Page 110 of Fate's Wicked Oath

39

Slow Burn

Mariana

Teach me.His request hung in the air between us, patient and heady.

Under Faren’s touch, my skin had been lit by a burst of sparks, zinging and zipping in all directions. My lips still tingled from the phantom scrape of his stubble; the path he had traced across my chest still burned with need; and, low in my belly, a molten, liquid heat continued to flourish.

His earnestness only served as further kindling.

For most of my life, sex had been an inconvenient necessity; no matter how sensitive my magic was, I could never fully curb the craving for human contact. It’d been over a year since I’d last taken a man to bed, and that experience had been like all the rest: brief, mostly clothed, with a nameless but reasonably gentle-seeming stranger. The last time I’d been with a man I held in any regard was Grinnick, and even then, my magic had tensed.

But Faren’s request was like a spell I’d never learned, unlocking something vital in the dark caverns of my heart. Thewords, confusingly, made me want to cry. I hadn’t realized until this moment how afraid I’d been of Faren uncovering my strangeness and using it against me; now, I was certain he wouldn’t. His request made me feel understood in a way I’d never felt before. It made me want to explore my magic in a way I’d neverwanted tobefore.

But: “I’m not sure I know where to begin.”

“You like ordering me around,” Faren said. “Do that.”

My attention dipped to his chest again. “Take off your shirt.”

In one fluid tug, he cast the fabric aside. His skin was smooth and golden. Firelight licked across his torso, catching in the hollow space between his pecs, the ridges of his ribs and abs. He really did look like a drawing come to life, the lines of his collarbones and the taper of his waist in perfect proportion.

“I like the way you look at me.”

My attention snapped to his face, where his intense gaze and parted lips made him appear as ravenous as I felt. “And how is that?”

“Hungrily,” he replied.

When normally I prided myself in being unreadable, I relished his ability to read me now. I rolled onto my hip, sitting sideways with my knees bent, and dragged my hand over the contours of his bare chest and stomach. His skin was warm, and his muscles—perhaps his magic, too—rippled under my slow exploration.

“I await your next command,” he murmured.

“What a good knight,” I teased.

There was something about all that highly trained brawn bending to my desires—supplicant and eager—that made my core clench. He already knew I liked pushing him around—we’d sparred together plenty—but did he know it also made me feel safe?

I pressed on his sternum, urging him to lie back. He acquiesced, folding his arms behind his head as I straddledhim. His erection strained against his trousers, and I ground backward against it, making him groan. He felt rigid, and big, and I liked it. After another lazy grind, I bent forward, trying to keep hold of my excitable magic as I pressed my chest against his and kissed him.

He returned the kiss with enthusiasm, arms shifting out from behind his head; I felt the heat of his palms hover over my waist. “May I?”

I nodded, deepening the kiss.

His hands landed on my hips, fingers smoothing across the bare skin just above my waistband, underneath my shirt. The sparks in my skin flickered and flared. I hummed, pressing closer, and his hands spread wide on my back. Between my thighs, his body felt taut with need—and yet his touch was measured, careful. He was holding back on my account, and that knowledge made me feel empowered—

—and guilty.

This time when I tensed, it was because of my mind, not my magic.

“Too much?” Faren asked, removing his hands from my bare skin.

I sat up, staring down at his handsome face. “I feel bad for you.”

“Makes sense. Having a beautiful woman sitting astride me is pure agony. I deserve no less than pity.”

“I’m serious. Is this not tedious for you?”

“Tedious?” He seemed genuinely baffled. “On the contrary, Mariana, you’re driving me wild.” Faren’s hips shifted, drawing my attention to his erection nestled against my ass. “But I’m more interested in drivingyouwild. Would you be more comfortable on the bed? Perhaps with fewer articles of clothing?