Page 102 of Of the Stars and Sea

Grayson deepens our kiss, bringing one hand up to cup the back of my head as he grazes my bottom lip with his teeth. Chills roam my body, blossoming anew with every thrust as I feel myself falling with only his arms to catch me.

“Mine,” he muses against my lips as he slowly retreats before sinking back into me so slowly I nearly burst from the sensation.

“Always,” I whisper back as I bury my face into the crook of his neck, tasting the brine of the saltwater that splashes onto his skin.

Picking up the pace, Grayson holds me with one hand, continuing to guide me onto him while his other snakes around to the front of my hip, where he starts tracing a line with his finger from my navel up to the bottom edge of my breast.

Leaning back, I give him full access. Every touch he skims across my skin sets my body on fire as he strokes that part of me, deep inside.

The sky falls upon me when he dips his head low, claiming my breast with his mouth. He flicks his tongue against my sensitive nipple in tandem with each roll of his hips, sending me spiraling over that edge.

I scream his name, my throat hoarse from pleasure as he pulls me back to him, our bodies flush. Grayson slows once again, bringing his forehead to mine. Those star-flecked eyes arefixed on me as he rides the wave of my climax. And with one final thrust, his lips part with a roar that shatters the heavens above us, raining down glittering starlight that ignite even the farthest corners of the earth.

He doesn’t let me go as I cup his face in my hands and kiss each corner of his mouth. The crack that formed in my chest before is now a cavern where only my feelings for him exist. They’re all consuming. Too grand to speak out loud for words would not do them justice. So, I place my hand over his heart and kiss him once more.

And for the first time, I understand that Grayson is more than my awakening.

He is my ruin.

Chapter 25

Sunlight melts through the stained-glass windows, spilling across the floor of Grayson’s room. The subtle lull of the ship rocking side to side keeps my eyelids feeling heavy as I snuggle my backside against Grayson’s front.

Warm breath tickles the back of my neck from his moan as he wraps his arms tighter around me, nuzzling his nose against my hair.

Giving in, I let my eyes flutter closed and take in the moment. It might be the last peaceful one we have for a while, given what the day ahead holds. We should be close to breaching the edge of Dead Man’s Passage by now. Soon we will have the treasure in hand, or one more clue leading us to it. Either way, things are about to change. Again.

But I cast any thoughts of that away and instead set my focus on the feeling of being in Grayson’s arms.

Last night, my body had entered into a different realm from the pleasure Grayson wrought from me. Shifting my legs a little, I can still feel the delicious soreness at the apex of my thighs. That sensitive spot flares to life as heat pools deep inside me.

I’ve never known such pleasure. Not as I have withhim.

Not that I’m inexperienced. I’ve certainly had my fair share of bed partners. But with Grayson . . .everythingis different.

After our first joining in the water, we climbed the ladder and found ourselves christening every inch of his chambers with our affections for one another. By the end of it, Grayson had to carry me to bed, for my limbs were a molten mess and I could hardly keep my eyes open.

But I’d do it all over again.

Wiggling my bottom against him, a smile pulls at my lips when I’m met with his morning erection.

“Good morning to you too, Little Pearl.” Grayson’s voice is gruff and wanting as his hand dips over the side of my hip and digs in, tugging me closer.

Shifting, I turn my head to look at him and somehow every moment I have gazed upon him before is insignificant compared to the way he looks right now.

His long black hair is tussled from the saltwater we swam in last night, making his normally wavy strands a little more curly. As he traces small circles over my hip with his fingers, a slow, lazy smile greets me. But it’s unlike any other smile I’ve seen from him. He looks . . . young. Unworried.Happy.

It makes my heart flip in my chest and tears sting the backs of my eyes.

“Why do you call me that? Little Pearl?” The words come out strangled with emotion.

Grayson’s chest moves against me as he inhales deeply, then lets out a long sigh. He kisses me on the tip of my nose before settling himself back against the pillow.

“Your heart is soft and the light you shine into this cruel world is bright and pure. From the second I saw you, I knew you were the good that I’ve fought so hard to protect. You were willing to sacrifice yourself in the name of your friend, even after her passing.

“And just like a pearl, your strength has been forged in darkness. But despite where you have come from, despite the trials you’ve endured, you choose grit and perseverance.” His fingers continue to move over the edge of my hip, dipping a little lower every now and then.

“But how could you know those things about me before you knew who I truly was?”

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