Page 151 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

“They call it the Lune.” Loche gently tugged on her hand until she stepped onto the hard ice. “These flowers only grow under moonlight and only in the winter. I know Ellow doesn’t hold magic the way Vastala does, but there is something magical about it, anyway.”

She couldn’t even nod.

The magic in her veins thrummed in here, not as if it would burst out of her but as if it were saying hello to an old friend.

It was peaceful and energetic at the same time, a tingling sensation brushing her skin.

Lessia bent down to touch one of the flowers, and a shudder ran through her when the buzzing inside her intensified.

Straightening, she turned to Loche, unable to stop her hands from shaking.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” she whispered. “Not just to this place, but to meet your friends.”

His eyes burned into hers, and when he stepped closer, another quiver racked her body.

They reached for each other at the same time, the urgency in their kiss making her mind go blank.

Loche shifted her so her back was against the cold wall, but it did nothing to soothe the wildfire in her core. His warm tongue slid across her bottom lip, and she let her own play with it until he groaned into her mouth.

Locking her arms around his neck, she jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, desperate to get closer. Her fingers sought any soft skin they could, and when his neck wasn’t enough, she pulled at his tunic, forgetting herstrength and tearing a wide gash that left his entire chest bare.

Her eyes widened, and she made to pull back when he growled, “Rip them all to threads if you like. Just don’t stop.”

Her ears buzzed when his eyes bored into hers, the desire coursing through her veins mirrored in his steely ones.

She hesitated for a moment, but when he burrowed his face in her neck, nipping at her skin, she gave in.

Lessia moaned as she let her hands explore his sculpted chest, and she kissed the goose bumps that rose across his skin from the soft wind that blew through the chamber.

Setting her down, Loche trailed his hands down her body, his eyes following them as they slowly moved across her shoulders, down to her chest, and farther, until a finger hooked in her breeches.

“I want to see all of you, but it’s too cold in here,” Loche rasped. “These need to go, though.”

A small ember of worry whirled in her gut, breaking through the cloud of desire.

She could never be bare for him.

Not without him seeing her tattoo.

The brand that would destroy whatever it was they were doing.

But as he slipped one of her daggers out from her waistband, letting it fall with a soft thud to the ground, and then the other, the worry was replaced with a consuming need.

Loche took his time to lower her breeches to the ground, kissing and caressing every bit of skin he exposed.

When only her silky underwear remained, he lifted his gaze to hers.

She dragged him to her, crashing her mouth against his while ripping his own breeches to shreds in her urgency to get them off. Loche growled into her mouth as he lifted her again,one of his hands slipping between them, dipping into her silky underwear.

She let out a cry when his finger slid between her folds, biting down on his shoulder to quench it.

“Fuck,” Loche breathed, pulling back to look at her. “Is this all for me?”

He lifted a glistening finger, and she could only nod, so close already to seeing the stars the clouds above them were hiding.

“I want to take my time,” he growled. “But it’s freezing here, and I need you.”

“I need you,” she whimpered when he pressed against her, his hardness crushing against her hip.

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