Page 23 of Crown of Light and Ashes
When she reaches for the clasps of her gown, I feel a surge of anticipation. The heavy black fabric slides from her shoulders, revealing more of her golden skin inch by tantalizing inch. The sight of her makes my mouth go dry, my body responding with immediate, almost painful intensity. I swallow hard, imagining her delicate neck covered in my marks. I'm going to brand her so thoroughly that when she walks these halls tomorrow, everyone will know she belongs to me.
The gown falls to her waist, and I'm momentarily transfixed. The silk shift beneath is nearly translucent, revealing the outline of her breasts; her body is lean, strong, decidedly more warrior than courtier. Small scars mark her golden skin—evidence of training far beyond what any diplomat's daughter should have. Each one is a question I will extract the answer to, eventually.
Something shifts in the air between us as the silk gown pools at her feet. The magic in the room grows thicker, more electric. Her light magic responds to my shadows, creating an intoxicating friction that makes my head spin. This is the moment, I can feel it in the bond forming between us—when the real battle begins.
As the remaining thin gown falls completely, her magic flares again, stronger this time, a wave of suppressed light that slams into me with enough force to push me back several steps. The pain is exquisite, searing across my skin where light meets shadow. Her eyes widen indisbelief as I remain standing, her rhythmic assault faltering for the first time. The realization that her power—usually so lethal—merely wounds me breaks through her blind fury.
Now she stands before me naked, chest heaving with exertion and confusion, vulnerability and power beautifully intertwined. I can't help myself, so I move toward her and take her into my arms. She tries to push me away, her sharp nails raking over my chest, breaking the skin, but her resistance only makes it more exciting. I hold her and then take her nipple into my mouth, sucking it hard as she still tries to fight.
"Get off me, I don't want this," she says, her voice vibrating with tension, but then I suck harder, pinching her other nipple until she moans loudly. Through our bond, her desire pulses stronger than her words, so I know she's pretending not to like this.
"Stop lying,hatun. I can feel exactly how aroused you are right now," I growl, then squeeze her left breast painfully hard, before taking the nipple into my mouth to bite it. The sounds she makes, half moan and half plea, make me want to end this foreplay and just thrust into her; it's torture to wait.
"No, no... no, don't," she pleads, while I mark her nipples with my teeth, then suck and play with each one, testing how long I can prolong this.
A moment later, she manages to pull away from me and then slaps me across the face. I pant heavily, staring at her magnificent body, chest rising and falling rapidly, and the look of disgust on her face.
"You won't have me! I will fight you until my last breath!" she spits.
I smile at her. My cheek stings, but my cock is leaking with arousal.
"The more you resist this, the harder you make my cock," I taunt her. I like being honest, maybe the marriage was a farce, but the chemistry between us is very real. As she steps back from slapping me, and before she can release another burst of magic, I lunge forwardand tangle my hand in her hair, yanking her head back hard enough to be painful, exposing her throat. Her pulse hammers visibly beneath that delicate skin. Her eyes widen, but there's no fear in them, only hatred and something else, something that makes the bond between us pulse with unexpected heat. My desperate need to thrust into her breaks through my shadow magic's control. What is this sorcery? What is this light-bearer doing to me?
"You bastard!" she hisses, staring at me with daggers in her eyes.
"Gods above," I growl, suddenly breathless, wanting to be struck again by her light. The need to possess her completely, to mark every inch of her as mine, overwhelms me with an intensity I haven't felt in decades. Not in over two hundred years, and even then, I never felt so powerless before any woman.
"My turn," I growl, before lunging forward.
