“Oh,” she breathed.
“Oh, indeed.” His hand returned to her chin, and he cupped it gently. “May I kiss you, River?”
Seconds that felt like eons passed before she slowly dipped her head.
“Out loud, River. I need to hear you.”
She inhaled sharply. “I… yes.”
A chorus of angels sang a jubilant chorus, rejoicing at the single word. Nikhail inhaled the scent of her storm and leaned in closer. Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips found hers, and he groaned into her mouth.
Gods. Fucking. Above.
It turned out that he hadn’t actually been alive before this moment. Not really. He may have met many people and been well-traveled, thanks to his position in the military, but he hadn’tlived.
Nothing—not even swimming in the Black Sea or walking among the golden sandy dunes in the Southern Region—compared to this.
River’s mouth was soft and velvety, like flower petals in the spring, and it perfectly melded against his. Her lips were warmbut not hot as their kiss quickly turned into something more. Something deeper.
It was a good thing they hadn’t done this before, because if he had, he wasn’t certain he would’ve been able to do anything else. Kissing her was about to become his newest obsession. Who needed food or water or air when they could have this?
Even now, in the midst of this life-changing embrace, he was conscious of her every breath, moan, and movement.
He would be careful, Nikhail promised himself. He wouldn’t move too fast and ruin this for them. They were long-lived fae. They would have many more opportunities to kiss, many more opportunities to take things further.
River’s lips moved against his. She’d been timid at first, but she was growing in confidence as she tasted him. Tested his limits.
“More, Nik,” she breathed against his lips.
The plea was a knife, slicing through the restraint he’d been using to keep himself back.
“Oh, River, you don’t have to beg.”
His hand traveled to the back of her neck, and he angled her head just the way he liked it. She let him move her, a tiny whimper slipping from her mouth as he leaned down to reclaim her lips.
The sound went straight to his dick, and he groaned. Sands save him, he could die a happy man now.
His tongue brushed the seam of her lips, and she opened for him. A tempest. That’s what she tasted like. Powerful and wild and barely contained…
She tasted like everything he’d ever dreamed of.
River breathed his name, fisting his shirt as she tugged him closer. Kissed him deeper.
When she nipped his lip, adding pain to their pleasure,Nikhail decided that he’d been wrong before. Obsessed was too simple a word to describe how he felt about kissing River.
Spellbound was more like it. Captivated. Enthralled, even. She was a storm, and he was ready to be utterly consumed by her.
Time had no meaning. Hours went by, or they could’ve been minutes. Nikhail lost himself in River’s storm, memorizing every sound, every gasp, every touch of her lips against his.
If he never did anything ever againexceptkiss River, he would consider it a life well-lived. Nothing else would ever compare to this anyway.
Work? It wasn’t as fulfilling. Food and drink? He’d survive off the sweet nectar she provided him.
His magic seemed to agree, humming pleasantly in his veins.
They kissed and kissed beneath the starlight, their hands traveling over clothing, exploring each other, until a cool breeze tickled his pointed ear.
His magic perked up, and he tensed as the wind whispered to him gently.