Page 56 of A Thread of Breath and Bone

“Hmm…do you trust me?” He pulls his hand back, and I instantly cool and miss him all at once. Nodding, he gives me a mischievous grin. “Then be a good girl and lie back.”

My skirts are pulled up around my waist as I suck in a ragged breath.

Oh my gods.

He leans over me with a devilish look about him. He moves down my body with each press of his lips. When he’s kneeling on the side of the bed, he settles my legs over his shoulder. Before I can question what he’s doing, his hands drag my hips down, press his mouth into the soaked silk between my thighs, and he sucks. My thighs fall open greedily, and my back arches off the bed.

“Ry—” I moan.

He stands, pushing my dress further up my hips, and leans over to kiss me again while his fingers find my core, brushing my panties aside, until a finger drags through my slit, gathering moisture. My whole body arches into him with another loud moan. He’s watching me, discovering what I love and what makes me tremble.

The sounds leaving my mouth are embarrassing, but I can’t stop. Not when he slides his finger into me and definitely not when he uses his thumb to press circles into my sensitive bud. My body trembles with need for release.

“I want you,” I moan, grabbing at his shoulders. I need to be closer—so much closer. My orgasm is teetering just out of reach, but I feel that same coiling heat from last time.

Relief, consuming heat, pleasure.

“I’m yours,” he says, before his tongue slides along my lips until I open for him. His finger is doing pleasurable things, and when he hooks it inside of me, I feel heat unfurl in my core.

“Not…what…I…mean.”

There’s no hiding the way I cry his name. I’m a mess, and this is the closest I've ever come to blissfully dying. When the high fades, he crawls on top of me, straddling me completely.

When I think he’s going to do more, he whispers in my ear, “Time for lunch.”

I groan playfully, slapping him on the shoulder, while he peppers me with kisses.

“Let’s go before I change my mind, and my mother sends the quadrants to find us.”

Chapter 22

Raea

“Can I sit next to her?” Clara whispers into her mother’s ear.

I pretend not to hear, so she doesn’t think I’m eavesdropping. We’re gathered around a table that is much more intimate on the sprawling deck outside of the living space. Their rooms here are so different from the palace on Kyrr.

Only two guards stand watch. My new guard, Theovan, and one of the palace Regils.

“I believe your brother would like to sit next to his bride, my love,” Queen Priana replies.

The two are nearly identical. Both Queen Priana and Clara have beautiful golden hair that reaches to their waist, bright blue eyes, and pink, rosy cheeks.

With a pouty face, Clara turns to us. “Anders, can I sit with you?”

I try to hide my smile by glancing down at the plate in front of me. There’s a wonderful mixture of greens and vegetables with fresh fish.

“How about you sit on the other side of Raea?” Ryker suggests.

The seat next to me is empty, which only makes this whole thing more hilarious. Sure, she’d be further down the table, but it’s an option.

“I believe my sister likes you,” he whispers to me.

I reach under the table and squeeze his hand. He brings our interlaced hands to his mouth.

“Oh, there you are, dear. I was hoping you would join us,” Queen Priana says to Cole and Linnea as they enter. I recognize her from a few classes and in passing, but I think she must have been a transfer because I don’t remember seeing her before in other Orders.

“Sorry, Mother, Linnea had a meeting with the healers. Baby looks great,” Cole says. They take the seats directly across from us as Clara has now moved to my right side.