“Don’t,” Joriel said low in my ear. “You’ll only make it worse.”
“I have to.” I literally felt like I might explode if I didn’t make the itch go away.
Lips brushed over my bare shoulder, right beside the strap of my nightgown. “I know it sucks, but trust me, it’s only going to suck worse if you keep scratching.”
“I know, but I can’t help it. It’s driving me crazy.” I couldn’t focus on anything except for how badly my back was prickling. It was an all-consuming feeling.
Joriel caught my other hand and pinned both of them to my sides before I even realized I’d moved.
“The good news is this means you’re really close to getting your wings back,” he said, grunting as I squirmed, rubbing my back against his front. “The bad news is it’s about to get a lot worse.”
I could feel his erection against my backside, but the itchiness was drowning out any desire I was capable of feeling.
He rolled us so I was on my stomach on the bed, his weight pressing down on me. “Hopefully you’ll forgive me for this.”
“For what?”
He stretched my hands over my head, and then something soft was being wrapped around my wrists, securing them tightly together. “This isn’t really how I wanted our first experiments with bondage to go.” He tied my wrists to the headboard of the bed in the apartment we’d been renting since leaving Sam’s place in Boston.
A part of me was stunned enough to make me go still. He was tying me to the bed. Another strip of silky fabric wrapped around my ankles. What was he even using?
The bed dipped as he lay back down beside me, one hand resting on my thigh. “I’m sorry.” His thumb drew circles over my bare skin, just below the hem of my nightgown.
My back was starting to burn. It felt like someone had lit a match under my skin and now fire was eating away at me.
“Joriel,” I gasped out. I wasn’t even sure what I needed. I no longer wanted to touch my back. I just wanted to get away from the fire, maybe jump in a bath of ice water.
He trailed kisses over one bound arm. “I know, sweetness. It’ll be over soon. I promise.”
When the hell wassoon? I was being burned alive. I needed something to douse the fire, and I needed it now.
Hot tears stung my eyes and trekked down my cheeks as I pulled against the restraints holding me to the bed. I hadn’t been in so much pain since Soneillon had first torn my wings off.
“Please,” I sobbed, squirming and trying in vain to escape.
Beside me, Joriel was murmuring apologies and encouragements over and over. I could feel his pain, so different from the way Soneillon had drunk my agony like fine wine. This was hurting Joriel as much as it was hurting me.
“It’s going to be worth it,” he murmured, his hand moving to my hair. “You just have to hold on for a few more minutes, sweetness. Then you’ll have your wings back. I can’t wait to see them, to go flying with you side by side. Just a few more minutes. You can do this.”
The sharp, blinding pain was fading back to a more dull burn. It was still uncomfortable, but I no longer felt like my flesh was melting off. My back felt strange, the muscles shifting under my skin.
I gasped as my wings spread out from my back. The sensation was weird and sort of glorious. I’d never done this before. I’d been born with my wings, and I’d never once retracted them in my twenty-one years of life. This feeling was new to me.
“They’re magnificent,” Joriel whispered, awe clear in his voice. You’d think he’d never seen wings before, like he didn’t have his own set hidden under his skin.
“They feel weird.” I’d gone months without my wings. Having them back felt both foreign and like being reunited with an old acquaintance.
“Weird?” Joriel asked while he quickly undid the ties on my wrists and ankles.
“I was getting used to not having them, to being thinner and not having to worry about them brushing against things.”
Joriel cupped my cheek, his gaze boring into mine. “We’re going to work on it, okay? You’re going to love your wings again.”
His free hand trailed over the golden feathers, sending a delicious shiver through my body, and I let out a soft moan.
“See, we’re already making progress.”
“Yeah, but it’s just us here. I don’t want them awkwardly brushing up against someone else.”
