24. Amber

Chapter twenty-four

Amber

E ldrin’s eyes flared open, a predator homing in on his prey.

Without taking his eyes off me, he removed his garments, dropping the robe on the ground, followed by his breeches and boots. Within moments, everything covering him was gone, except for the fabric around his waist, though an unmistakable bulge strained against it. The curves and edges of his member were visible, showing just how much he wanted me. My mouth dropped open. He was a statue, chiseled and lithe, far beyond most human men. Deep rivets ran along his chest, meeting in a tantalizing v at his waist. Broad shoulders gave way to sinewy arms, which twitched as if he were restraining himself. For the first time, I saw that the skin of his left arm tapered smoothly into a skeleton near the elbow, as graceful of a transition as if it were a cat’s claw .

He noticed me looking and gestured with it. “Does it bother you?”

“Never.” Nothing of him could ever bother me.

He glided over to me, and I barely had time to gasp before his human-like arm wrapped around me, pulling me against his muscular chest. I inhaled his familiar scent mixed with something new–pine and…bergamot? The palm of his skeleton hand rubbed me through what remained of my dress, the bones tracing an eager path over my skin. His own breath rushed in my ears, the hot air heating my skin and sending fresh goosebumps across my flesh. His lips met mine in a frantic dance, the taste of him an intoxicating nectar.

My legs parted out of instinct, and he nudged a thigh between them, moving with a taunting friction against my core. He was as desperate for this as I was, and the knowledge did nothing but make the ache deep inside me stronger. The urge to have him plunge that hard length inside me, to take and ruin me, all but unbearable.

I bit back a groan that didn’t go unnoticed.

“So responsive,” he said approvingly. “I wonder what sounds you’ll make when I'm deep inside you…here.” His hand reached down and ran a finger between my legs, that little gesture enough to turn my groans into whimpers.

Slowly, he guided me over to where the grasses were tall and soft, and he gently set me down amongst them, letting them tower around me. Flowers surrounded the edges of my vision, their petals still a noticeable yellow in the muted light of night. We were in our own little world of unsoiled beauty, where time stopped and there was nothing but us and this .

And then, once we were on the ground with him poised over me, he devoured me.

His lips tangled with mine, pulling me deeper into him. His bare, hard chest pressed against my hot skin and made me writhe, while we both tried to tug off the rest of the dress without destroying my only garment.

More. I needed more. I wanted to feel every bit of him against me. It wasn’t enough, never enough. I cried out, frustrated with the fabric, and Eldrin smothered my moans with his mouth, quieting every bit of my protest. He knew why I was fighting. He knew exactly what I wanted. And he was making me take my time. His lips consuming mine, he gently untangled me from the dress and then cast it aside, like unwrapping a gift that was just for him.

Now in nothing but the thin shift, the night air hit me, pushing me closer against him for warmth. Muscular arms wrapped around my back, holding me tight while he explored me with his mouth, sweet kisses occasionally leaving my lips to trail along my neck.

Once in a while his skeleton hand touched me, cool and firm, a reminder that I was with Eldrin.

And I was still wearing far too many clothes.

Fighting harder to get rid of everything keeping me from him, I lifted my hips and tugged the shift down, maneuvering the flimsy excuse for a strap down my arms, baring my breasts. His mouth opened the tiniest bit when he caught sight of the newly-exposed flesh, and then he cupped one breast with his hand, his tongue teasing and flicking the peak and eliciting a fresh groan from me. He kissed both of my breasts, followed by my neck, and finally my lips, his hands and mouth working all together in a frenzy.

Meanwhile, my own hands had worked their way down to his waistband before I even knew what I was doing. I needed to see him. Every last bit. My hands had explored Eldrin’s every dip and curve, and my eyes wanted to experience everything for themselves.

“There’s no rush,” Eldrin said, nibbling at my ear, his solid member pressed against my thigh. “We have all night.”

I bit my lip and ran a hand down the front of his undergarment and gasped, the outline in the fabric having done woefully little to prepare me. Eldrin wasn’t a small man, and I expected that all of him would be proportional—and it was. “As I said,” he whispered, “there’s no rush. We will make sure that you’re ready for me.”

Ready? I was ready now . But then he kissed my neck and nibbled at the tender flesh that waited at the curve of my shoulder. I forgot what I was thinking, until I felt him tug my shift further down my hips. Now he was kneeling to the side of me, removing the shift while I kicked my legs to get rid of the fabric. Fabric that was In. The. Way.

“Amber,” was all he said as he tossed the shift aside and looked at me, drinking in every bit of the sight. There was nothing left to shield me. Nothing between me and his hungry eyes that took their time roaming over me.

And then he was hovering over me again, his body a welcome respite from the cool night. His flawless bare skin pressed against mine, and I let my fingers dance over his arms and back, my palm coming to rest against his beautiful face. I tried not to fidget, but I flushed. He was so perfect, an unearthly creature, painfully gorgeous. Yet he looked at me …

Me.

“You’re perfect,” he said, answering my thoughts. Even as his eyes narrowed at the spider bite on my arm and the mostly-healed cut.

I couldn’t help it—I snorted a little. An elven prince calling me perfect. He placed a finger over my lips and said, “None of that tonight. You’re perfect, and you’re mine. And I’m going to show you exactly what that word means. Mine.”

His lips found mine again, while his human hand reached between my legs. I opened them, letting him explore where he wanted. And fuck , he knew how to explore. He moved delicately over the outside of my core, and expertly flicked his fingers against my sensitive flesh. He teased me, driving me deeper into this world where there was nothing but him and what he was making my body do.

