Page 59 of A Thousand Burning Ravens

He responds by cocking one lazy eye open and looking her way. “Hmm?”

“Are you thinking about what Ivan said? His offer?”

He nods, his sharp jawline catching the glint from the hearth. “I can not help but wonder if this is what the Seer wanted us to find. If I refine my magic, could it help defeat the Blood Stealer?”

Myla slips gracefully off the edge of the bed and makes her way across the room, crouching beside him. Her hands grasp gently at his on the rim of the tub, his curling around hers in response.

“I think it would be a disservice to you not to try. You spent so many years honing human skills and ignoring these. I think it is time you make way for new abilities.”

“So, you want to stay here? For a time that is?” he asks, turning his face to hers, his eyes searching for any signs of hesitancy.

Myla nods slowly. “It would give me time to pass the pregnancy in peace. We would not have to worry about me trying to kill anyone, the child or myself included.”

He smiles halfheartedly before facing forward again, his eyes seeming to scan the air overhead for answers. “Ivan said something I have to agree with.”

“What is that?”

A devious smile stretches across his handsome features. “He said there is something erotic about watching your woman flatten her foe.” He looks to her, his eyes full of hunger. “You have had some rather impressive moments in the last several weeks. They were erotic for sure, even if one of them was trying to kill me.”

Myla blushes, pushing his hand off hers. “Do not flirt with me. I respect your boundaries, but toying with me makes keeping off of you too difficult.”

Bryar leans forward, the heat of the bath rising off his skin and moistening her face. There is an odd look there, a mixture of longing, yes, but something deeper. Something confused.

“Yes,” he says, “but that was before Ivan said you could be here, safe, for as long as you like. That was before I had more answers about myself. And that was before you were sitting here, looking at me the way you are.”

Myla’s lips part, tempted to lean inward and lay claim to his mouth. She resists and instead, reaches to her bodice, unlacing the front. The dress slips off, followed shortly by her corset. Bryar watches her undress, scanning unabashedly up and down her body. At last, she stands in an ankle length white shift. She lifts a leg over the side of the tub, stepping in to join him, straddling her thighs on either side of his hips until she has settled down upon him. He is already hard between her thighs, throbbing and aching for entry.

“Perhaps you should help me bathe before the party tonight?” she whispers, arms draped over his shoulders and lips teasing against his.

Strong hands travel down her back, past her hips, and grope her backside, pulling her closer against him. “I will not miss an inch.”

“Promise?” she coos, leaning in to kiss his neck.

He smiles, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip. “I promise.”

Steam rises around them as his body heat rapidly increases, warming the water significantly. Their mouths move against each other in a hypnotic slow dance of kisses, tongues rolling against each other, evoking moans, and gasps. It is not quick or passionate, rather a slow stoke of the flames, each gesture intentional.

“You did not last very long,” Myla giggles between his kisses as they travel across her throat. “I thought it would take a lot longer for you to change your mind.”

He bites the soft skin of her shoulder gently, a little punishment for her statement. “Are you complaining?” His hands slide between her thighs, finding a space even wetter than the bath.

Myla exhales, relieved by his touch and slowly shakes her head, her face turning upward as she melts completely in pleasure. “No. Not at all,” she breathes. “Ivan was wrong.”

“Do not bring him into this,” Bryar commands, pushing his fingers inside her.

This is ecstasy. She finishes her thought, her hands finding his length, hard and aching to be touched. He throbs within her grasp, a deep moan escaping his lips as she rubs up and down slowly, teasing him with gentle touches. Water sloshes around them, rippling off the sides of the tub with their intensifying motions. Myla aches for more, and every second he is not inside her is a devastating one.

Myla rolls her hips, writhing with anticipation against his solid body. Bryar’s hands dig into her thighs, and he lifts her body, urging her closer, before thrusting. He is as hard as steel and her body tightens around him, quivering in satisfaction. Just as she is certain he is there to stay, a wicked smile moves across his handsome features, and he lifts her once more, partially removing himself.

Myla groans miserably and leans down to nip at him, penance for the famine he puts her through.

“Denying your queen? I could punish you for that.”

His strong arms tighten and resist as she fights to lower herself around him again. “Punish me how? Do not leave out any details,” he teases and with a chuckle, his hips move forward, slamming himself deeper into her until she is fully seated around his hard length.

Myla can not seem to think now. As he teases, bringing her just to the edge of satisfaction before pulling away again, she is driven mad with the need to be bent over the tub.

“I shall stand up now and finish the job myself if you do not give me what I want,” she hisses breathlessly, nearly squealing as he plunges deeper, throbbing against a sensitive wall of nerves inside her.