Page 258 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“And I don’t ever plan to leave it, but Faythe…” Reylan swore, then he chuckled breathily, running a hand down his face. “I’m supposed to ask you to marry me, not the other way around.”

Faythe shrugged. “I don’t think anything about us has been conventional.”

He shook his head, with adoration and amusement sparkling in his eyes. “Regardless, Agalhor would want you to have this sword.”

“No. Before he died next to me, he told me I would know what to do with it. He thought of you as a son. You will carry the Ashfyre name as my consort. This sword belongs in the hands of Rhyenelle’s greatest protector, who will wield it toward our victory in the war to come.”

Reylan held silent for a moment, but everything spoke in his eyes. This moment, this passing of the sword from Agalhor’s possession to his, meant everything to him.

Faythe leaned forward, bringing their faces close. For him, there would always be a part of her that wanted to live through the horrors and losses of this war.

“Bond with me,” she said, slipping a hand over his cheek.

Reylan kissed her with a pained groan. Just once.

“You know I want that more than anything, but only if your full heart chooses it, not your grief in distraction.”

Faythe shook her head. “You’re not a distraction, Reylan. You are everything.”

He remembered those beautiful words he’d given her the first time he’d kissed her, and the emotion that creased between his brow unleashed in the slamming of his lips to hers. A kiss that claimed and transcended her soul.

She had no control of destiny and couldn’t promise the life of anyone with what was coming. This…sheneededthis. The thought of either of them dying without getting to claim their bond invoked such tragic fear she couldn’t wait a moment longer. If she had to sacrifice herself to win, she wanted to be fully, devotedlyhis.

Reylan lifted her from the chair to join him on the floor, slipping the Ember Sword aside.

“I missed you,” he said, kissing along her jaw. “I love you.Gods,I love you in every universe.”

“I love you,” she echoed. “More than anything.”

Reylan laid her down on the rug before the fire. He kissed her chest before easing off her. Faythe watched him collect the cushions and throw them from the bed, returning and beginning to arrange them.

“If we can’t be in our own kingdom for this, then we can be by our element. You are the flame of a Phoenix, Faythe Ashfyre, and it’s my life’s privilege to always be burning with you.”

Faythe lifted her hips by his silent prompt, and he slipped a pillow under her lower back. He leaned in, running his fingers up her curved spine while his mouth leaned in, blowing warm breath across her collar. His lips pressed to her throat, and Faythe pushed into him more with a soft moan. Her blood roared, heating for him to claim. To claim her. Wholly and completely.

“Please, Reylan,” she mewled at his slow, sensual movements.

“I’ve waited lifetimes for you. I’m going to take my time. You’re going to feel me claim every inch of your flesh before I take your blood. Then you’ll take mine. Take me inside you in two ways at the same time. You’re going to scream my name as you’re filled with me, and I won’t stop until you rock into your next finish knowing only this, only us, in all of existence.”

Between her legs rushed with heat, and her hips rose, thighs clamping around him, needy for any friction, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

His hands undid the fastens of her pants. Reylan kissed her lips once before pulling back, peeling her legs from the leathermaterial. Faythe reached for her shirt, but Reylan caught her wrists, pinning them by her head.

“Keep your hands here. If you can’t follow instruction, I’ll have to use rope.”

Faythe’s shiver broke from the tips of her toes to her scalp. The thought of being bound completely at his mercy turned her on more than she expected.

Reylan smiled wickedly as though he’d read her curiosity and scented her surge of desire.

“My Phoenix,” he drawled—a low, sinful taunt. His fingers hooked around the seam of her shirt, pulling it over her head and leaving her only in her tight cropped undergarment. “I think I could do a lot with you and a piece of rope.”

“Then do it,” she challenged.

Reylan tore her undergarment as his mouth leaned to hers. “I was counting on you saying that. First, I’m going to devour you right here. Then I’m going to take you to that bed and make sure these legs can’t close until I’m done with you.”

He sucked her breast, and Faythe pushed into his assault with a moan. Something about his fully clothed body raking against her skin while she lay completely naked and vulnerable turned her on more. His lips trailed down to her navel. Then his arms hooked around her thighs, and she peered down to catch his devious smile between her legs before he kissed the inside of her thigh.

She was close to begging for his mouth on her apex, becoming so wet she was turning into a puddle. He took his time like he promised, licking and kissing her so slowly and teasingly she couldn’t help the undulation of her hips that silently begged him to devour her.

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