Page 53 of Ashborne Forged

Her eyes gleamed and she leaned up, pressing herself against me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Warm me up, Voski,” she breathed, and when I dropped my chin, she kissed me again.

Slipping one hand around her waist, I worked at my belt with the other, opening and freeing it, then tugging at my buttons as I walked her backward, until we met the broad trunk of a huge oak, and I pressed her into it.

The jacket fell almost to her knees, protecting her back from the rough bark, so she leaned into it happily, pulling me with her, and tilting her head to deepen the kiss. As I explored her body, she shifted her weight, widening her stance in anticipation of my touch—which was both thrilling and touching.

Both of us began to pant.

Then I had an idea.

Kissing along her jaw to her ear, leaning her back into the tree, I dropped my hand to her ass, cupping it, and pulling her against me, as I whispered, “Do you want to learn a new way?”

She gave a warm, approving hum and kissed me harder.

With my tongue in her mouth, I groaned and reached down, grabbing her in two, full handfuls and lifting her up, higher than my waist, so that we broke the kiss and she braced on my shoulders to keep herself upright, her eyes popping wide.

“Voski, what are you—”

Leaning her into the tree, I urged her to hook her ankles behind my back, then slid her down, down, down. Her head fell back as I entered her, then let her drop in a single slide, until she took me all the way to the hilt.

Her heels dug into my ass, and she gasped. “Voski…”

I kissed her deeper, but kept her pinned hard against that trunk, grabbing for her wrists, locking both in one of my hands, then lifting and pinning them against the tree so she was arched back and open to me, her breasts bobbing right in front of my face. .

With a ragged growl, I curled myself forward to suck and tease, and she began to rock with me, sighing, her body warming against mine.

It wasn’t fast, or aggressive. It wasn’t mindless. I devoured her, tasted her, touched her, drank in the sight of her.

As her arousal grew, and she urged me on, I kept the pace steady, but gripped her ass hard, pulling her against me with every thrust.

Unable to use her hands, she whimpered and squirmed, trying to touch me. But her body was bare at the front, goosebumped from the cold water, and her nipples taut.

Stretched, arched, sighing, urging me on, she was a vision.

The sun filtering through the leaves overhead peppered her skin with light, and I chased those places, tasting light and shadow, pink skin and white.

As we climbed together toward that peak, and her abandon grew, her head fell back against the tree and her jaw went slack. Her eyes rolled back so that I was left alone in the sight of her, calling to her to come for me, devouring the vision, etching it on my memory, the bond swelling and pulsing as our souls tangled again, and again, and our bodies remained one.

“Grace,” I gasped as she tightened around me, her body rising to that summit. “Grace.”

“Let me touch you,” she whispered.

With a groan, I released her hands, cupping under her knee and lifting her, shifting the angle, so that we both groaned.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close, burying her fingers in my hair and holding me there as we climbed to that cliff together.

‘Grace… Grace!’ I couldn’t stop tasting her name, the only word that seemed to fully express her.

As we tumbled off that clifftop together, freefalling back to earth, our voices raised in unison, all I could do was hold her close and pray that I never, ever, fucked this up.

18. The Shadow of Fear

~ GRACE ~

The day before our final night in the hut, we’d just finished a lesson in blade-throwing, and I was buoyant because I was growing stronger and more accurate. I practically skipped next to Voski as we walked back toward the hut because he’d said that my hand-eye coordination was strong enough that he’d recommend me for specialist training.

Head full of dreams of becoming a weapons master, though I wasn’t sure the Furyknights even had such a thing, I didn’t immediately notice that he was quiet on the walk.