“You should know…” Maeve closed her eyes, letting her head come to rest against his solid chest. “That while I was in the Spring Court, I was tortured in more ways than I thought possible.”
For a moment, Tiernan was silent. There was only the pull of his breath, the steady beat of his heart. But his muscles tensed beneath her touch, fraught with tempered violence. Maeve laced their fingers together, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
“Do you wish to tell me about it?” he asked, his tone strained with fury and pain.
She nodded, sinking into him, into the comfort only he could give her.
And then she told him everything.
She told him about the bone-chilling cold of the dungeon, and the darkness that seemed to live and breathe. She told him about the torture room, the whipping, and the horrid way Parisa’s magic stole into her mind. With each word she spoke, Tiernan’s hold on her tightened, and the bond pulsed between them. So she continued, the terrors she endured pouringfrom her. The dancers. The winemaker’s son. The attack that shattered Maeve’s spine, leaving her a bloodied, broken mess.
Tiernan’s harsh breath floated past her ear and cheek.
“What can I do?” he asked, holding her as though he was afraid to let go. “Tell me,astora.Ask anything of me, and I will give it to you. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I will slay every last one of your enemies. I will carve Parisa’s flesh from her body, crush her bones to ash and dust, if it would bring you the smallest sliver of peace.”
He pressed a kiss to the horrific mark sealing her neck.
Maeve curled into him. “What I want right now is for you to kiss all the hurt away.”
“And where does it hurt,astora?”
“Everywhere.”
If his futureHigh Queen desired to be kissed everywhere, then Tiernan was more than willing to oblige.
He lifted her from the tub with ease, carrying her soft, supple body back to the bedroom. A warm breeze drifted in through the partially open glass doors leading to the balcony, and Maeve snuggled into him. The heat of her body coupled with the slick glide of her still-damp skin sent a bolt of arousal coursing through him. His blood stirred and his shaft thickened, throbbing with the need to bury himself deep inside of her.
But Tiernan was determined to take his time. To savor and explore her like it was the first time. To taste every delectable inch of her.
He laid her down upon their shared bed, pressing his palms into the mattress as he hovered above her. Wet curls splayed over the pillowcase, spilling around her like ribbons of glossypink silk. Her skin was flushed from the bath and the rose gold tattoos covering her shimmered softly in the faint light. She lowered her gaze, her lashes casting tiny shadows across the tops of her cheeks while her eyes burned down the length of him.
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and he’d never seen anything more seductive in his life. It took every last ounce of his self control not to fill her right then and there.
Maeve’s fingertips coasted along his abdomen, teasing him as she reached even lower.
He smirked, snaring her wrist right before she took him in her hand. “I believe you requested kisses first.”
That bottom lip of hers, now slightly swollen from the bite of her teeth, stuck out in a pout. “But I?—”
Tiernan kissed the tip of her nose. “Patience,astora.”
He started at the sensitive spot just below her ear, featherlight as he moved to the scorched skin on her throat. Adjusting his weight, he repositioned himself to plant a series of kisses along her collarbone, dragging his mouth over the swell of each of her breasts. She shivered, a breath quaking from deep inside her as goosebumps pebbled all over her flesh, and her nipples hardened into tiny peaks.
Inching lower, he laved his tongue over one of the perky buds, swirling and sucking at her heated flesh until she arched against him. Her hips lifted, grinding against his hardened cock, and he bit back a groan as she squirmed beneath him. Sea-swept eyes glazed with lust, and he abandoned her full breasts for a more noble pursuit. Trailing his lips down her stomach, his mouth pressed kisses to her thigh, the back of her knee, and calf, then he worked his way back up, repeating the process on her other leg.
Maeve gripped the sheets beneath her, writhing like she was on fire, and he was the only one worthy of smothering the flames of her desire.
But he would do no such thing.
Tiernan had every intention of coaxing that spark to life. He wanted her to burn for him.
Settling himself between the apex of her thighs, he slipped two fingers into her slick entrance. Gods, she was so fucking wet for him.
Maeve jerked her hips and gasped, “You said kisses!”
He worked her in slow, languid movements, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “I lied.”
Not bothering to wait for her response, Tiernan lowered his mouth to where he knew she wanted him most. Her precious clit had waited long enough for his attention.
