Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,122

anything else.”

“Dick.”

Chapter Forty

I woke to an arm resting over my hipbone, and fingers tracing its curve while silently exploring. My mind grasped for who it was learning my curves, and a smile played on my lips.

Heat curled in my belly, tightening it with the memories of Knox’s mouth against my sex, and a soft whispered sigh escaped my lips, followed by a breathy moan of his name. The sound of his heart thundering at the whisper made my smile deepen.

Knox lifted his fingers from my hip, pushing the hair away from my face. I whimpered, not ready to give up the only decent sleep I’d had since entering this hellish place. My hands moved toward the source, brushing against his chest, before tucking my head deeper into the crook of his arm, placing a soft kiss against his heart.

He lowered his fingers, touching the raised peak of my nipple before he leaned over, kissing my forehead as my eyes opened. Knox pulled back, peering into my sleepy gaze with something dark passing through his expression.

We stared at one another, neither willing to break the spell or peace of the morning with words. I swallowed, the smile on my lips vanishing. I felt his cock growing hard against my belly. I peered down, finding my leg draped over his hip, and our bodies tangled together. At the sight of his cock, I licked my lips, recalling the way I’d lost control last night.

A blush flooded my cheeks, and my eyes lifted back to his. Knox rolled over, and I blinked, noting that he’d removed the cuff before I’d awoken to him exploring my body. I rolled onto my back, lifting my knees to close them against the tension flowing through my midriff. He groaned, inhaling deeply as he rubbed his eyes and sat up.

I studied his stiff posture as he leaned over the edge of the bed to push his messy hair away from his face. He slowly stood and moved to the table, grabbing a glass of something, and tossing it back. Knox rested his hands on the table’s edge, showing off his impressive backside. His back still held visible claw marks, even if the scratches had scabbed.

I smiled with victory, sitting up to pull the covers around me. My hair was a lost cause, and the white fur of the blanket tickled my flesh, causing my lips to tip into a sleepy smile. I yawned, stretching my arms while dispelling the sleepiness from my bones.

Knox turned around, opening his mouth to say something, but paused, staring. He slid his gaze over me, swallowing hard as if he forgot whatever he was preparing to say. Leaning back against the table, he studied me as a soft smile played on his lips.

“Good morning,” I whispered past the dryness in my mouth.

“Morning, Aria,” he said breathlessly. Scrubbing a hand down his face, he groaned, picking up the discarded sweatpants and pulling them on to hide the scratches I’d left on his ass. “You’ve slept most the day away, so now we can’t move camp until tomorrow morning.”

“You could have woken me,” I replied, narrowing my eyes on his hungry gaze.

“When’s the last time you slept more than a couple hours?” he countered crossly.

I snorted, giving him a pointed look as my brow lifted with laughter dancing in my eyes. “A Neanderthal, who wanted to do rather bad, bad things to me, was chasing me around the Nine Realms. I didn’t get much time to sleep on the run, and when I did, it was with one eye open. He was rather relentless and quite the hunter.”

Knox’s features softened as he smiled, slowly shaking his head as he rested his hands on his hips.

Staring at me briefly, he reached into the chest at the foot of the bed and pulled out a dress, tossing it in my direction. I caught it, dropping the blanket, realizing my mistake as a playful smile flitted over his lips.

“Get dressed. You’ll be sitting with the other witches as I meet with one of my dignitaries. Best behavior today, Aria,” he warned. I slid to the edge of the bed, staring at the cuffs encasing my wrists.

“Do you intend to free me of the cuffs? How do you expect me to get this dress on exactly?” I held up the garment, and he looked at it, before moving back to the chest, pulling out a white spaghetti-strap dress that looked like it belonged on anyone else but me.

He