Page 95 of Of Shadows and Blood

Death Dust is a lot. Give yourself a moment to adjust.

I’m well-adjusted.

My eyes close and I bite my lip, soaking in these feelings. I’m floating in an ocean of feathers and clouds. My body is weightless and the cool breeze of the earth caresses me. I run my hands through the silk fabrics beneath me until I run into another hand.

I hesitate, knowing who this belongs to.

Oh, Gods, indeed.

His body scoots close to me, his breath heavy on my neck. I’m too afraid to open my eyes.

“Star,” Cedric breathes. My skin prickles beneath him. The effect of having him this close is intoxicating and completely heightened.

“Hmm?” I say back, drifting aimlessly in the cloud of pillows beneath me. Absentmindedly, I crawl my hand up his arm and back down, humming some of the tune from our private dinner back in Lux.

He places his hand on mine, ceasing my movements. “We must stop before I do something we cannot come back from. I beg you.”

I come crashing back down, like a little hole formed and I fell through back to earth.

Cedric moves to get up but I find myself enough to reach for his hand once more. He stops, his head dropping. The king pauses, his jaw working as his brain calculates the moment while under the effects of the drugs. I’ve seen Cedric inebriated on alcohol but certainly not something as excitable as this.

“Erees, forgive me,” he groans as he comes back to lie next to me. His hand pulls mine up and past my head, pinned to the cushions.

A look of determination.

His eyes are pitch black and I swear a galaxy hides within them.

“I’m not fragile,” I whisper, brushing a stray curl aside.

“Liv,” he whispers back as he traces his fingers down my neck and across my collarbone. The air is hot between us. It’s equally as thick as the well of emotions deep in my stomach. His body above mine feels familiar yet foreign.

“Cedric.” I feel I can’t get enough air as we stare at each other. His eyes are deep like molten lava, his breathing shallow.

He runs his finger back up on the sensitive underside of my arm. In response, I press my thighs to each other, my dress falling lazily down the sides of my legs. Who cares? I’m almost certain Baron is deep in both of his wives not even eight feet away.

“Oh?” Cedric coyly says into my ear, planting a gentle kiss on my lobe.

Gods.

Don’t involve them in this. His voice sounds strained even through the bond.

His legs move, nudging mine open so he can rest in the middle. Cedric’s body is completely on me, his hands now pinning both of my arms above my head. My back arches underneath him, calling to him.

Cedric groans. He actually groans. Those piercing maroon eyes drill into me as my mind screams at him to take me. His eyes drift from my own down to my lips, past my breasts, and to the line my legs are pressing. The dress is only held decent by my fear of being exposed to our hosts.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he says, reaching a hand to my knees, running up to my inner thighs, which immediately open for him.

You have got to be kidding me. I’m my worst traitor.

“Even your body remembers me,” he teases as he props each of my legs open with his own, resting his body flush with mine.

I can feel his passion hard between us, the pressure on my clit causing my breath to hitch.

My breathing has gone so shallow I can only hear the pounding of not only my own, but Cedric’s heart beats. The rest of the room blurs into a scene of hazy colors and drowned out moans from our friends.

This is dirty.

So, damn, dirty.