Page 118 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
Aldrin’s hands grab my ass, squeezing lightly and lifting me up until I wrap my legs around his hips, then he is crushing me even harder to his chest, like he holds on to me for dear life. Fears of losing me churn through his mind.
He pulls away for a heartbeat, long enough to gaze into my eyes and run a hand down my cheek. There is a deep sadness within that amber stare that examines every inch of me, paired with the pangs that shoot down our bond.
I must look like a mess.I heal fast when I take my fae form, so all the bumps, bruises and scratches are gone, but I fell from a dragon today. I was stabbed and poisoned multiple times. If the shock of being thrown into a dungeon and told I would be tortured wasn’t enough, the ramifications of my bargain with Sasha sent my mind reeling.
I know my skin is deathly pale and there are dark circles under my eyes. That my lips are bloodless and curled downward. I see it through him, every excruciating detail that he always seems to notice about me, no matter how I try to hide the trauma.
An instinct flares with him to protect. To soothe away my worries.
Aldrin wraps an arm tightly around my waist, kissing me deeply, and walks into the next room with my legs still wrapped around his hips like I don’t weigh a thing and he doesn’t need to see his way. He shoots out tendrils of his magic to map the space around us instead of pulling his tongue from my mouth.
The sound of metal grinding and water flowing reaches my ears, but I barely notice as he deposits my ass on a counter and begins to strip me out of my leathers. It is an effort to pull the incredibly thin, skintight material from my body, especially with my sweat and a little blood making it stick, but he does it methodically, lovingly, like it is the most important job in the world. His tugs are incredibly gentle, and he runs his hands overevery inch of skin as it is revealed. His eyes glitter as they take me in.
“A bath,” he grunts, as though reminding himself. “I am going to look after you.”
Aldrin lifts me, cradling me in his arms and turning swiftly toward a brass bathtub with steam rising off it. The water is scented with rose, my favorite. I groan softly as he lowers me into it. Hot water rushes around my tired and tender body. The sensation is divine.
“Join me, Aldrin,” I sigh, but he is pulling away.
“There’s not enough space for both of us,” he says, distracted. “Besides, I have already bathed.”
When he returns, he has bottles and soaps in his arms, and he begins to lather one into my hair. His strong hands massage my scalp, first in long strokes, then by digging in his fingers in tight circles, making me melt as he works in the shampoo. He tips my chin up and uses a cup to rinse the suds from my hair. I shudder as the hot water streams down the back of my head and over my spine.
Then his tender touch trails down my back, rubbing soap into it. His strong hands massage my neck and shoulders until the tension floats away with the grime. They band around my waist, cupping my breasts and smearing them with bubbles. He doesn’t miss a single spot, firmly running his fingers down each arm and across my hands, kneading them, followed by my legs and feet.
All while he caresses me, he ignores his own needs.
I desperately want to take him in my mouth. To feel him buried deep within me. But I can hardly keep my eyes open, despite my fears and the tremors of anxiety that keep stabbing at me.
Aldrin’s proficient hands slowly slide up the lengths of my thighs and slip between them, leisurely teasing at the swollen flesh. “Let me help you take your mind off the battles to come. Toforget, even for a moment, what you have already endured. Let me take care of you.”
His fingers swirl around my clit. Again and again he works me, until small whimpers leave my mouth unbidden as sensual waves crest over me.
“That is what I want to hear,” he says right in my ear, gripping me tighter with a strong arm pressed over my breasts, the other reaching across my belly to access the apex of my thighs. He doesn’t even care that his sleeves are getting wet.
Then he slips two thick fingers inside me, curling them deep. My body trembles with the sudden influx of pleasure. He sets a slow pace that somehow makes it all the more intense, stroking just the right spots inside of me and rolling my clit to send the tension coiling tighter and tighter within. An erotic fire burns through me, threatening to set me alight. I squeeze my eyes closed.
His arms are wrapped around me like a vise, holding me in place, and I grip them, desperately needing an anchor. To be even closer to him. Intense ripples of pleasure course through me as my entire body tenses then turns limp as my climax crashes through me, my core fluttering violently around his still-moving fingers.
“Fuck, I love the feeling of you clamping down around me like that,” Aldrin groans, kissing my temple, cheek and jaw with a tenderness that makes my heart ache.
I cannot think straight.My entire consciousness floats away in a current of bliss.
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, even if I wanted to.
Those tides of euphoria continue to roll over me. I am vaguely aware of Aldrin pulling my hair out of the tub and towel-drying it, then running his fingers through the long strands. It is accompanied by a stronger scent of rose, and I realize he is applying my usual styling oil through it.
The fact that he took the time to notice my routine, then sourced the oil in case I was able to stay with him, makes my heart swell. These little unspoken gestures are the true show of love. To live for someone is so much more than to die for them.
He pulls me from the tub, supporting my weight and wrapping me up in another fluffy towel, using it to rub down the rest of my body. He brushes my face with one of his large hands. “Don’t ever leave my side again, Keira. Don’t go the next time she calls you.”
“She will have no claim over me after tomorrow.” I ignore what will happen if we lose. His expression shutters as the same thought crosses his mind, the panic of it reaching me from across the bond. “Hey,” I whisper, running my hands up his chest and holding his face, forcing him to look into my eyes. “Only think of right now. It gets far too overwhelming otherwise.”
Aldrin nods, lifting me from my feet and carrying me to the bed. He places me among the pillows and furs ever so gently, as though I am breakable, then lies on the linens beside me, taking in every line of my bare form. His hand rests upon my belly, but he doesn’t try to take anything.
My shaking hands fall to the laces of his trousers, fumbling to get them undone. Determined to give something back to him, I try to prop myself up on one elbow, to begin to climb down his body, but my arm gives out. Aldrin takes both of my hands in one of his and leads them away from his groin. “Please stop,” he murmurs. “You don’t need to do a thing for me.”
“I want to take care of you, too,” I whisper.
