Crown of Flames and Ash (Courts of Aetheria #2)

Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

R eign

“Aelia, I…”

“Please.” She tugged on my hand, heated gaze fixed to mine, and my knees hit the edge of the mattress.

That one word had all my resolve crumbling. It was clear she was experiencing the effects of the poison, the diminished inhibitions, the heightened emotions, and who knew what else. If I allowed myself to lie with her, would I be able to control my deepest desires?

She had an excuse to behave this way, but what was mine?

With one more gentle tug, my knees buckled, and my resolve disintegrated. A heart-stopping smile crawled across her face as I settled in beside her, careful to keep some distance between us. Dropping my head to the pillow, my entire body was as stiff as a plank. As if she could sense my unease, a wicked grin replaced the satisfied smile. “Why do you look so uncomfortable, professor?”

I squirmed, rolling onto my stomach to hide the proof of my desire for the female that had turned my life upside down. “The bed is a bit small, don’t you think?”

“No, I think it’s perfect.” She obliterated the carefully crafted distance I’d created, curling into my side.

“That’s likely the hallucinations,” I mumbled.

“Well, then they’re the best damned hallucinations I’ve ever had.” Her fingers dove beneath my tunic and once again roamed the planes of my back.

Every touch sent a fiery torrent licking up my spine. “Aelia…” I grumbled.

“What?”

“You know what.”

She lifted her head from the pillow, propping her chin in her palm as those teasing eyes scrutinized me. “I thought you wanted to be with me?”

Gods, I did, I do . “You are not yourself right now.”

“On the contrary, dear professor, I’ve never felt so much like myself—so free, so weightless and giddy—in my life. The vandals should bottle this poison and sell it. They’d make a lot more money than trying to rob innocent travelers of their coin.”

A wry chuckle tumbled out as I reveled in the mirth of her expression, the twinkle in those twin silver-blue orbs. It wasn’t often we shared moments like these anymore. And maybe she deserved it… just this one time.

As if she’d read my quickly crumbling resolve, her fingers climbed up my spine and settled on my neck. With a gentle tug, she coaxed my body to turn so that we were now flush against each other.

A shaky breath parted her lips when our lower halves met. Her gaze dipped between us, latching onto my growing arousal pressed against her belly. A mischievous smirk splashed across her face, tingeing the apples of her cheeks an enticing crimson. She inched closer, her lips a heartbeat away from mine, the rapid rise and fall of her chest brushing mine with each ragged inhale.

“Please, Reign…”

Noxus, I wasn’t built for restraint. Her voice was still laced with a fevered pitch, her eyes glossed over from the toxin. Aelia was not in her right mind. I should not do this, not take advantage of this moment of weakness she’d surely regret. Then again, I was not a good Fae; I was arguably one of the worst. I was selfish, stubborn, and ruthless, willing to crush anyone who stood in my way. And in this moment, what I wanted more than anything was Aelia.

“Let’s simply pretend again,” she whispered.

So when her lips pressed closer, a questioning, unguarded expression in her eyes, I hurled my restraint into the abyss and closed the distance between us, claiming her mouth with the intensity I could no longer contain. And for one blissful moment, I pretended she truly was mine, and we were destined to be. Fuck the prophecy, the gods, the kings. Aelia was mine, and I was hers, fate be damned.

Despite knowing how wrong this was, how much I’d regret my feeble character in the morning, I threaded my fingers into the back of her nape and devoured her. I captured and claimed, exploring every inch of her mouth as I’d dreamt of doing since the first time our lips touched.

Soft moans echoed over the pounding of my heart and the rapid, rough breaths sailing between us. She rocked her hips against mine, driving her center over my arousal. “Oh, stars, Reign…” she groaned against my lips. “You make me feel incredible.”

“Mmm, I was going to say the same to you, princess .”

Her hand glided between us, moving down my torso and pausing at the laces of my breeches.

“Aelia…” I growled, the low, guttural sound more beast than man. “This is not a good idea.”

“But I want to touch you.”

For the love of Noxus… I deserved to spend the rest of my days basking in Raysa’s sun-blessed splendor for what I was about to say. “Not today,” I forced out.

