A light in the flame

My heart pounded as his fingers skated over the lacy edges of my undergarment, slipping over them. My hips nearly came clear off the bench as his fingers pressed against the center of the thin garment.

Heart thrumming, I couldn’t answer his questions as his fingers drifted back and forth. The touch was featherlight until it wasn’t. He rubbed me, drawing his fingers up my very center to the most sensitive part of me. There was no doubt in my mind that he could feel the dampness of that thin undergarment increasing with each drag of his fingers, or that he could taste the rising desire. And that there was no hiding my response to him. My want. My need.

And I loved that.

Eyes open and fixed on the carriage wall at the other end of the bench, I gripped his arm as he began moving his fingers over the undergarment, dragging them down and back up to where desire throbbed.

“Sera?” His lips brushed my temple.

“W-what?”

“Do you know what took first place in occupying my thoughts?”

“No,” I rasped in a rush of liquid heat.

“Hearing you call me Ash,” he murmured. “When you come.”

I shuddered, a heaviness settling in my breasts. And lower, where his hand was between my thighs, sharp, aching desire pulsed.

“Will you appease my obsession?” he asked. “Will you call me Ash when you come?”

My chest rose sharply as I gripped his knee with my other hand, my hips begi

He nipped at the skin between my shoulder and neck. “That’s all I want to hear.”

“I can do that,” I promised as the carriage rocked forward, traveling over the bumpy terrain.

He groaned, pulling me tighter into the vee of his legs. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Then don’t wait,” I whispered.

“Wasn’t pla

My hips jerked as he slid his fingers under the thin undergarment and through the dusting of fine curls.

Ash…he teased. He played. For seconds. Minutes. Longer. I was shaking, gasping by the time he delved a finger inside me. The shock of sensations between my heated flesh and his icy finger was maddening, and the feel of his second finger left me burning for more.

I tipped my head back. “I need you,” I said. His chest was rising and falling as rapidly as mine against my back. “I need you.” I reached down, gripping his wrist. “Inside me.”

Ash’s fingers stilled.

“I want you inside me,” I whispered against the curve of his jaw. “When I come and call you Ash.”

“Fuck,” he growled, easing his fingers from me. He gripped the lace, tearing it with one sharp pull that sent a wicked thrill through me. “What’s stopping you?”

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. Not even the swaying motion of the carriage as I rose, and Ash straightened himself, dropping both feet to the floor. He undid his breeches, gripping himself as I climbed onto the bench. Grasping the bar near the ceiling with one hand to balance myself as I planted my knees on either side of his hips, I hoisted my skirt with the other. He pulled me to his chest, trapping the gown between us as he drew me down onto his rigid length.

I moaned at the icy-hot feel of him, stretching and filling me in one scorching slide. His hand fisted my hair, drawing my mouth to his. The kiss stole my breath in a clash of teeth and tongues as he rocked beneath me. My fingers slipped from the bar, falling to his shoulder as I rode him, as we panted into each other’s mouths.

The sound of our bodies coming together got lost in the churning of the wheels outside, but inside the carriage, we were lost in our gasps, our moans, and in building, coiling tension. He shook, grunting as his hips thrust, and I ground against him, quivering.

The release came hot and cold, hard and quick as I spasmed on his cock. Intense waves of pleasure swept through me as I tore my mouth free from his and called him what he wanted as I came.

Ash.

My muscles still felt like liquid when Bele greeted us on our return to the palace. Nothing had happened in our absence. Veses remained in stasis. Bele was mostly bored.

Ash and I hadn’t lingered, making our way upstairs as Rhain took the crowns to the chamber near the throne room. An inexplicable nervousness invaded my senses, causing my heart to feel like it was bouncing all over my chest by the time we neared the doors to our quarters.

Would we go our separate ways, only to reunite in the morning to leave for Irelone? Sleep in our own beds? What’d happened in the carriage—what I’d admitted to Ash—didn’t change things.

But I wanted it to.

I wanted to spend tonight together. And every night going forward. But so much had been left unsaid between us, and too much had been spoken in haste. It was likely that we’d continue as—

I stopped.

Stopped walking. Stopped the anxious spiral of questions that I couldn’t easily gain the answer to.

Ash halted a step ahead, turning to me. “Sera?”

Pressure threatened to squeeze my chest, cutting off my air, but I forced in a deep breath, holding it as I curled my fingers inward, against the imprint. All I had to do was speak and share what I wanted. And while I could easily make demands of every sort, this was different. This was more, and it left me feeling fragile. I wished I was privileged enough to even think that being honest about feelings or needs was nothing more than a simple conversation.

“I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.” Warmth slid across my cheeks. “I mean, I would like to stay with you. To sleep. Or talk. Or whatever. I…I just want to be with you.”

The flecks of essence in his eyes spun to life, begi

My smile was immediate and so wide it felt like my face might crack. “Okay,” I whispered, some of the nerves begi

Ash didn’t move, though. He stared as the eather continued whipping through his irises at dizzying speeds, as if something were occurring that he had no idea how to proceed with.

I shifted from one slippered foot to the next. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Yes.” Ash blinked, giving a small shake of his head. “It’s just that you’re…you’re beautiful.”

A pleasant, heady thrill swept through me despite the tension returning to the corners of his mouth. “I’m not sure if you think that’s necessarily a good thing. But thank you.”

His eyes widened slightly. “It’s a good thing. I think—I mean, it is a good thing. More than just good,” he said. A faint pink splotched his cheeks as he rubbed his hand over his chest. “Your smile just then? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that before.”

“Was it a bad smile?”

“No.” He came forward, taking my hand in his. A soft breath shuddered out from him. “It’s not bad.”

Ash then led me to his doors, the imprint on my hand tingling a bit against his. He was quiet as we entered his chambers, several of the wall sconces flickering to life.

“Are you sure I won’t be able to do that after I Ascend?” I turned to him, breathing in the scent of him that pervaded the air.

“Likely not,” he said, closing the door. “Other than the Primals, only the eldest of gods can turn their essence into power—electricity.”

“That’s really disappointing.”

Chuckling under his breath, he strode toward the table near the balcony, where a decanter sat. “Care for a drink?”

“Yes, please.”

He arched a brow at me as he picked up the decanter. “Since I became so distracted in the carriage,” he said, and I gri