Page 70 of Tempt

“Have a thing for my tat?” He grins, flashing chiseled incisors. “I fancy what you fancy.”

Wonder sweeps hair from his forehead. “Since when?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

His flirty tone makes it clear to what he’s referring. The fact that he’s rooted inside her has everything to do with it.

He pecks her lips and shifts, readjusting her position in his arms, bringing her closer. “Can we talk about the fact that you’ve stolen my virginity in a forbidden domain? This takes trespassing in a restricted section to a whole new level. How edgy of you.”

Wonder chuckles. “I did not steal it, you scoundrel.”

“No, you’ve stolen other things.”

His sultry tone darkens. He might mean the letter from his saddlebag, but his answer seems directed elsewhere.

Wonder would ask him to elaborate, but then Malice casts his ink a sideways glance. “Some archers in the Peaks are mighty talented artists. I got this one after my first nightmare.”

“Oh…” Wonder hesitates at the design. “Did it hurt?”

“Always worried about everyone more than yourself.” Affection and residual pleasure douse the inferno in his irises, revealing glossy rings of gray. “I’m betting it didn’t hurt as much as your scars. Whenever I look at them, I get pissed off at the universe. Say the word, and I’ll claw out the Courts’ innards.”

“You’d do that without me having to say a thing. Not that I approve.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Wildflower. Your approval means more than you know.” He traces her jawline with his nose. “It didn’t hurt as much as the nightmare.” He sets a pinky against her lips, preventing her from waxing sympathetic. “Shush. It takes more than a verbal reference to trigger me.”

“No, it does not. It takes a syllable.”

“Okay, sure, but I’d rather screw you senseless again than have a meltdown. But that means being at my full capacity.”

“This is an awfully sudden change of heart.”

“Is it?” he counters. “Angst is an aphrodisiac. We’ve been at this foreplay ever since you showed up in the Celestial City, looking like some magnificent meringue palace, all whipped curves and sugar. You’d fixate on me like I actually meant something to you. I’d never raged so much in my life or gotten so randy.”

Wonder suppresses a smile. “You scarcely knew me.”

“And that matters because…” When she gives him an evident look, he says, “You don’t put much stock in the sex appeal of animosity, much less your gorgeous intelligence. Besides, I could echo the same about not knowing me. By the way? Echoing is fun, listening to yourself reverberate down a chasm.” He howls, the sound quavering through the Chamber, diving into the floor and soaring to the ceiling. “Heard that? You should try it.”

“To say the least, my lungs have been depleted.”

“Speaking of depletion, I’ve got an idea.”

“Sleep,” she translates.

Malice gives her neck a love bite. “You read my mind.”

He carries Wonder from the aisle, cradling her to him while traveling naked from the Hollow Chamber. It’s anarchy, but she’s too startled to protest.

Her nightgown may be a tattered swatch hanging from her shoulders, but she’s not about to discard it here, and they shouldn’t leave his clothes behind, either. And what about their archery? The disarray of books?

“Malice,” she chides. “I can walk.”

“Wow.” His eyes widen with mock discovery. “So can I.”

“The weapons—”

“I’ll get them later.”

“You cannot possibly make it to the tower while you’re still—”

---