Page 104 of Of Curses and Courtship

She shuts the door behind us with a snick.

I tuck a curl behind her ear. “Are you all right?”

“I am.” She looks down. “It’s sad that your parents don’t like or approve of me, but I’ll grow used to it with time.”

“What they think doesn’t matter. I know you are the one.”

She manages a half-smile. “That does ease the sting, yes.”

I hold her face between my hands, touching her with a precious tenderness I’ll reserve for only her sweet features. Her soft, pink lips and flushed face will always bring me great comfort, and I long to do the same for her. “Please,my darling halfing, don’t let my family get between our love.”

“I won’t. You’re not the only one who knows about family woes.”

I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “Tell me about yours.”

“You already know I lost my father…”

I nod, waiting.

“I was left with my stepmother after his death. She was a cruel woman. She took everything from me—my title, my land, and my joy. That was when I began cleaning. She always said I had to earn my stay, even though we were in my family home.”

How could anyone be so cruel to the child of their spouse? “What a wretched woman.”

“She is, but I’m free now.” Ophelia pushes closer, her lips grazing against my mouth. “She can’t touch me here. No matter how cursed your palace is, this is the place that freed me. I adore being here, in your land, and I won’t let another parental figure take my joy from me.”

“I won’t allow it, either.”

Ophelia holds my waistcoat tightly, keeping me close as her lips part against mine. She pushes her tongue into my mouth and sighs sweetly.

“I think I’d like you to make me shake in a proper bed for once,” she whispers.

“Did you know”—with my hands on her plush, wide hips, I guide her to the bed and push her onto it—“I have the largest bed in the castle?”

“I did not, but I have a feeling I’ll know it well by the night’s end.” She removes her gown and throws it on the floor. Her violet wings splay behind her, soft velvet against my silken sheets.

I stand at the edge of the bed, growing hard at the mere sight of her lithe fingers unfastening her stays. Her shouldersand the softness that surrounds them may be my undoing. I allow myself a single touch, my fingertips brushing against her wings, and she shudders.

“No one has ever touched me there,” she says.

My lids droop shut. “Good. Allow me to be the first.”

OPHELIA

I drape my body across his bed, my legs pressed together so as not to give Emyr more than he’s earned. Much to my frustration, his clothes are still on, but I can see the bulge in his trousers. That’s enough to urge me onward with my motions. I run my fingers down my naked body, kneading my petite breasts with both hands.

“It’s almost as if I don’t need to be here at all,” Emyr mutters, smiling slyly.

“Perhaps you don’t.” I rub my thumb over my hard nipple. “I can take care of myself just as well.”

“Hm…” He removes his shirt and drops it onto the ground, joining a mess of books and discarded capes. “Show me.”

Across his chest is a golden tattooed symbol of a sun—a reminder of who he is. Not only is he a Sun Fae, but he’s the future king of this land, and we will be the ones to break this curse. As far as I am concerned, heisthe sun.

I move a hand between my legs and sigh as I circle my clit. His watchful gaze already has me wet. I dip my finger into my hole and gasp as my arousal coats me. It’s too simple to glide over my clit, making my body shake and twitch with each movement.

When another Emyr appears, I fear I’m going cross-eyed. It’s not until they move to either side of the bed, surroundingme, that I realize I’m not. One of his magical doubles—I should have known.

For once, his double doesn’t alarm me; it entices me.