He stifled a moan when he found the slick wetness waiting for him. “Fuck…” I ground into him, begging him to go further. Inside me.

“Touch me,” I gasped. “More.”

“Will you let me?” he asked, his finger circling my entrance. “With all of me.” His skeleton hand, he meant.

“Yes.” I would. I wanted all of him.

“Let’s try this first.” And then he placed a human finger into me. And then he added another, stretching me farther. “That’s what I want to see,” he said, grinning as I clenched and thrashed on his hand. “I want to see you fall apart on me.”

Fall apart? I was already undone.

My eyes caught sight of his hand and fingers moving inside me, and all I could think of was the bulge between his legs, rubbing against my thigh with such delicious friction. I stroked it, back and forth through the smooth fabric, his shaft filling my hand. A tremor worked its way through him and he froze, watching my hand on his cock, even as his own was still exploring me.

“This isn’t what I planned,” he said, his silver eyes meeting mine with a challenge.

“Plans change.”

“They do indeed.” Suddenly his hand was gone, leaving a cold emptiness in its wake. A smug grin spread across his face as he pulled off his undergarments, revealing his cock. He leaned back, letting me see all of him, every majestic inch.

Yes, he was definitely not like most human men.

Still laying on my back, naked before him, I swallowed. Hard .

Any nerves about whether I could handle him turned to need as he hovered over me once more, his lips meeting mine in a frenzy. He settled between my welcoming legs, his hot weight resting on my core, glorious, and just a hint of what was coming. The grass underneath us acted as a cocoon, as soft and warm as any bed. The forest’s rustling leaves carried a hint of music, a sweet song tantalizing the air.

And Eldrin…Eldrin was my friend. My lover. I needed to be a part of him, so that we were two halves made whole. As we were meant to be.

“Eldrin,” I said, with more of a moan than a whisper, “I want you.”

“I’m not ready to take you yet.” He brushed strands of hair out of my face, although his body betrayed his words as his shaft rubbed against me, a drop of wetness brushing over my leg.

“Please,” I begged again.

He trailed a finger of flesh down my cheek, my neck, and then my chest. Fuck, I burned. His finger dancing over my skin, his hot breath on my neck, his powerful form above me—all of it reduced me to a simpering mess, desperate for him.

“I wanted to spend so much more time,” he said, trailing that damn finger lower and lower until it found my clit. He flicked it back and forth, and I gasped, spreading my legs wider, the aching to be filled growing greater by the moment. “ I wanted to draw pleasure from you bit by bit until you were numb from it.”

“I already am.”

“No. Not yet—but I can’t resist you.” His whole body moved between my legs, positioning himself at my entrance. Slowly, he rubbed himself on my wetness and worked his way inside the tiniest bit. I closed my eyes. He was already stretching me so much. Too much. “Don’t worry—we’re just getting started.”

All at once, he moved, pushing inside me, in and out slowly and deeper with each thrust, drawing my thighs up to let him enter completely. And then, once he was fully in, the shock of him stretching me faded and was replaced with a perfect fullness.

He looked down at us and grinned. “I could look at this forever—me inside you.” All I could do was whimper in response.

And then—thank fuck—he moved. I bit my hand, the rush of pleasure pushing me to the point where I could hold nothing in. He thrusted back and forth, stroking me with his fingers in a way that somehow made me want more, even as he had filled me to the brink. Always more.

Then, when my chest was covered with sweat and I had forgotten where I was, he leaned down and kissed me gently, using our closeness to rock deeper into me, as far as I could take him. I ran my fingers through his hair, gripping his short silver locks, and leaned my head back, faded into this perfect sensation. Nothing was better than this. Nothing.

Holding him was like embracing the life of the forest itself, strong and eternal. And he pressed me against him, his movements guiding my own, like he was determined that there be nothing separating us again.

I clenched around him, as hard as I could. Two could play at this. If he was going to delve into me so deep, then I was going to take him in return. I wanted to see him undone from pleasure. From me.

He grinned, like he understood what I was doing. And before I knew it, with one fluid motion, he was underneath me and I was on top of him. I stared at this beautiful man spread out under me, impaling me and jolting me gently. God, I couldn’t take it. Even now it wasn’t enough. I wanted even more of him. Everything.

He guided my hands to his firm chest. “Show me,” he said. “You want to claim me? Do it.”

I jutted my hips back and forth, moving in a steady rhythm. His abs clenched along with his jaw, and his lips uttered a stream of curses. “Amber, you’re—”

I smirked. My hips gyrated, driving him to the brink like he did to me. It was his turn to gasp, and his skeleton hand gripped my ass, the points digging into my skin. It didn’t hurt, not even close, but the sensation was so perfectly poignant that between my movements, his grip, and the way he thrusted underneath me, I felt my pleasure begin to build. I reached my hand down and touched myself, straining each bit of rapture from his movements. He nodded with approval, watched me, and the delicious agony pushed itself higher and higher.

Fuck, he was perfect. I could’ve ran my fingers in the deep indentations between his defined muscles. His features were so regal and elegant, a beauty crafted by the immortal forest. And the man behind them, the one who had risked so much for me and lost everything for me…

He was everything.

I leaned forward and kissed him, resting my hands on the grassy ground, and our lips resumed that familiar dance. Except this time, though, there was an urgency behind it, as he thrusted harder, so hard that I broke away from the kiss and hung my head over his shoulder to keep my balance, my voice was now senseless moans as my pleasure crested over me. His groans echoed mine, followed by the sensation of him utterly filling me.

We had fallen off the edge, and I didn’t care how we landed.