I would’ve always wondered.
I’m sick of wondering.
There comes a point in your life when you have to choose between having regrets and the possibility of making mistakes. I’d rather make those mistakes than live without ever taking a chance, because I’ve missed out on too much already. Taking chances can be like walking through a mudslide, where every inch of you gets stained, but regrets are the stagnant pools of deprivation, and I’ve been wading in them for far too long.
It’s time to get a little dirty.
Slade’s attention is solely on me as I peel myself away from the wall. The fire blazes behind him like the mouth of a demon, but the wickedest thing in this room is him. The way he watches me leaves no doubt in my mind that his thoughts are as filthy and debauched as he claimed.
“You know, this hardly seems fair that I should be undressing while you aren’t,” I point out.
Slade grins from his seat. “If you wanted me to strip, Auren, all you had to do was ask.” When I narrow my eyes on him, he clicks his tongue. “Shy?”
Of course I’m a little shy. I’m about to bare myself to him, to let him see every inch of me, and it’s nerve-wracking.
As if he’s caught the tremor of hesitation that moves through me, Slade says, “Do you remember when I accidentally walked in on you in my tent when you were changing?” At my slow nod, he goes on. “I wanted to touch you so damn badly it took every ounce of self-restraint to walk away. I’ll admit, I thought about that moment many, many times.”
“That’s not very gentlemanly,” I tease.
His lips tip up. “I’m no gentleman.”
Why does something as simple as that send a trill of excitement reverberating down my spine?
Before I lose my nerve, I look down at the ribbons that are still somewhat wrapped around me to hold up my dress. One by one, I let them slowly unravel all the way until the loose back of my bodice parts like paper unfolding.
When all of my ribbons are lying on the floor behind me, they shake out and stretch. I lift my fingers to the top of my gown, more to keep it up than to peel it off.
One look at Slade, and my face heats, but I don’t want my nerves to get the better of me. I want to be confident, sexy, in control. Empowered.
Keeping that frame of mind, I turn around until my back is facing him, and the heat of the crackling fire trickles up my spine. With my fingers digging beneath the collar, I drag my dress off my left shoulder, feeling like I’m exposing far more than just my skin. Two of my ribbons come up to help tug the sleeve the rest of the way down, and with my pulse ricocheting in my veins, I do the same to the other side, until the bodice sinks around my waist.
“Not a fan of the corsets here, love?”
That damn word.
“No,” I tell him with a shake of my head. “And you wouldn’t be either if you were expected to wear them.”
A low chuckle. “I suppose I wouldn’t.”
I start to pull the dress down, but Slade says, “Slower.”
Just that single word spikes desire low in my belly. “Bossy.”
“King,” he reminds me.
My lips tilt up, and then with a careful drag, I start to take my gown off. I give a slightly exaggerated shimmy of my hips, and behind me, I hear Slade groan. A thrill shoots through me, and my confidence grows enough that I haul it down the rest of the way and let the dress pool at my feet.
I look over my shoulder, careful to keep my body still as I turn my head.
He’s leaning forward, bent elbows propped against his
thighs, hands clasped in front of his chin. There’s nothing bored or stony about him right now. No, he’s pure heat and restrained hunger, and I love that I’m the person who’s put that look in his eyes.
“Let down that gorgeous hair of yours.”
My ribbons come up instantly, two of them unthreading the braids they created. A gentle comb through, and then my scalp is relaxed, my golden tresses hanging down my back in gentle waves.
“I can’t wait to thread my fingers through every strand,” he tells me. “To twist it around my fist and tip your head back so I can look you in the eye as I take you from behind.”
A stuttering breath slips past my lips at his wicked words, and I watch as his eyes dip lower. Lower.
Slade hums. “I’m inclined to agree with you about the corsets, but I have to say, Fifth’s undergarments are a different matter entirely.”
