Page 120 of Deadly Maiden

“I will manage.”

“And there is my vicious little necromancer girl.”

“You mean princess,” I remind him. I cannot resist adding, “My sweet lizard prince.”

“What?” He tackles me to the grass and lies on top of me, pinning me beneath him while he bites my neck, tugs down my collar, and blows raspberries on the tops of my breasts.

We finally stop tussling, and he studies me, looking into my eyes. “You know, they’ve changed. You have fire in your eyes now, my soulmate princess.”

I nod, hair rustling on the grass as I gasp out, “I do. I found out…today.” I’m not saying how, and I’m sure my love for him is also shining from my eyes.

He smiles and draws his hand down the side of my face, gently thumbs my mouth. “My beautiful girl.”

I’m still breathing hard when he flops over to lie beside me. “Truly, though, be careful. I need you in my life forever.”

“Me too.” I elbow up so I can kiss his jaw. “Meaning you.”

It’s the best end to the day. Until I remember Father. Grief punches me. It will be a while before I stop doing this—flipping back into that awful moment. I know it. It will lessen. I sit up.

“Let’s get some food. Then we should sleep. By morning I will be okay to heal you.”

“Sleep. In Slaedorth. Probably better than out here? But I’ll need you to protect me in there.” He shudders. “Ghosts?”

I eyeroll at my brave soulmate and decide not to remind him of what Kyvin is.

“You know. Forget what I said. I’m not going anywhere tomorrow. Orish isn’t going to fault me, and I’d rather be with you when you explore this place. I want to know Slaedorth is safe before I leave.”

“That sounds wonderful.” I wriggle closer to him and exhale, long and low, sinking into just being…with him.

Chapter 38

Wyntre

Waking up next to Rorsyd, it’s worth doing over and over. Even if we are on old sheets with holes in them flung over a mattress that’s seen its best days long ago. The sunlight on our bodies makes me blink and remember last night. We have a shuttered window due to finding out the large bedroom isL-shaped. The hidden part of the L stretches to the rear wall, looks out over the valley.

The etharum-powered lights are still on.

I roll over and nibble on Rorsyd’s arm. Then he rolls over on top of me and kisses down my breasts. When he finds my nipples, I wrap my hands around his head and urge him to keep going.

We have sex in the dawn sunlight, quiet sex with enough gasping and moans and orgasms to make anyone happy.

Panting, recovering, I stretch out my legs and smile up at him. We kiss once more, lazily exploring each other’s mouths. I taste the saltiness of the sweat on his well-muscled shoulder.

“Now, how do we clean up?” I run a finger down his bare chest. We dared each other to get naked last night, though he left a sword next to the bed, on the floor. “That bathroom had faucets? Would there be water?”

Me, I’m armed with my necromancer awareness. I doubt anything can move in this place and not alert my senses.

“I don’t know. I glimpsed a lake outside, or a pool of sorts off the river, buuut it’s a half a mile away. I can lick you clean?” Then he slips down me and buries his face in my pussy to do what he said.

“Nooo.” I push at his shoulder, though he’s insistent and keeps on licking. I’m drowsily sex-brained, amused, and ready to open my legs and let him keep going when he springs off the bed.

“Let’s explore and see what’s on the second floor.”

“Naked?” I scowl. “Filthy and sticky?”

“Hmmm. Bathroom first then. No, let’s flick that power lever. I want to see what that does.”

I’m sure I’m wide-eyed when he does that, as I stand in the doorway of that little room again. Above us something hums, but apart from that, Slaedorth remains as asleep as it was before. The faucets in the bathroom do work, chugging dark-green water out for ages until it becomes a less-green, somewhat more safe color. So we may have managed to turn on a pump? We sponge off using half-rotted towels that leave cotton shreds on our bodies. Those do brush off. The sheets will have to be tossed but the linen cupboard has tens of them.

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