Page 64 of Shadow Queen
“I want to hear it,” she whispered.
He reached up and gently touched her face. “I think about your eyes,” he said as he brushed her temple. He drew his fingers down her cheek to her neck. “Your voice. Your laugh. Your hair, your lips.”
She leaned even closer, bringing her face upward. “Is that all?”
He gave a slow shake of his head, letting his fingertips linger at the base of her neck. “I think about your skin against mine. How you would feel. How much I want you. I do want you, Tahla.”
Her breath came shallower now.
“So don’t speak again of being with another,” he told her. “It’s not for thought of ruin, but for the deep jealousy that eats me. The bitterness knowing that another man’s possessed what I so desperately want to be mine.”
She put her hand on his chest and ran it over the curve of the muscle. “I could be yours tonight,” she whispered.
He smiled sadly. “But you wouldn’t really be mine, would you?”
“I’m no one’s.” Tahla ran her hand up and over his shoulder. Her eyes followed her touch. She seemed to like his body, want it even, and it fueled the burn inside him hotter. She drew her fingers down his arm. The graze of her fingertips ignited a fire over his skin.
Tahla took his hand and pulled it down, turning his palm upward and slowly bringing his fingers between her thighs. She wore nothing underneath her dress, no barrier to her skin. He was dangerously close to losing himself. She guided his fingers between her folds and let out a small gasp under his touch. Then she lifted her chin to his. “I’ll take that kiss now.”
But a kiss would be his undoing. He pulled his hand from her, but gripped her arms and dropped his head to rest his forehead against hers. He breathed deeply and prayed for control.
“Do I not please you, Northman?” she asked.
“Quite the opposite,” he panted. “Too much so.”
“But you would deny yourself?” she asked.
Much more and he wouldn’t be able to.
She let out a breath. “If you want me to go, I’ll go.” She pulled back from him, but he didn’t release his hold.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said. “Please. Stay.” He struggled through his words. “Not lost in our flesh, but just… stay with me.”
The corners of her mouth turned up.
He sank down onto the bed and lay back, leaving a space for her. Tahla crept in beside him and lay on her side, facing him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Tell me what you dream about, Tahla.”
“This is what you want to do in bed with me?”
He threaded his fingers through her hair. “I want to know you. Everything about you.”
“You’re a strange man, Northman,” she whispered.
He lay with Tahla in his arms, soaking in the warmth of her body. They talked deep into the night. She told him about the Uru, their love and respect for the earth, about her childhood, and the Uru’s friendship with Kharav. The story of her meeting Norah drew a chuckle from him. Then Tahla told him about her own failed marriage, which drew anger. The need to protect her overwhelmed him, but he knew she didn’t need his protection. Or want it.
In turn, he told her of Mercia, the beauty of the capital city and the North. She asked questions of the people and their customs, of their gods, deeply curious. It made him happy to share it with her.
Morning came too soon. Tahla had drifted into slumber sometime in the dark hours of the morning. Caspian didn’t sleep, but as the sun peeked over the horizon, he felt more rested than he had in a long time.
The time came to depart. He drew his fingertips over the skin of her shoulder to wake her. She opened her eyes with a smile.
“This isn’t how I expected the night with you to go, Northman,” she said softly.
He brushed her bottom lip with his thumb. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you your kiss.”
She pushed herself up on her elbow. “I think I’ll keep the debt so that you have to return.” She leaned in and brought her lips to his ear. “I do want you to return,” she whispered.
“Then I’ll have to,” he answered.
