I raise a brow as he continues.

“I’ve glimpsed your spirit, Laurelle—your soul. It is too beautiful to be stifled by societal rules. If you grow to desire a human life, I want you to be free. No matter what you choose, I demand that you never hide yourself again.”

Water pools in my eyes and slides down my cheeks. I don’t give myself a chance to think. His words threaded through my heart; like a puppet, they yank me towards him. Gripping his head, I pull his face towards mine and slam my lips onto his.

They are motionless for a moment, my brain trying to warn me that we’re making a mistake, but I don’t listen. I just feel. Emrys realizes I’m kissing him in an instant and lets out a strangled growl. It echoes down my throat and into my racing heart.

His lips are feverish against mine. I’ve only kissed one other person, and that was years ago. If my technique is bad, the king surely does not notice. I whimper against his soft lips as we turn into a frenzy of touches and clashing teeth. His taste is crisp and sweet. Perfect. He tastes like forever.

Who needs faerie wine when his lips make me feel like this?

I don’t want to stop, but I have to breathe and tell my faerie king my truth. All of it.

“I want to stay,” I whisper against his mouth. “My heart knows we belong together. My soul demands yours, and I want to be with you.”

I barely get the words out before his mouth is back on mine. Our mouths feast on each other as if we can devour the other. My hands leave his neck and slide down his naked back, sliding along the strong planes of muscles. I dig into his shoulder blades and moan.

With my mouth open, Emrys seizes the chance to plunge his tongue into my mouth. It dances with my own—tasting and taking all that it can. We kiss as if we are fighting for dominance. It is delicious chaos, and I want more of it. I’ll never get enough of this feeling—of him.

I need more. Now.

My hands drop from his back and go to the top of my dress. I manage to slip one sleeve off before Emrys stills my hands. Growling my own protest against his mouth, my eyes pop open.

“Not yet.” His kiss is searing, even as he slips my sleeve back on me. “One more surprise, my blossom.”

“Your cock can be the surprise,” I whine, trying to pull his mouth back to mine.

He laughs before giving me another hot kiss.

“I won’t let my need to fuck you stop me from spoiling you utterly rotten.” Another hot kiss makes my lips tingle. “Or giving you the truth.”

His lips press against my cheek. Softly, he kisses under my ear before gently nipping at my lobe. I gasp, my pussy turning even wetter. My thighs are surely soaked. His lips trail down my neck, biting and sucking as he goes. Claws skim down my sides until they tangle at my hips.

“But I am not a cruel king,” he whispers before nipping under my chin. “I’ll take the edge off for you.”

With a gentle push, I fall backward onto one of the tables we had used to make the pies. I land with a gentle thud. Together, we push bowls and pans out of the way and listen to them clatter to the tile floor. I don’t care if we’re ruining all these beautiful pies. I need Emrys to touch me again. I need to feel him, or I’m going to die.

A bowl of jelly splatters to the floor, and I pay it no mind. Just like I pay no mind to the flour coating my hair and dress as I reach down and yank up my skirts. Emrys’s claws tangle with mine until my pussy is completely exposed to his greedy eyes and the evening air.

“So pretty.” Emrys trails a claw up my wet slit, eliciting a moan from me.

“Emrys,” I whine. Opening my legs wider, I watch as he tosses them over his shoulder and grips my hips. Yanking me towards his face, he inhales against my wet flesh as my hands tangle in his white hair.

“This perfect pussy needs to be worshipped.” He inhales deeply once more. “It needs to be kept safe at all times. It’s the ultimate treasure—one humans were never fit to behold.”

His tongue licks up my center, and I scream. I’m already dangerously close to climax. I always am whenever he touches me. My back arches, and a cloud of flour coats the air around us.

“Look at how wet you are, Laurelle. You’re soaking the table.”

With his tongue returning to my clit, I feel his claw circle my entrance before gently pushing inside. The stretch is decadent, and my moans become louder. My chest rises and falls as he pumps me with his finger. Closing his lips around my clit, he sucks gently, and I scream out his name.

My body is teetering on the edge when I feel him pull his finger from me. New heat pools in my belly as I feel him skim that same claw down between the cheeks of my ass. My face flames as he gently prods my back entrance, as his tongue spears into my pussy.

“Emrys!” My hands tighten in his hair.

“Before the night is over,” he growls against me, “you’ll beg me to be in both of your little holes. In your mouth. You’ll demand my cock fill you with seed everywhere it can.”

“Yes,” I agree, lost to my pleasure.