Page 38 of All the Chaos of Constellations
“Because…” Asher bent down, pressing his forehead lightly to hers, knowing he would regret whatever he did next. “Because your heart is tied to mine.”
Shoving all rational thought from his mind, Asher kissed Novalise in a storm of stars and fire.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Novalise was aflame.
Asher’s mouth crashed over hers, his tongue seeking entry along her lips, and she opened for him readily. His hands slid from her hips to her ass, gripping her, grinding her against him. He broke their kiss and she gasped, her head falling back as his mouth left a trail of burning kisses down the column of her neck. Curling her fingers into his hair, she held on as the tension between them ignited, sending a wave of energy skittering across her skin.
He adjusted, hiking up her skirts and wedging his knee between her legs, holding her against him. She practically crawled up his muscular thigh, eager for any shred of friction. His knuckles grazed her shoulders. Delicious shivers left her trembling with anticipation. He wanted her,finally, he wanted her.
Slowly, Asher hooked one finger, then another, under the satin straps of her dress. The soft fabric slid against her skin, and he took hold of the center bodice of her dress, nudging it down so her breasts tumbled free. Glints of silver spilled across her pale flesh, bathing her in moonlight. She curled her fingers into his shirt, fisting the material with both hands, and praying to the goddess that he didn’t stop.
“Perfect,” he murmured, lowering his head to her.
Novalise squirmed against him, desperate for him to touch her. To taste her. She didn’t care if she was wanton in his arms, she longed for him. Ached for him. Again, she rubbed herself along the length of his strong thigh, silently begging for more.
He bent his head lower, his lips hovering above the valley of her breasts.
“Tell me what you want.” Asher’s words skated over her flesh, warm and sultry. She arched into him, a silent entreaty.
His tongue flicked her nipple, just once, and she whimpered.
“You.” She bit the word out on a gasp.
He reached one hand up, cupping the back of her neck, drawing her close to him. With his free hand, his thumb idly toyed with her nipple—he traced slow, lazy circles, gently brushing his calloused skin back and forth across the sensitive bud at an excruciating pace. Her magic sparked and spiraled, desperate for his flames to consume her. The bond thrummed between them, beating and pulsing with a life all its own.
Shocks of pleasure rippled through her, teasing her until she thought for certain that every star in the sky would blink out of existence.
Asher nuzzled her neck, inhaling the essence of her soul, trailing whispers of featherlight kisses along the column of her neck. Novalise dragged one leg up to his waist, locking herself against him. She needed him closer. She didn’t want any space, not even a breath, to be between them. Fates divine, what she wouldn’t give to have the entirety of his sculpted, naked body on top of her right now. Controlling her. Dominating her. She wanted all of him, all his days and nights, from now until forever.
His fingers molded around her breast, squeezing lightly, and he softly pressed his mouth to the corner of her lips. A reminder he could be gentle. “I can’t give you what you want, Novalise.”
She forced herself to meet his gaze. In the dim forest, his eyes were smoldering embers, blazing with hunger. She reached up, twirling his streak of silver hair around one finger. “I only want you.”
There was the slightest upturn of his mouth. He shook his head, his hair falling free from her fingers, shadowing his face. “No, you don’t. What you’re feeling right now is desire. Pure lust.”
Asher reached down, gathering the fabric of her gown, easily shoving it out of the way. His palm slid along the underside of her thigh, holding her in place, and heat coursed through her like wildfire. Then he grabbed her other leg, repeating the movement, and hoisted her up into his arms. She was anchored against him, locking her ankles around his waist. The feel of his hands against her bare skin sent a rush of blinding ecstasy straight to her core.
“You want love.” His whisper floated past her ear as he moved through the forest, carrying her. Something smooth and solid pressed against her back—one of the twisted trees. Her breath hitched as he pressed another painfully soft kiss on her neck, where her pulse leaped for him. “That is something I can never give you.”
“Why not?”
This time, his mouth found hers and their tongues collided. She could lose herself in his kiss, drown in him, and never need to come up for air. Magic crackled like kindling, a riot of flames and stars. She wanted that wicked tongue of his everywhere. Licking her nipples until she broke beneath him. Trailing a path from her throat to her abdomen, then further still. Delving deep between her thighs, soothing the ache there.
Asher leaned back, his fingers digging into the flesh of her thighs, and she shifted, rubbing herself against his rather prominent erection. “I took a vow.”
She leveled him with a challenging glare. “Vows can be broken.”
“So can bonds,” he fired back, the threat hanging between them.
Yanking his shirt, she pulled him flush against her, so there was no space left between them. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, believe me, I would. In fact, I almost did so today.” Asher leaned down, his tongue gliding up her neck, marking her. Branding her. “Why do you think I was at the palace?”
Novalise should have felt that familiar flare of annoyance, the flooding heat of humiliation. But all she could focus on was Asher pressing her back into a tree while his hand worked between her legs, slowly unbuttoning his pants.
She’d never been more grateful to loathe lacy undergarments in her life.
