I got onto my knees and straightened, keeping eye contact with the king of thieves, then reached down and grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it. Wordless, he raised his arms and let me stretch it over his head. Now it was my turn to drink him in. I ran my fingers over every muscle, every defined edge of his arms, chest, and abdomen. Every pebbled scar. He watched me, watching him.
“Tell me,” he said.
“Tell you what?”
“What you want me to do.”
My fingers itched to pull down those trousers, but I hesitated for a split second, and it was enough.
He brushed his knuckles against my cheek. “If you don’t want this...”
I looked away. “No, it’s just that—” My cheeks flushed. “I’ve only ever been with...”
“Jasper,” he finished for me, saying my former betrothed’s name like it tasted foul on his tongue.
“Yes. And you’re probably very experienced compared to me. I don’t have a lot of moves, exactly.” I stared at his sculpted abs, unable to meet his eyes.
He cupped my cheeks, forcing me to meet his gaze. Then he grabbed my hand and slowly placed it on his hard length.
I sucked in a breath.
“This is what you do to me, Lilypad. This is how much I want you. How much I need you. You’re perfect, and if that’s all that’sbothering you—” He pushed a hand through his hair. “Trust me when I say you have nothing to worry about.”
I massaged his length through his pants, and he let out a deep groan. Blood and earth, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get enough of that sound. I relented, lifting my hand with a teasing smile.
“Now tell me more about these moves,” he said. “You’ve piqued my curiosity.”
“Shut up.” I grabbed his head and pulled his mouth toward mine.
Our lips met in a hungered frenzy, and I fell back onto the bed as he hovered over me, letting me undo the laces of his trousers. He shed the rest of his clothes, kicking them to the floor, and his cock sprang free, long and thick, a bead of moisture at the tip that made my core throb.
“Do we have to worry about . . .?”
I shook my head, immediately understanding his question. “I’m not fertile right now.”
“Good, because it might kill me if I can’t have you this very second.”
“Finally ready to prove yourself?” I teased.
In one swift move, he thrust into me, and I let out a cry. His entire length filled me, stretched me open. This, him, felt better than I ever could have imagined. He captured my mouth with his, drowning out my cries as he moved inside me. Our bodies rocked together, matching each other’s rhythms. He ground his pelvis against mine as he gained speed, both of us almost frantic in our movements.
“Come for me, Liliath.”
Hearing my name on his lips while he was buried inside of me sent tendrils of pleasure ebbing through me, that pleasure cresting into a bigger and bigger wave. I wanted him to say my name again and again and again.
I dug my nails into the hard contours of his back, and he growled, making that wave grow until I couldn’t take it anymore. It crashed, and I let out a final cry as I felt Penn spill himself inside me.
He collapsed over me, his body coated in a light sheen of sweat. I held him tight and burrowed my nose into his neck. He gave my forehead a light kiss, then rolled off of me onto his back. We both lay there for a moment, breathing, letting our bodies come down from the high we’d just felt. He reached out an arm, and I nuzzled into his side.
“Do you believe me now?” he asked.
I lay my hand on his chest, my head in the crook of his shoulder. “Mmm, I don’t think so. I’m going to need more proof, I’m afraid.”
He let out a low laugh. “Give me a few minutes, Lilypad. I’ll spend the rest of the day proving myself to you.”
His fingers dipped low and in between my thighs, where he started rubbing in slow circles.
And as I found out, the king of thieves was a man of his word.