A nervous laugh comes out of me as his gaze settles on my ass that’s currently encased in gold lace. Glittering stockings hug my legs, the tops stopping at my thighs. His hands move to the armrests, his fingers curling over the ends to give it a white-knuckled grip, as if he has to hold himself back, or else he’ll pounce on me.
“Turn around for me, Auren.” His voice simmers and strokes.
I don’t know how he can affect me so much, but every gravelly instruction he speaks adds weight to the lust that’s already piled inside of me. I step out of the dress and turn in a slow circle until I’m facing him fully, in nothing but my gloves, stockings, underwear, and boots.
His lips quirk up when he sees my long hair hanging perfectly down in the front to cover my breasts. “Tease.”
“I’m only following directions,” I say with an impish grin.
Movement on the floor has both of us looking down at the same time where we see my ribbons trying to slither closer to Slade.
“Now these, on the other hand, seem to be quite brazen,” he says, sounding entirely too pleased about that.
I give them a tug. “They’re just trying to get closer to the fire.”
“Liar.” With a smirk, he tips his head. “Come here.”
My eyes narrow. “Slade.”
“I won’t touch your skin, I promise. Put your foot right here,” he says, widening his legs and tapping the spot between.
A hard swallow travels down my throat when my gaze drops down to the very visible bulge in his pants. Walking forward, I carefully lift my foot and brace it on the edge of his chair, right between his muscled thighs.
There’s a slow drag of his gaze that goes up the entire length of my leg. Slade hums, and the noise seems to settle right in my core, making it pulse. “You are the most stunning female I have ever seen.”
His compliment sends butterflies fluttering past the crevices of my chest. I don’t look away from his face when he lazily trails my every curve as if he’s taking his time to see every part of me. I have the sudden urge to reach down and thread my hands through his hair, so I hold them behind me instead, my fingers tangling into the base of my ribbons.
With my foot propped up like this, Slade has the perfect view of, well, everything. I suck in a breath at just how intimate this is, and he looks up at me with a glint in his eye.
We’re so incredibly close, and even though my lace panties cover me, and my hair hangs over my breasts, I still feel so exposed. In the firelight, my skin gleams, the tight weave of my stockings glistening.
“Don’t move,” he tells me, and then his hands come down to the laces of my boots.
Transfixed, I watch his deft fingers untie the knot and then begin to meticulously loosen the ties. When he’s slackened them all, he gives my boot a tap, and I carefully switch legs until my right foot is propped up. He does the same thing to that foot, and then he looks up at me again.
“There,” he says quietly.
Setting my foot down on the floor, I back up and slip out of my boots, and then I back up a few more steps, putting some safe space between us before one of us pounces on the other.
“Go sit on my bed.”
I shake my head. “I’ll gild it.”
“I don’t care,” he says roughly.
“I do. The servants will see.”
“They’re not allowed in here.”
Looking around at the messy space, I smirk. “Maybe they should be.”
His lips twitch. “The bed, Auren.”
Great Divine, the way he says that. The command sparking through his tone is ravenous, impatient, dominant. Like he’s been waiting for me all this time, and he’s ready for the clash. The lascivious need inside of me craves it, wants to see just how hungry I can make him.
“Hmm, I think I’ll stay right here,” I tease. My tone is flippant, though I have to work not to let a smile out.
I’m careful to stay next to the wall, letting only the back of my head rest against it, my hair covering my skin enough not to gild anything. Then, with a boldness I didn’t know I possessed, I let my fingers play against my collarbone, then a slow stroke down between my breasts.
A low, rumbling growl escapes him.
He brings one hand up to run a thumb over his plush bottom lip, and my gaze follows the movement, wondering what it would feel like if it were my lip he was touching like that.
“Lower.”
His gruff command makes me press my legs together, trying to feed into the sudden need for friction.
With my eyes locked on his, I let my fingers trail down slowly between my breasts in a leisurely scrawl. I drop beneath to the curves of them, my hair moving in the slightest ripple of tantalizing tease without revealing anything beneath.
