Page 83 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

Want something? Take something.

Vail could absolutely not be one of those things though… right? Alaric might be complicated, but I had no doubt he desired me. More than that, we had something that could work if we were both willing to try. Despite this heartfelt conversation with Vail, I didn’t entirely know what he wanted, and more importantly, I didn’t think he did either. Until he made that decision clear, I wouldn’t allow him to break my heart more than he already had every time he’d spat on our friendship.

“How’s your leg?”

I frowned as Vail tugged his pants off and then realized that by staring at his thigh, I was dangerously close to staring at something else that was hidden only by the thin fabric of his underwear.

Nope. Not going there. I jerked my gaze away and took a seat on the cavern floor again.

“It will be sore tomorrow, but I should be able to move okay.” Either he hadn’t noticed me almost staring at his dick, or he was choosing not to comment on it. I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed by that.

“Do you . . . ah . . . need to drink?” My gaze hesitantly flicked to his as he took a seat across from me.

We both knew I wasn’t talking about water.

“No,” he said in a guarded tone, but his eyes still darted to my neck as silver flickered in them. “You should save your strength.”

“I fed deeply from Roth and Kieran this morning.” My eyes fell to his exposed thigh. The six-inch wound was mostly healed across the top, but the skin was still red and puffy. “If you’re not at one hundred percent tomorrow, you’ll slow us down,” I pointed out.

Vail’s even stare told me he wasn’t swayed by my logic. I shook my head, but it was his choice, and if he said he was fine, then I’d drop it.

I stretched out across the hard dirt floor of the cave. It was a far cry from my soft bed at House Harker or even the lumpy but relatively comfortable one I’d slept in at the outpost on our way to the Velesian realm. Between our surroundings and Vail though, I couldn’t help thinking again about those nights we’d hidden in the cave after the wraiths had attacked our caravan.

My already cold body shivered at the memory. I was mentally and physically exhausted from the encounter with the devils and our heartfelt conversation, but we had to keep going in a few hours, which meant I needed to rest. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to force my mind to let me sleep.

The dampness of the cave only burrowed further into my skin, and I began to shiver. I turned onto my side, hoping that less contact with the cold earth would help.

It did not. Neither did my long, wet hair.

I sighed, about to give up on getting any sleep, when a large arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me back against a broad chest.

“Your teeth were chattering,” Vail said tightly as every partof me went absolutely still. “It was annoying. Body heat will help.”

“Right,” I half squeaked. Every part of Vail was pressed up against my back. He’d slid his other arm underneath my head and even threw a leg over mine.Body heat.This was just about survival.I was feeling warmer already. My teeth had stopped clacking against each other, and the shivering was mostly gone too.

I snuggled a little further into Vail’s arms, and he seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Then the arm around my waist tightened slightly, and I felt his beard tickle the back of my neck. I tried to remind myself of all the reasons getting involved with Vail was a bad idea, but for every bad memory, there was a good one.

“Why is this so confusing?” I whispered.

“Because I should hate you.” His breath danced across my skin. “But I can’t. And you shouldn’t trust me, but you do.”

His hand slipped underneath my shirt and made lazy circles over my belly. Each circular motion drifted a little higher until his thumb brushed the underside of my breast. I gasped and pressed a little harder into him, his hard length pressing against my ass, only the thin fabric of our remaining clothing separating us.

“You were right earlier,” he said in a soft voice. “I should drink.”

Any attempts at being rational and maybe offering him my wrist instead of my neck fled as his teeth grazed my skin, not breaking it, just waiting for me to say yes.

Fuck it. I’d be rational in the morning.

“Drink,” I commanded, and a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran through me when one hand cupped my breast while the other wrapped around my throat and squeezed lightly. “Fuck, Vail,” I groaned and raised my hand so I could bury it in his hair, holding him tighter against me. Mythighs clenched together, and an aching need started to build as he roughly rolled a thumb over my pebbled nipple.

The hand on my neck slid up, guiding my face to the side so he could get better access to my throat. Then teeth nipped at me before his beard rubbed roughly against my skin. My breathing quickened as he hungrily kissed my neck, still playing with my nipple, and raised his head enough to whisper in my ear, “Are you wet for me, Heir?”

“Find out for yourself, Marshal,” I said huskily.

“I know you are.” His hand moved to play with my other nipple, rolling it between his fingers and making me squirm against him. “I can smell it. Your cunt was dripping as soon as I touched you.”

“Fuck, why are you all such dirty talkers?” I whimpered.

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