Page 112 of Faeling
“Why don’t you explain it to me.”
His huff fluttered the fine hairs around her face. “It means you’re mine. And—” Without warning, he dug his hand under her hip to flip her to her front. She landed with a littleoof, her luscious backside bouncing. Vallek purred, filling his hands with the soft flesh before pushing her legs wide. She’d just gotten her hands under her when she gasped as his cock teased her cunt before pushing deep inside in a single thrust. “—it means I’ll be inside you more often than not. Are you ready?”
Her answer was to bury her face in the bedding as he began to move, their flesh meeting in loud slaps. She arched her back, allowing him even deeper, and he purred his praise.
“That’s good, just like that, sprite.”
Covering her with his bigger body, he leaned over to take her throat in his hand again. He lifted her chin to meet his kiss, his tongue keeping counterpoint to his thrusting hips. She moaned and mewled into his mouth, driving him higher, wilder.
“If it’s not my cock, it will be my fingers or my tongue,” he growled against her lips. “For days and days and days, you’ll be full of me. That’s rut.”
Ravenna shuddered beneath him. “Fates.Fuck.”
His next thrust was brutal, his bollocks drawing tight to hear her swear. Straightening, he held her by the hips, his big handsspanning her waist, and pulled her back to meet every stroke. He greedily watched her backside bounce against him, the dimples just above the plush flesh teasing him.
A glimmer of iridescence caught his eye, and his attention snagged on the little bundles of her folded wings. It was hard to believe he hadn’t noticed them before, but tucked so tightly to her skin, they hardly made a ridge against her back. But as he thrust, connecting them deeper and deeper with every stroke, he saw how the intricate folds began to break.
“Show me your pretty wings,” he demanded.
Ravenna turned her head to stare back at him, her lips swollen and her gaze unfocused. For a moment, he wasn’t sure she’d do as he said, but then, one by one, her wings unfurled. He watched in awe as they seemed to unspool, each intricate fold undone to make room for the next. It took only a moment, and then the translucent purple membranes fluttered at her back, catching the light.
“Fuck,” he cursed. “You’re beautiful. Too fucking beautiful.”
He shoved inside her, finesse gone. Balancing on one hand, he ran the tip of a finger along the lower rim of a wing, feeling just how delicate the structure was.
Ravenna shuddered and moaned, pushing back into his hips with abandon. The wings buzzed softly under his hand, little vibrations that harmonized into an otherworldly hum.
Vallek smiled wickedly.They’re sensitive.
Oh, there was no hope for his little mate now. He would take no mercy on her. He had her now, and as he came, pouring himself inside her, he knew it was only a matter of time before he claimed all her secrets.
25
Ravenna wasn’t sure she’d ever spent a happier handful of days. There had certainly been happy days with her mother, but there was always a wistfulness, waiting for her father to return. There had, of course, been others with both her parents, but there was always a looming knowledge that their time together was limited. On those days she spent alone, the closest she came to being truly happy was when she swam in the sea or wandered the fern-blanketed forest near the cottage.
There was nothing quite like holing up with herazai,though. To be the sole focus of a man like Vallek Far-Sight could be daunting, intense, but always rewarding.
Although she’d spent much time with him by now, never had it been in this way for so long. Vallek of the evenings, the relaxed man who slowly sipped his mead and relished a game oftalfon,was the man she spent the next three days with.
Of all the Valleks she’d come to know—king, warrior, brother, politician,azai,lover, friend—this was her favorite.
He always carried himself with an easy confidence that lent itself to good humor and teasing. He spoke openly of anything and nothing, happy to answer her questions, comfortable spinning tales and visions of his own. Affable, charming, and tender, Ravenna also found this Vallek the most dangerous of all.
It was clear to see why so many adored him. She already did, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d careen down the slippery slope she already descended to fall madly in love with him.
There was nothing novel about loving one’sazai,of course. She’d even rationalized to herself that it would benefit her plans to have his love and give her own in return. None of that lessened her terror, though. Even though she predicted the softest of landings, letting herself fall at all was its own risk.
For years, she bore her cold, dark heart by keeping it closed. She lived for her revenge, for the moment when she fulfilled the vision that had ruined her life and ended her parents’.
If she loved Vallek, she would be living for him, too.
And that was the nature of vengeance—it could have no bedfellow. A split heart, divided priorities, would gain her nothing and neither.
Such thoughts were cold comfort and far less attractive than indulging in long, sumptuous days with her mate. Who could resist late mornings, lying in bed whispering across pillows? Who would deny themselves luxurious baths that went on so long, they both wrinkled? Who could walk away from cozy evenings feeding each other the choicest bits over a lively game oftalfon?
No one, and certainly not Ravenna.
She was weak. She feared she always had been.
