Page 60 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

"I need?—"

She gasped as my finger slipped into her heated core, slowly.I curled my finger until I hit that spot that would make her wild, and her body trembled beneath my touch.My thumb danced around her throbbing clit while my finger worked with slow precision.

"Do you know how much I love the sounds you make when I am pleasuring you?"I asked, and she shook her head.

I moved my hand faster, harder, my tongue suckling at the sensitive bundle of nerves while my fingers pumped into her.Her hips rocked beneath me, her fingers gripping my head into place as I devoured her.Soft cries of pleasure escaped her as she breathed, little moans of delight that made me harden painfully.Her muscles tightened, and just before she found that release, I slipped my fingers from her, spreading her heat over my cock as I positioned myself above her.

Her brown gaze glittered as she watched me, her hands moving to my hips and around until she cupped my ass.She dug her nails in, grinning as my eyes widened.I'd have tiny crescent marks in the flesh of my ass, but I wouldn't tell her to stop.I slid into her, slowly at first, then picked up the pace at the tiny sound she made at the back of her throat.

"I.Fucking.Love.It," I said, slamming into her again and again, relishing her warmth as it consumed me.

"Elias," she moaned, her gaze locked onto mine as our bodies connected.One body.One soul.Her cries rose in pitch, and I knew she was near release.She tensed beneath me, and I slowed my motions until I slipped myself from her folds."Elias!"

I gave her my crooked grin, letting her see the sparkle in my eyes as I lowered myself down her body, my stubbled chin raising gooseflesh as I scoured her body with warm kisses until I knelt before her once more.Our eyes locked onto each other, and I let the rumble of my voice travel through her core as I said, "I could spend an eternity worshipping you on my knees just like this."

Dipping my tongue into that heated fold of pleasure, I lapped up her passion, the sweet taste of honey exploding against my tongue as her legs wrapped around my head, locking me into place.When my gaze met hers again, traveling up the length of her body as my tongue twirled and spun along her core, I almost laughed at the challenge held within her wide brown eyes.There would be no pulling back from her orgasm a third time.

I feasted upon her center as if it were the first meal I'd ever eaten.Her body vibrated beneath me, and I increased that throbbing need by suckling on her sensitive nub.Her legs tightened around the back of my head, her fingers tugged on strands of my hair, and still, my mouth worked against her.

"You taste like… mmmm… the sweetest meal I have ever had," I said against her, letting my voice vibrate through her as I moaned against her heated core.It wasn’t exactly poetic, but it was the best I could do in the heat of this moment.

She tensed beneath me, and I quickened my pace.Her breath came in sharp gasps, my name escaping her lips as she lost control.I softened my kisses, my tongue tracing her warmth as her core trembled beneath my tongue.I eased her legs free from around my head, then slid my hands beneath her to lift her into my arms.She entwined her legs around my waist, drawing me closer.With a deliberate and patient motion, I eased myself into her warmth, feeling the gradual and intimate connection unfold between us.

With my face buried into her neck, I lost myself in her embrace, until my breath heaved from me, and until my whispered words painted her neck."I love you."

We lay tangled together in the aftermath, her head resting on my chest as our breathing slowly returned to normal.The wildflowers around us seemed to glow in the afternoon light, and for a moment, I let myself believe we could stay like this forever.Just us, just this perfect peace we'd carved out of chaos.

But peace, I'd learned, was always temporary in our world.

Look at Me

ROSEMARY

My body hummed with the remnants of our love making, tender and sore in all the right places.My mind spun with his confession and its implications.He loved me, had always loved me, yet we'd known each other for just a week.I stared at him, trying to catch my breath, drawn to the softness in those piercing gray eyes.He meant what he said, but as I struggled to recall the past, a familiar ache flared behind my eyes, and my mind went blank.

I wanted to ask him how.How could he love me when he barely knew me?How could I love him in such a short time?Instead, I pulled away, lowering myself from his waist and dropping my attention to the forest floor.

It was a war zone.The unaki lay still only a few feet away, its life's blood pouring from a gaping wound in its chest.Blood and the broken remnants of my pack lay scattered across the ground.My dress lay in tatters, and what fabric did remain intact was blood stained.My second dress had been in my pack, and as my gaze swept the area, I realized that one wasn't in any better shape.My arms wrapped around my chest as my attention settled onto the torn petals of the daemonacus.None of it was salvageable.

With slow steps, I dropped to my knees next to the tattered remains of my hope.I sniffled, not caring to hide the tears that slipped from my eyes and down my cheeks.I failed Briar.Again.My fingers shook as I pulled the broken pieces toward me, creating a tiny pile.It was useless.None of this held enough potential to break a curse that had remained steadfast for over a century.

Elias gathered what little remained from the earth, but it was scarcely anything at all.Every vial I had so carefully packed lay in jagged ruin.The two journals, weatherworn and full of my notes, my hopes, both torn and soaked through.Everything we had collected along our winding path through wood and weather.All of it.Gone.My chest heaved with quiet sobs as he sifted through the wreckage, fingers brushing past broken glass and wilted herbs, searching for something, anything, that might still be whole.

“Wait,” Elias breathed, suddenly kneeling beside me.“There’s one left.”

I stood rigid, remembering that although Elias and I had made love again—and he had confessed his love—he still hadn’t told me about his ability to turn into a crow.That he was the one who was cursed.

He pressed a small, round bottle into my palms, the last survivor of the storm.A thin thread of deep red swirled inside like wine left too long in the sun.I stared at it for a moment before a laugh, sharp and hollow, broke from my throat.I met his gaze with a shake of my head, the corners of my mouth tugging into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

“That one’s useless,” I murmured.“Just a tonic meant to boost energy.One of my many failed attempts to wake my sister.”A single tear slipped down my cheek.“It does work wonders on a hangover, though.”

My fingers loosened.The bottle rolled from my hand and into the crushed grass, joining the scattered remains of everything I’d carried, everything I’d clung to.

"We’ll find another way," Elias promised, his words spoken into my hair as his warmth enveloped me.

"There is no other way," I replied between sobs.I glanced toward the tattered remains of my clothing, lifting a hand to point out the state of things."I don't even have anything left to wear."

Everything was lost.My belongings.My hope.My purpose.I couldn't look at Elias as I remained tucked beneath his chin.