Page 107 of Between Fear and Favor

Fuck me.

“They leave this p-part out of the stories. I’d have enjoyed them more if I knew the dashing knight—no, not dashing…” I said, pausing for dramatic effect. “Handsome and charming? Yes, that’s it. If I k-knew the handsome and charming knight would be rewarded with disrobing the b-beautiful and stubborn maiden?—”

“Walt!” she scolded, and I drew my hands away from her. She was aware enough to take her own clothes off. I knew, in the back of my mind, that this was a step she had to take on her own. Her chaste modesty was just one of the barricades the Myriad had erected for her, and it couldn’t be me who toppled it. With distracting thoughts on my mind and tenuous control of my instincts, I decided to slow the fuck down.

I shook my tension off with a laugh. “I’ll admit, this w-wasn’t how I imagined it.”

A pause. Both of her hands clutched her shirt, pulling it tight. “Imagined it, d-did you? T-taking my clothes off?” she asked, a haughty tone I hadn’t heard from her in a while sharply tugging the words out of her mouth.

Rolling onto my back, I stared up at the moon, a thin crescent only barely visible through the hole in the roof. I nodded, all humor wiped from my face. When I’d pulled Nor from that water, I’d decided to give her as much honesty as I could bear. It seemed now was as good a time as any to start. “For months.” A tiny gasp escaped her lips. “Don’t act as if you haven’t thought about it yourself, p-pigeon. Now, are you going to m-make me unfasten your breeches too?”

“Roll over,” she snapped, and a laugh erupted from me as I did what she said. She sat up, and I was attuned to every motion, every sound she made. Her stuttered breathing was loud in the dark, and she swallowed loudly.

“I c-can hear you agonizing,” I said.

“What’s that s-supposed t’mean,” she asked. Before I could reply, her wet shirt slapped onto the floor as she tossed it over me. I froze. She’d done what needed to be done, but the sudden awareness was staggering. The woman I’d been dreaming about for months was laying topless behind me. I bit down on my tongue, concentrating on what I’d been about to say.

“You don’t know what to do with the knowledge I’ve wanted you all along. It didn’t start at the t-tavern, Nor. And it didn’t start with that f-fake fucking kiss, either.”

“Then when?” she asked, and I tugged at the fur she’d dislodged from atop me as she undressed.

“I’ll t-tell you once you’re under here with me. I’m far too cold for confessions.”

And then she was a fumbling mess. Quick movements and harried grunts came from the fur behind me, and my brows rose over her eagerness. After a moment of struggling, I had to laugh.

“At this rate, I’ll never have to tell you.”

“You hush,” she said, and I snorted. “They’re stuck.” She wrestled with her water-logged pants for a few more moments before those went flying over my head as well. I shuddered as they dripped cold water on me, and I hissed when she threw her body beneath the furs. Frigid skin pressed against mine, and she slotted her knees directly into the backs of mine. After a moment of letting the shock wear off, I shifted, pressing my back against her.

“Let me hold you?” I asked, clearing my throat. It was different than when I’d asked the night before, a level of trust from her I didn’t know if I’d earned yet.

A thoughtful sound came from her, and her voice was clear, if a little quiet, when she said, “You don’t have to ask permission, Dewalt. I trust you.”

Heart in my throat, I flipped over and pulled her into my arms before she had a chance to change her mind. I kept my hips angled, not wanting to give her cause to pull away. “Hands under my arms,” I directed, bracing myself for discomfort. Adjusting her carefully, I pressed both of her feet between my calves, doing my best to provide warmth to her extremities. When she did as I told her, frigid fingertips trapped beneath my arms, I hummed in satisfaction. Smoothing her hair, I tucked her head beneath my chin, meticulous in how I allowed our bodies to touch. Despite the pressing urge to run my hands down her soft skin, to caress her breasts and pull one of her nipples into my mouth, I buried that instinct.

“It’s rare you do as I ask without being contrary. I should enjoy it while it lasts,” I said.

“I listen when it benefits me.”

“I’m always thinking of your benefit.”

“Was it my benefit you thought of when you dreamt of undressing me?”

I huffed a laugh. When had she grown so bold? Remembering how she’d accused me of wanting to rut her, I couldn’t hold back my grin.

“Oh, yes, songbird. Your benefit was my primary concern. I am nothing if not attentive,” I said.

“When?” she whispered after a moment, breathless.

She’d picked up right where we left off, clearly eager for my answer. This was a truth I’d barely admitted to myself, but I wanted to give it to her.

“The first time I saw you,” I rasped, lips brushing against her temple. “You broke down a door, fire blazing behind you, and made me feel inept. Disarming from the start, Nor.” When she didn’t move, body wound tight in my arms, I squeezed her against me. “I still don’t forgive you for getting sick down my back,” I whispered.

“Well, I don’t forgive you for the stench I was forced to endure in your presence,” she said, head jerking back as if to glare at me. I laughed, holding her even tighter, and pressed a kiss to the soft skin near her hairline.

“You threw an apple at my head, pigeon.”

“And you ate it!” She tugged a hand free to slap at my chest, but what she did after nearly unraveled me. If I wasn’t so aware of every place our bodies touched, I wouldn’t have noticed the soft swipe of her lips over my collarbone. Whether she’d done it intentionally or not, every muscle in my body tightened. Adjusting, I propped myself up on an elbow, hovering over her.

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