“Lower,” he says again, and my nipples pebble.
I let my touch drag down to my stomach, circle over my belly button, and then pause just above my panty line. Slade leans back and tips his hips up slightly to adjust himself in his seat, and I don’t know what it is about the move, but it sends a rush of heat between my legs.
“You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
I steal a look at the length that seems to have grown between his legs. “I think I have some idea.”
Another drag of his thumb against that bottom lip. “You look good against that wall, but you’re going to look even better pinned up against it while I fuck you.”
“Great goddess,” I murmur, flooded with a newfound throb.
“It’s nearly dusk.”
My eyes flit over to the balcony door, its glass frosted with little veins of freeze hanging from every corner. Outside, the light’s gone murky, the gray giving way to obscurity.
“So it is.”
As if he can’t hold back anymore, Slade unfurls from the chair and straightens. His power coils around him, reaching out in invisible fingers to stroke against my skin. My breath catches, and once again, there’s no nausea or sense of wrongness. Instead, his magic seems to blow around me in an unmoving breeze.
Like a caged predator, Slade goes to the glass doors of the balcony and then grins. “You’re very nearly mine now.”
My teeth trap my bottom lip in anticipation, everything in me nearly trembling beneath the wait. When he reaches for the top button on his black shirt, my eyes go wide, and even my ribbons go still.
At seeing my expression, he pauses. “I can leave it on, if you prefer.”
For a moment, my brows lower in a frown of confusion, but then it dawns on me. My gaze traces over the shifting stems along his skin, the reaching ends peeking above his collar.
“Don’t you dare,” I tell him. If he thinks I don’t want to see him, he’s wrong. I’m not put off by those strange roots beneath his pale skin. If anything, they make me want to run my fingers over each and every one.
My reply earns me a roguish grin, but I don’t miss the flash of relief in his expression. He undresses slowly, and with each button that comes undone, my heart seems to beat harder.
I saw him shirtless in the fight circle, but that was wh
en he was in his Rip form, and great Divine, was he ripped. But when Slade shrugs out of his shirt and tosses it to the floor, my breath catches, because...
“You’re beautiful.”
A surprised laugh escapes him, but I’m not kidding. Every inch of him is sculpted to perfection. My attention is latched onto his body, and I’m unable to look away.
Those intrinsic threads of his power seem to sprout from his chest, right at the chiseled line below his pecs. They’re thick at the bottom and a perfect mirror image on both sides of his chest and neck as they root upward, like they’re searching for a sun. They’re thinnest right where they end at the edge of his jaw, barely bigger than a needle, yet as thick as my finger at the base.
If it weren’t for the fact that they move ever so slightly, like a field of wheat in a breeze, I’d think they were tattooed onto his pale skin. I find myself aching to let my lips drag over them, to taste them as they bend.
Slade stands there, letting me drink him in, while his power pools around him. My gaze slips down to see his perfectly cut abs, the V that disappears below his pelvis. His arms hang at his sides, muscles bulging, the strong veins down his forearms enough to make my mouth water.
When I’m finally able to lift my eyes back up to his face, I realize I’ve taken two steps closer to him, as if drawn to him, needing to close the space between us.
“I’d touch you if it wouldn’t turn you solid,” I admit.
“One part of me is plenty solid already,” he says with a devilish smirk.
My face heats, and Slade begins to pace in front of me like a wild animal waiting for the bars of time to drop away. He kicks off his shoes, and the impatient energy he’s now giving off is mixing with the rampancy of his frenetic power, causing my nerves to jump with edginess.
His hands drop to the button of his pants, and my eyes are glued to the movement. But instead of popping it open and showing me the rest of him, he pauses, and I actually whimper. Out loud.
Slade chuckles at me, now being just as much the tease as I was before. “Impatient, Goldfinch?” he asks, enjoying himself way too much.
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