“But why?” She pushed out her bottom lip as her hand cupped my arousal over my trousers.

A groan slid past my clenched teeth as I forced the words from my mouth. “Because the toxin is affecting your judgment.”

“No, it’s not,” she whined. “I know exactly what I’m doing. In fact, I’ve always wanted to?—”

I pressed a finger to her lips before I lost all self-control. “Soon, Aelia, but not here, not like this. Let me take care of you tonight.”

Without free rein over my shadows, I would have to coax her pleasure the more traditional way. And gods, I couldn’t wait to lure those sounds from her lips with my fingers, my tongue.

I rolled her onto her back, pinning her to the bed as I drew her tunic up over her head. Her eyes twinkled up at me, like a thousand stars across a moonlit sky. My starlight. Her breasts spilled over the top of her brassiere, and I dropped chaste kisses along the fine curves. Her back arched off the bed with each gentle touch, each languid lick. My arousal was heavy, straining against my breeches, but I pushed all thoughts of my discomfort aside, and focused only on her pleasure.

Aelia writhed beneath me, the sweet scent of her excitement filling the air and only urging me on. I crawled down her perfect form, licking and nibbling, tasting her as I dropped lower, fitting my knees between her legs. Painfully slowly, I dragged down her training leathers, the soft suede clinging to her skin, before I relieved her of her silky panties. Revealing milky white flesh beneath, I paused for an endless minute to take her in, to commit this moment to memory. I was a bastard because I knew that in any other situation, she would never have bared herself to me like this, but with her inhibitions subdued, she preened like a peacock beneath my adoring gaze.

“Gods, you are perfect, Aelia. The most incredibly exquisite female I’ve ever set eyes upon.” And mine …

Her twitchy fingers found the hem of my tunic, lifting it up over my head. Her gaze settled on the mark of the banished, and her lips twisted, a light sheen coating her brilliant irises. “I hate that your father did that to you,” she whispered, her voice nearly returned to her natural timbre once more. A tear glistened down her cheek, and the endless void that once existed in my chest bloomed with warmth.

“Don’t cry for me, princess.” I swept the errant tear from her soft skin and brought it between my lips. “I would never have met you if my father hadn’t set those events in motion. And I would gladly endure the torture of a thousand banished marks just to have this one moment with you.”

“Reign, I?—”

“You don’t have to say anything, Aelia. The poison would only tarnish the truth of your words. I will gladly wait for the real thing, even if it takes a lifetime.” With that, I dropped between her legs and inhaled a deep breath of her natural perfume.

“Reign!” An airy giggle flitted between us as her fingers tangled in my hair. “What are you doing?”

“I’m committing your scent to memory, Aelia. It’s common among m—lovers.”

“It tickles!” she squealed.

I dropped kisses along her inner thigh, and she stilled, a soft moan replacing the nervous laughter. As I neared the hollow between her thighs, her anxious gaze latched onto mine, and her words from the last time we’d been intimate sprang to mind. Aelia had never been with another male. The gods had saved her for me, my mate. The heady thought streaked straight to my lower half, sending an electrifying pulse through my already painful arousal. I vowed in that moment that one day I would have all of Aelia, but that day could not be today because if the cuorem were real, the physical act of coupling would seal the bond. And I couldn’t, in good conscience, allow that until we were certain of the truth. And until she knew and understood what that truth was.

Anxious eyes peered down at me, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

“Has a male ever worshiped at the altar of your thighs?”

Another wave of brilliant crimson rushed her cheeks as she slowly shook her head.

“Then I consider myself a fortunate one to be the first to claim that title.” The first and the only, if the gods were good . My free hand drifted up her torso, pinning her to the mattress, while my other one locked around her thigh. Licking my lips, I dropped between her legs and dragged my tongue across her center. “Tonight, I feast.”

“Oh, my stars!” Aelia attempted to sit up, but I gently held her down, running my hand up her torso to fondle her breast. “Reign…” she moaned as I licked and nibbled, teased and thrusted. “My gods, this is absolute heaven.”

A deep chuckle escaped, vibrating against her most sensitive region, and her legs quivered. “I’m just getting started, princess.”