Somehow, this felt better than their first night tonight. They’d been through hell and back; now, nothing was between them.
No more lies. No betrayal. No revenge plots.
Just… them.
Husband and wife.
Fae and vampire.
Chosen partners.
It feltgood. Brynleigh was able to be wholly and completely herself with Ryker. He knew everything about her, every dark secret, every fear she’d ever had. Nothing was keeping them apart.
Freedom was sweet on her tongue, and she wanted to drown in it. In him.
Reaching up, she tugged on the hem of his shirt. “Take this off.”
She wanted to gaze upon every inch of him and commit him to memory.
Storms darkened his eyes, and he licked his lips. “Would you like that?”
“Yes,” she breathed, not even caring that desperation leaked into her tone. “I need to see you.”
She could have sworn thunder boomed outside as his hand slipped behind his neck, but she didn’t dare look out the window. Her gaze was locked on him as he pulled his shirt over his head with one smooth tug. The fabric glided up, revealing the sculpted plains of his stomach.
Brynleigh pushed herself onto her elbows, not bothering to hide her intrigue as he dropped the garment on the ground.
Every inch of him was fucking perfection. It was as though the gods had sculpted him by hand.
Ryker was a gorgeous fae male… and he was hers. Her wedding band marked him as such, but she didn’t need a piece of jewelry to know he belonged to her.
For as much as she was admiring him, he was studying her. His eyes trailed over every part of her like she was an exotic creature, and he was memorizing her for further study. That kind of stare would’ve made her want to kill anyone else, but coming from him, it made her feel loved.
The scent of their mutual desire filled the air as he stepped towards her. His hands landed on her hips, and he moved her to the middle of the bed. She didn’t fight him as he leaned over her. His left hand hit the mattress, supporting his weight as his right one trailed over her still-clothed stomach.
That small touch was enough to send bolts of need racing through her.
Brynleigh gasped, her breaths coming in short bursts. Had she been on fire before? Now, she was an inferno, burning up from the inside out.
His teasing touch was far too light as it trailed down her stomach over her sweater to the waistband of her leggings. It took everything she had not to react as he hooked a finger in the elastic.
“Like what you see, little vampire?” Ryker raised a knowing brow, that smirk still dancing on his handsome lips.
“Very much so,” she replied honestly.
She wasn’t sure she could’ve lied now, even if she wanted to.
He flattened his hand on her stomach, his thumb achingly close to her clit.
His lips brushed hers, the kiss maddeningly brief. “Me, too.”
She didn’t have time to mourn the lack of Ryker’s mouth on hers because he kneeled at the edge of the bed and tugged on her top.
He asked, “Do you like this sweater?”
Such an odd question to ask at a moment like this. She frowned. “I mean, as much as I like most of my clothes.”
It was neither here nor there. She wasn’t all that involved in fashion. Not like Sarai had been.