Page 35 of Hymn of Breath and Bone

“Now, Urchin,” I purred, speaking low in her ear and reveling in the little shiver she made, “I make good on all of my promises.”

Chapter 14

Caspian had looked likethe god of the sky himself at our handfasting, all golden skin and swaggering confidence, the blue-green sea dragon scale flashing bronze in the moonrise as he sang our vows. His teasing words and heated looks had been exactly what I needed to make it through the ceremony, and I felt the pulse of pride down the bond when I sang our vows for all of his people to hear.

Seas, I was going to eat him alive if he’d finally letme.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when, after only a few minutes’ flight, we landed on the deck of a ship that was waiting at the base of the cliffs. It was about half the size Caspian’s flagship, the Argo, had been, and I remembered he had said that warriors would follow us in a larger ship so that we would go unnoticed.

Most of the crew were already aboard, and many I recognized from my time on the Argo. They cheered as we landed. They must have missed the handfasting to prepare the ship, and Caspian obliged their cheers for a show by sweeping me into a theatrical dip and kissing me nearly senseless.

The wave of desire that flooded our bond would have been embarrassing if I hadn’t waited so long for him.

“Eager, are we?” Caspian teased.

“You have no idea,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to his chin before stepping back to admire him at arm’s length. “I intend to show youexactlyhow eager I am.”

Zephyr landed on the deck, scowling at the cheering crew. “Get back to work! We have a ship to sail. Ogle your king later!”

“Are you sure, Urchin?” he asked, looking askance at the crew that we were about to scandalize. “They’ll all hear.”

“I’m rather counting on it,” I purred.

“Such a scoundrel, Urchin.”

“Pirate,” I corrected with a waggle of my brows.

Caspian barked a laugh, guiding me by our bound hand toward the captain’s quarters and giving my backside a surreptitious pat.

“Weigh anchor!” Zephyr shot me a wink and a grin as she nodded to Caspian amid ordering the crew this way and that. The two of them must have already coordinated our departure, because the crew were alreadyunfurling the sails, guiding a wind to take us out to sea as some of the onlookers from the handfasting waved from the cliffs.

A few of the crew gave Caspian winks and pointed looks as he guided me past, but Caspian ignored them as if only he and I were aboard the ship.

“Watch the sunset with me,” he murmured, guiding me to the railing as we got underway, the orange light of the setting sun almost completely gone.

“Such a romantic,” I teased, rolling my eyes up at him.

The heated look he gave me stirred embers in my core and made me suddenly disinclined to make fun.

Caspian positioned himself behind me as he pressed me against the rail, our bound hands resting on the wood in front of us. His free hand drifted to my hip and made small, teasing circles as we watched the sun go down and stars wink into existence above us.

I was practically shaking with desire when he finally pressed his lips to my neck as he hummed. “That should be enough time. Are you ready to go in, Urchin?”

“Enough time for what?” I breathed, gasping a little as his hand trailed over my stomach to make more idle circles that began to dip treacherously low on my belly.

“You’ll see,” he whispered, breath hot in my ear as he guided me to his cabin.

The cracks around the door had been dark when we had first landed, but now a faint golden glow shone from within the little room. I raised a brow at Caspian in question, but he just grinned, opening the door and guiding me in, careful to keep our right hands bound.

I gasped as I took in the scene. This room was much like his room on the Argo, but candles glowed on every surface, and little white flower petals covered the quilt on the massive four-poster bed.

“We had to make some last-minute changes to the room,” Caspian murmured, guiding me further in and smirking down at me. “The desk and table were moved in exchange for a bed large enough for me to properly show you my eagerness.”

“Where will you work?” I asked dumbly, eyes still taking in the scene.

The ship was by no means private, but Caspian had turned his cabin into a romantic escape to at least give us the illusion of privacy.

Massive windows stretched from floor to ceiling, a bit more grand than the ones on the Argo had been. It looked like we floated just above the dark ocean, and when the candles burned out, the stars would cast a silvery light over everything.