“Well…” Neridia met his eyes in the mirror, smiling. “In that case, of course I’ll wear it.”
“You should wear this, too.” He reclaimed the necklace she’d tried and discarded earlier. “There will be dragon shifters there. They measure status by the value of hoards. They must be left in no doubt as to your rank.”
His calloused fingertips trailed over the curve of her neck, lightly, sending delicious shivers through her. “All right,” she said, a little breathlessly. “If you think it’s a good idea.”
“I do.” He sank to one knee, capturing her wrists in his huge hands. “And you need bracelets too. Sapphires, I think.”
“John, I really don’t-“ Neridia caught her breath, her protest dying away half-formed as he swept his thumb over her inner wrist.
“Sapphires,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to the sensitive skin. “Many sapphires.”
Neridia could only submit as he fastened wide golden bracelets around her forearms. The gleaming sapphires caught in the fine filigree nets precisely matched the deep indigo of his intent, hungry eyes.
His hand ran over the intricate metalwork, and then, more slowly, up over the soft curves of her upper arms. Neridia’s lips parted as he leaned in close…but rather than claim her mouth, he tilted his head to place a light, teasing kiss just behind her ear.
“Earrings,” he whispered, his breath warm against her skin.
Neridia gasped as he gently nipped at her lobe. Withdrawing again, John selected a pair of pearl and diamond drops from a casket. With infinite care, he fastened them to her ears.
“There,” he said, his voice husky. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently turned her to face the mirror. “See.”
Neridia looked at herself. Her eyes were as large and dark as the black pearls of her crown. The gleaming jewels around her neck emphasized the heightened color of her skin. Diamonds dripped from her ears like falling drops of rain.
“Okay,” she said, laughter mingling with desire. “Now that really is too much, John.”
He made a deep, thoughtful rumble, low in his throat, as he drew her up to her feet. “Perhaps you are right.”
His hand ran up her spine. Before she’d realized his intent, he’d undone the fastenings of her ball gown.
“John!” she protested, as he slipped the indigo silk over her shoulders, leaving her only in her panties.
He stifled her objection with his mouth. His hard body pressed her back against the wall of the dressing-room. The crisp linen of his shirt rubbed against her bared breasts, sending jolts of pleasure through her hardening nipples.
His fingers slipped under the waistband of her panties. “Still too much,” he murmured against her mouth.
Stepping back, he drew her panties down, slowly. Neridia trembled, a wash of heat pulsing between her thighs as his hands caressed the soft curves of her legs from hips to ankles.
“There,” he said, rising again. He took a step back, gazing at her as if she were some priceless work of art. “Now that is just right.”
She shook her head at him, pursing her lips in a mock-pout. “Wrong. Now this is not enough.”
He started to turn to the treasure-hoard, but she caught his hand. Lacing her fingers through his, she pulled him out of the dressing-room and into the bedroom.
He let her guide him so that he was sitting on the bed. Straddling his lap, Neridia kissed him deeply, unfastening the tiny buttons of his shirt as she did so. Never breaking the kiss, she ran her hands over the planes of his chest.
Her fingers found the pale, smooth scar over his heart. The feel of it made her kiss him even more fervently, winding her other hand into his braided hair. She had come so close to losing him…
He kissed her back with equal hunger. His hands tightened on her back. His hot mouth, the press of his bare skin against hers, the solid strength of his arms around her…they were all a silent, unspoken promise.
A promise that he would always be there. That nothing would ever part them again.
His hard length pressed against her wet sex, demanding even through the layers of fabric separating them. She moaned into his mouth as he flexed his hips, rubbing against her in just the right way.
“Still not enough,” she gasped.
He answered with a hungry growl, biting at her lip. His hands jerked impatiently at his belt. Raising herself up on her knees, she helped him free his eager cock.
He seized her hips, stopping her from lowering herself down again. She squirmed, her core clenching in anticipation at the tantalizing feel of his thick head just parting her folds.