Page 31 of Mistress of Hours

“Last night, I experienced something with you that I thought was little more than a fairytale. For me, there will be no other but you, Evienne Elodie D’Auclaire,” he said, barely more than a whisper on the cold autumn wind.

Evienne’s breath caught at his admission; no other but her? Did he mean forever? Before she could respond, he continued, “I do not expect the same surety from you, Evienne. I simply hope to have the chance to earn your love in time. I do not want you to feel as though you have no choice—I only wish you to know that mine is made.”

“Orion.” His name sounded breathless on her lips. She trailed her hand up his chest, her fingers grazing the warm skin of his neck before coming to rest on his jaw.

“I think I would like you to kiss me now,” she said, leaning into his warmth.

“Anything for you, love,” he whispered, lowering his lips to hers.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Evienne pricked herpalm and extended her hand to unlock the door to her rooms. Orion watched her intently, clearly studying how she wielded this seemingly simple magic. She smirked at him and pushed her door open. He followed her inside, glancing over his shoulder to ensure no one saw them.

They had slipped away from the ball after making a bit of an appearance, dancing twice and splitting up to chat separately with various members of the court. The entire time they spent apart, Evienne could sense where Orion was in the hall. Maybe this idea of Còmhanam wasn’t completely unfounded.

Evienne strode over to her vanity and began to remove her jewelry. Orion stayed just inside the door, watching her with desire coming off him in waves.

“I’ll never understand how you manage having to cut yourself every time you use your magic,” Orion said, watching her intently.

“You get used to it after so many years of practice. Besides, we’re taught to end every casting with a healing spell, so the cuts close before I ever really notice them,” Evienne caught his stare in her mirror and turned to face him. “Will you help me with the laces?”

Orion prowled across the room to stand behind her. She could feel the heat of his body against her bare upper back as the tips of his fingers brushed lightly over her exposed shoulders. She heard him inhale sharply as she leaned back into his touch.

Orion’s fingers found the laces at the back of her dress and began to slowly loosen them. Evienne reveled in his closeness, inthe quiet intimacy of this moment. She found herself wondering what it would be like to end every evening like this.

As she felt the dress fully loosen she let it fall to the ground before stepping out of it. She stood before him in nothing but her black lace panties; the dress had a built-in corset, so no other support had been needed. Orion’s gaze traveled the full length of her before coming to rest on her face.

“Evienne, you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.” He was breathless. Before she could answer, his hands were cupping her face, his lips pressing to hers in a passionate but reverent kiss. She opened to him, his tongue sweeping in to claim her, and her body ignited with desire for him.

Her hands found the buttons of his pants as he shrugged out of his immaculate jacket and beautiful linen shirt. Soon, they were both bare before each other, a tangle of limbs falling onto the plush rug before Evienne’s fireplace.

The heat of the fire pressed against Evienne’s heated skin while Orion’s cool fingers grazed the underside of her breast. She gasped at the gentleness of the contact and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss. They explored each other with languid, hungry touches and tastes, when Evienne decided she didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Orion, please,” Evienne begged in a breathy moan.

“Tell me what you want, love,” Orion whispered in her ear as his fingers worked her most sensitive bundle of nerves. She writhed against the friction he created, his touch driving her closer to release. She let out another moan as he slipped two fingers inside her, the pleasant stretch leaving her wanting more.

“I want you to fill me,” she panted, grinding her hips against him, his fingers buried deep inside her.

“I won’t make you ask twice,” Orion answered, just asbreathless. His need for her was a palpable thing; Evienne felt it in her soul.

Orion sat back on his knees, pulling Evienne into a sitting position astride him. She braced her arms on his shoulders, kneeling so she was hovering just above his hard length. Orion placed his hands on her hips and guided her down onto him, inch by inch, letting her adjust to the stretch. He stared into her eyes, and Evienne watched him savor every expression on her face as she took him.

When he was seated to the hilt inside her, Evienne’s head fell back on a moan. Orion groaned and wrapped his arms around her to support her, shifting so that her legs wrapped around his hips. Evienne cried out at the deepening of the sensation at this angle; she felt impossibly full of him, so connected that every thought began and ended with him.

Evienne took a deep breath, feeling this moment burrowing into her very soul. These seconds, minutes, hours, spent with him; she knew these moments would linger in her mind as some of her most cherished memories.

Just as she adjusted to the feel of him so deep inside her, Orion lifted her hips gently and began a slow rocking motion that had her clenching around him. She gasped, feeling every glorious inch as he ground slowly inside her. She looked up at him, his gaze already upon her face, and they stared at each other in awe at all they were feeling together.

Evienne took over the rocking motion, gradually increasing the speed until she could feel her release about to crest. Orion slipped his hand into her hair at the back of her head, tilting her face up to him, and kissed her deeply. Before Evienne realized what was happening, she was seeing…herself?

She stood on the steps at the main entrance to the palace, hair flowing in the autumn breeze, with a pleasant expression on herface. Evienne realized Orion was looking at her from where he sat mounted on his horse, moving toward the palace.

“Breathtaking.”Orion’s voice filtered through Evienne’s mind. She must be seeing his memory of the day they met.

Evienne felt, or rather Orion must have felt, a jolting intuitive pull as he neared her in the courtyard that day.“I must be near her,”the thought, overwhelming in certainty, came unbidden. She felt his shock, denial, surprise, confusion—all in a swirling torrent. In the next heartbeat, she was back in her own mind, Orion still deep inside her. No more than a second had passed from when her vision began.

She blinked as Orion’s lips left hers, and she looked up into his perfect face and smiled. He smiled back and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “I want to feel you coming on my cock, my love; can you do that for me?”

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