Page 115 of To Spark a Fae War
His eyes lock on my breasts, the tops bulging above the painfully tight torture device. As his gaze moves down the length of it, his brow grows more furrowed. “I thought you hated corsets.”
I lean back, propped on my forearms, lips pulling into a mock pout. “I do. I hate them so much I can hardly bear it. In fact, I think I might die if I’m not freed from it at once.”
He eyes me with concern a moment more before his mouth quirks with devious delight. Stepping forward to return to the space between my legs, he frames my waist with his hands on the tabletop. “I should rescue you then. Although, I must warn you. The corset might not survive my valiant efforts.”
I lift my chin, lips parting as my breaths grow heavier. “Do what you must.”
Our kisses return with a fierce passion, his tongue caressing mine as his hands grasp the bodice of the undergarment. With one pull, he has me out of it, and his hands rove over my bare skin. I scoot back on the table until I’m at the center of it, and he follows, kissing up the length of my torso. His tongue stops to rest over each mound of my breast, sending heat burning at the apex of my thighs, then he trails his lips over my collarbone, then up my neck—
“Oh, hello, Your Most Beautiful Majesty. And His Most Handsome Majesty.”
My head whips toward the fire sprite, and I find Breeda fluttering just a few feet away without a care in the world for what she might be interrupting.
“What are you doing?” Breeda asks with innocent curiosity. “Are you expecting the other royals to join soon? This is your meeting room, isn’t it?”
Aspen laughs into the crook of my neck. “Where in the hell is that bell?”
Stifling my own laughter, I say, “Will you give us some privacy, please? In fact, will you stand guard outside this room and see that no one disturbs us until we leave?”
Breeda spins in a circle and salutes. “It will be done.” Then, in a flash, she’s gone.
I bring my left hand to Aspen’s cheek, running my thumb along the crease outside his mouth, the one that forms only with his biggest smiles. The light from the windows catches the bright orange of my carnelian ring—one gifted to me from Aspen during the human wedding ceremony we had earlier this year. A sunstone band circles the ring finger on his left hand.
My chest feels warm as I’m reminded of the conversation we had just over a year ago, one I thought was pretend. One I hardly dared to hope would ever come true.
And yet here we are.
Of course, there is one thing missing.
“I can’t believe after all the work Foxglove put into this palace, it never once occurred to him to make us a bell,” I say.
Aspen snorts a laugh. “You’re the metalworker. I thought you were going to make one.”
“Perhaps I shall.” I look into his glittering irises, breathe in the rosemary cinnamon scent of his skin.
He reaches for my free hand, weaves our fingers together. “Evie, have I ever told you how grateful I am that you almost killed me with an iron blade?”
“Excuse me?”
He lights a kiss on my cheek, then my jaw. “The day we met at the wall.”
My grin stretches across my face at the memory. “Where would we be now if I hadn’t?” The question takes me down several paths, one to a future where nothing changes, where lives are kept but a tense treaty remains. The other brings me to where we are now, past a history of grief, bloodshed, love, and joy. In between lie several other forks and paths leading to unknown fates. All I know is I’m glad I’m here.
Now.
With him.
“Always and forever, Aspen,” I whisper to him.
His eyes lock on mine. “Always and forever, Evie.”
Our kisses return slow and gentle, his bare skin warm against mine as our hearts hammer between us, beating a rhythm for our love. My favorite song. One I want to hear every day for the rest of my life, however long that will be. It could be endless. It could be an eternity, and I would never tire of its melody. Not when he’s here.
As much as I want to linger in the luxury of our simmering fire, an inferno begs to be released. I smile against his lips. “Let’s put all other tables to shame once and for all.”
And we do.
