away. “That’s what I want, if you’ll have me.”
“I will.” I lean back on his lap and unclasp my cloak, letting it fall to the ground. My shirt is next; I don’t look away as I strip it over my head and toss the garment to the floor, for once not caring whether it gets ruined or dirty.
The moment my clothes hit the floor, Bastian takes me by the hips and flips me onto the bed. He’s swift to remove his shirt before he’s the one straddling me, kissing me from the ear down, taking his time to reach my lips. My neck. Taking the skin of my collarbone gently between his teeth. I wrap my arms around him as he drifts lower, dragging my fingers over the pronounced muscles of his back, or taking fistfuls of his chestnut hair when he gets too low for me to reach. His lips trail from my navel to my hips, where he hesitates. There’s a question in the eyes that glint up at me, and my entire body heats with desire that flares from that single look. I understand exactly what he’s offering, and I want it.
When I nod, his fingers fumble with the buttons of my pants, and he eases them off, kicking them to the floor before his lips are against my skin once again. This time though, they travel even lower, and as he finds the most sensitive area of me, I unravel. I dig fingers into his hair. Into the sheets around us. Into anything I can get my hands on until my body shudders around him. I’m breathless, reveling in what he’s given me. But I’m not done with him, yet.
I pull Bastian up so that his body’s over mine, and I kiss him firmly. “More,” I say against his lips, igniting at his low laugh.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. “And I have wild carrot seed to take after, so we’ll be safe.” I start at Bastian’s pants, but as he stands to finish undressing, my only job is to lean back on the bed and admire him.
The warmth of his brown skin glows like the sun in the flicker of candlelight. His chest and shoulders are broader than I remember. When he takes too long, I lift to my knees to drag Bastian down to the bed.
His eyes widen when I don’t pull him over me again, but instead drag myself onto his lap.
“Why do you look so surprised?” I laugh, smoothing my fingers through his hair and peppering kisses along his neck to quell his nerves. “Have you been with someone before?”
“I have.” His hands settle onto their familiar place upon my hips, and I shudder as his thumbs trace patterns over my bare skin. “Just not … like this.”
He nods to my body, and I understand at once that Bastian’s used to being the one in control.
Perhaps it’s selfish, but tonight I want him in all the ways I want him. Because no matter what comes after this—no matter what choice I make—it’s me who’s going to lose something when the time comes to use that scale. So for tonight, I will be selfish.
I take his face in my hands and plant the softest kiss on his mouth. “That’s okay. If there’s anything one of us doesn’t like, we’ll stop.”
He brushes his fingers through my curls, tucking a strand back behind my ear as his thumb strokes my cheek. He smiles as he does it, soft and content, and kisses me back.
It’s a slow kiss, soft and tender, melting my body against his. But it grows into something fierce and desperate, until it feels as though there isn’t a single thing in the world that can satiate me except for him.
When we connect, there’s nothing I want more than for this moment between us to last. Curse or not, being with Bastian in this way is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s like our bodies are made for each other. Where he touches, my skin turns to fire. When I kiss him, his body bends to mine.
I’ve no way to know how long we’ve been tangled together before we relax on the sheets, both of us breathless and veiled in sweat. Yet neither of us makes any motion to pull away.
Bastian holds me close against his bare chest, burrowing his face against the crook of my neck. I want to live in this moment long enough