Page 47 of Knave

She was about to nod, but a thought crossed her mind and she mulled it over. While in Red, they’d faced werewolves, the Jabberwocky, an ancient vampire, her fear of libraries, them falling into a cavern, her attacking Ferris. It was as if she’d survived a lifetime of tragedies. Between the road home from Red to Ivory, Mouse didn’t know what they would come across next. And frankly, she was sick of it. She wanted to put an end to the never-ending Shakespearian tragedies in her life and become something not so bleak. It didn’t have to be perfect, only something where she and Ferris were happy.

“There’s something I want to do before we return home,” Mouse finally said, fidgeting with the blanket.

“What’s that?”

Heart pounding in her chest, she leaned forward, her voice breathy. “Remove your boots and turn around.”

Ferris arched a brow and smirked but did as was instructed. Taking a deep swallow, she drew back the blankets, her bare feet touching the cool floor.

With her body still bare, Mouse slowly walked toward him, her gaze never leaving his muscular form. Once she reached his warmth, she brushed her hands against his hips, then trailed her palms up Ferris’s defined chest beneath his shirt.

“So, I take it we won’t be leaving soon?” he said in a gruff voice.

“We have a few hours to spare, as you said.” She grinned, grasping the hem of his shirt, and he helped her lift it over his head.

“Mmm, taking a few hours to ourselves after the shitstorm we just faced sounds fucking amazing.”

Mouse traced the lovely tattoo on his back, following each curve of ink, gliding across the gears, making him shiver at her touch. She shifted forward, pressing her breasts to his back, and skimmed her fingers over his abs to the front of his trousers. His breath caught as she unfastened the button and peeled the fabric down his legs.

“Do you want me to touch you?” she asked as she stood, her hands sliding up his thighs to just beneath his navel.

“All the fucking time,” he groaned. “But how healed are you?”

“Completely.” Mouse grasped his hard length, slowly pumping him, her finger circling the piercing at the tip that she loved so much. “You can turn around now.”

She released him and he spun to face her. He didn’t hesitate to hoist her up, eliciting a squeak from her as he backed her into the wall. Her legs circled his hips and his cock pressed against her core. Ferris’s lips crashed to hers, the kiss rough, just the way she needed it. She nipped his lower lip before tangling her tongue with his, the taste of him sublime. Gripping his shoulders, she dug her fingernails into his flesh as he slid his delicious length up and down her slickened folds, his piercing adding a wonderful sensation.

“I love you,” Mouse murmured in his ear, not ever wanting to hold back those words. She’d said them in the room with the ancient, she said them here, and she would keep saying them because he deserved to hear how she felt. “I love you so much it hurts.”

“Fuck, I love you. If you were dying, I’d rip out my heart and place it inside your chest.”

“Your words are a hundred times better than Romeo’s.” Mouse grinned.

“You woke something in me the day you saved me,” he rasped, gripping her hips, grinding into her even harder. “It’s been building and building andbuildingfor four years. I fucked Imogen to save you. The whole time I was in bed with her, I didn’t think of anyone but you.”

Jealousy didn’t burn within her that he had to tumble Imogen, only sorrow and rage. But the queen was dead and Maddie had gifted her precisely what she’d deserved. Otherwise, Mouse would’ve faced her fears now and gone back to the palace to rip out the queen’s throat for how she’d treated Ferris.

“Then it looks like we deserve to let that dam break.” She threaded her fingers in his hair as she kissed below his jaw. “I want you to make love to me the way lightning strikes, the way thunder roars.”

“Then let’s make it fucking storm,” Ferris growled. His cock slid down her core once more, then he thrust inside her, making her gasp in pleasure.

“Keep going,” she moaned. “Don’t take it easy on me.”

In answer, he thrust again, hard, so bloody hard that when she was about to cry for more, he did it again. Blissfully again andagain.

He carried her away from the wall and to the bed, bringing her into his lap. “Ride me,” he ground out, his dark eyes fastened to hers.

Wildness rose within her, but she hadn’t done this before. Yet, as his hands gripped her hips, urging her to move forward, her body naturally gave in to the motions. Slow at first, then her pace picked up, going harder and harder until she was the one fucking him. A pleasureful feeling thrummed at her center as his hand cupped her breast and his mouth captured hers once more.

They continued this delectable dance, and as she grew close, so close to frenzy, she pulled away from his mouth to whisper in his ear. “Take me from behind and we’ll come together.” Mouse’s sexual exploration had been quiet for centuries and she wanted Ferris to wake everything within her. No longer was there fear or worry about someone stealing something from her they shouldn’t.

He didn’t hesitate, easily rolling them so she was on all fours. She only missed him inside her for a moment before he slid back into her, making them both groan in satisfaction. His hand trailed up her spine as he drove into her over and over, his piercing delightfully rubbing her inner walls, until their bodies were both slick with sweat. And then she felt a tempest brewing inside her, prepared to wipe out all of Wonderland. Her eyes fluttered as lightning struck, the earth splitting open. Thunder roared, rumbling fiercely, then the rain poured within her. Paradise rolled through her entire being, touching all the way to the tips of her fingertips and toes. With each quake that came, she whispered Ferris’s name.

“Mouse.” Her name fell from his lips in a low growl as he spilled himself inside her.

Ferris slowly kissed his way along her spine, to the back of her neck, his arms holding him up on either side of her. Their chests heaved in sync, his soft skin on hers, then he scooped her up, keeping her back against his chest as he brought them to their sides.

“That was perfect,” she breathed. It had been worth it for her to wait centuries to find him.

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