I seize her by the throat, fingers digging into her flesh as I slam her lips against mine. Her lips are impossibly soft—a warrior's mouth that has no right to feel this good beneath mine. I force them apart brutally, my tongue invading the heat of her mouth, claiming territory like a conqueror. The coppery taste of blood floods between us as my teeth tear at her lower lip, not a gentle nip but a predator's bite. Her muffled cry of pain sends a surge of pleasure straight to my core. She fights back, nails clawing at my chest, but her resistance only feeds my hunger. My shadows strike like vipers, wrapping around her wrists and yanking them behind her back until I feel the satisfying strain of her shoulders. I tighten my grip on her throat, feeling her pulse race beneath my thumb as I restrict her air just enough to make her vision swim. The fear flickering behind her defiance is intoxicating, the perfect seasoning to her unwilling response as her body betrays her with an involuntary arch against mine. I could break her in an instant, and we both know it. The power is delicious.
Then something shifts, the blood bond between us flares, ignitingall my senses, creating an echo chamber of sensation that affects us both. It's like a circuit completing, power surging between us in ways I never anticipated. I feel drunk on this new surge of desire and power.
Her light magic roars against my shadows, creating an intoxicating friction wherever we touch. The kiss transforms, becoming hungry and violent in a way neither of us anticipated. I devour her mouth, tasting her fury, her grief, her unwilling response, pressing my hard cock against her core. I can feel her confusion through the bond, her self-loathing at her body's betrayal. She wants me, she can lie as much as she wants, but our connection is undeniable.
She tastes sweet like honey, mixed with the salt of unshed tears; a heady combination that makes my head spin. I slow the brutal pace deliberately, dragging my tongue along the seam of her lips before plunging deeper, exploring every corner of her mouth. Her breath comes in ragged gasps against my lips, each inhale sharp with reluctant need. I tilt her head back further, exposing the vulnerable line of her throat as I angle her mouth perfectly against mine, drinking her in like a man dying of thirst.
Time stretches endlessly as I refuse to break away, my shadows tightening their hold whenever she attempts to pull back. I bite down on her lower lip, tugging it between my teeth before soothing the sting with my tongue, feeling her shudder against me. The kiss deepens impossibly further as I press her body flush against mine, one hand fisting in her hair to control the angle, the other trailing possessive patterns down the bare skin of her back. Each small sound she makes, half protest, half pleasure—vibrates between us, feeding my hunger. I never want this night to end, this exquisite battle where every reluctant surrender feels like the sweetest victory.
"Hell," I finally breathe against her mouth, suddenly desperate for more. I haven't wanted anyone like this since Isli—this all-consuming need to possess, to claim every part of her.
When I finally pull back, we're both breathing hard. A thin thread of blood stains her lower lip, and I have the sudden urge to see similar marks on her thighs, and breasts, the thought of her branded by me makes my cock jerk. Her eyes are full of hatred, so I move my hand down between her breasts, then under the shift, slowly rubbing my finger over her folds. As I suspected, she's already dripping for me, and I can't wait to taste that needy core of hers.
"Fascinating," I observe, my voice rougher than intended, nearly a growl. "The blood bond creates interesting... resonances."
She spits in my face. "I'd rather die than let you use me like that."
The gesture should enrage me. Instead, it makes me laugh as I wipe the spittle away with the back of my hand. Then I put my finger in my mouth and taste the evidence of her arousal. Her eyes widen, tracing the movement of my fingers as I lick every single drop off with deliberate slowness. Her scent is intoxicating.
"Fortunately for me, your preferences are irrelevant."
I propel her backward toward the bed, shadows wrapping around her wrists when she tries to strike me. She kicks out, landing a surprisingly powerful blow to my thigh that would have brought a lesser man to his knees. I respond by lifting her body and throwing her onto the mattress.
With impatient hands, I grab the silk shift and tear it apart, revealing golden skin that seems to glow with internal light. Her body is a revelation, all lean muscle and subtle curves, nothing like the soft court ladies I've bedded before. Battle-ready, dangerous. Mine.
"Stop fighting what you can't change," I tell her, pinning her beneath me, my weight pressing her into the mattress. "The bond must be completed. It's already affecting both our magics. You're not a virgin, so you can take my cock. Can't you?"
Her eyes gleam with malice as she delivers what she clearly believes will be a devastating blow to my pride. "Take me, but youwill never have me like Aslan had," she spits, her eyes gleaming with deliberate cruelty.
