Once he had unfastened all the lacings, he slipped his hands into her dress and heard her gasp as his palms snaked around her body, coming up to cup her breasts beneath the fabric. Her nipples were hard and Ember could practically feel them throbbing beneath his palms. He squeezed one breast gently as his other hand travelled down beneath her dress. She quivered against his touch and gasped when his fingers lighted on the most sensitive spot between her thighs.
"Don't worry, I'm going to take care of you," Ember promised in her ear. She groaned and tilted her head back against his shoulder when he began to kiss and nibble at her neck, his fingers stroking gently between her thighs before dipping teasingly inside her. Her wings, though folded back firmly against her back, shivered as though she were having a hard time controlling them.
"I want you to have everything you have ever wanted and more," he continued to whisper in her ear, squeezing one breast and then the other with the same hand, holding her back against him with his arm across her chest while urging her buttocks back against his groin with his other hand. He growled when he felt her arching her back, grinding up against him as if she were a bitch in heat.
She's ready, he thought.
"What do you want, Iris?" He breathed into her ear. She obviously sensed the desire in his tone because she gasped and continued to quiver beneath his touch.
"You."
It was such a simple answer, and yet it caused Ember's heart to skip a beat. He felt as though he had been waiting a millennium for this, although it had only been a few days since he’d met her. He didn't need to be told twice, and so he slipped her dress the rest of the way down her arms, allowing the fabric to pool around her ankles.
"Turn around," he instructed gently, and she responded to him almost automatically. There was a dreamy expression on her face as though she were dazed, in a world of her own.
Her hands seemed to move instinctively to his chest but he quickly gripped her wrists and shook his head, "Not yet."
With that, he slowly dropped down into a crouch, kissing first her lips, before trailing down her entire torso. She gasped and leaned back slightly. Ember felt the stirring of air around him as she fluttered her wings in an attempt to keep herself on her feet.
He cupped her buttocks and urged her forward, and his mouth met the sweet nectar between her thighs.
At first, she gasped, and a thrill ran through him when her fingers rushed into the roots of his hair. He did not stop kissing, licking and caressing until he felt her knees beginning to tremble so badly that they might give way. He paused and gazed up at her from between her thighs, still gripping her in place with his hands. He took only a moment to glide first one hand down the back of her leg and then the other, removing each of her slippers as he did so.
Her moans and groans of pleasure had been enough to make him rock-hard, and he knew that he couldn't hold out a moment longer.
Kissing her torso on the way back up, he paused only to allow her to taste her own juices on his lips. Then he reached for the buttons of his shirt and began to undo them.
As if she could not wait either, he felt her fingers begin to tug on the buttons holding his pants up. Her hands skimmed over his rock-hard manhood and he groaned at the delicious yet momentary sensation.
Practically ripping off his shirt, he kicked off his shoes, kissing her again and again every chance he got. She returned his kisses in kind with such passion that he knew she had entirely forgotten about her misgivings.
Once they stood, naked as the day they were born, Ember knew it was too late for either of them to turn back. He had to have her now or he might go insane.
Gripping her buttocks once more, he pulled her up into his arms and spread his wings, gliding across the chamber to the four-poster bed. He laid her down in a patch of fiery light cast by the setting sun, and her hair turned to flame, her blue-purple eyes sparking with such desire that he knew she was also past the point of no return.
Her hands knotted in his hair and pulled him down on top of her, even as she lowered down onto her back. A smile danced upon her lips until he kissed her again. As he did so, he hovered over her, gently guiding himself down between her thighs. She opened her legs wide to accommodate him, and when he slipped deep inside her, she gasped so suddenly that he was forced to pause to be sure he hadn't hurt her.
"Don't stop!" she pleaded with him, and that was all the encouragement Ember needed to make love to her as he had made love to nobody before her.
Chapter 11 - Iris
When Iris woke the next morning, she was startled to find herself still in the king's chambers. Her heart hammered as she remembered bittersweet memories of the night before, how he had made such sweet love to her, the like of which she had never experienced before.
She rolled over, her hand reaching instinctively for the warm body that had slept beside her, but her palm fell flat on a cold, empty bed.
Her stomach clenched with the realization that he was gone, and the smile on her lips instantly began to die. Heart hammering, she sat bolt upright in the bed and glanced around, half hoping that she might catch him dressing. At least then she could ask him to return to bed and see what kind of response she would get.
It was not to be. The room was entirely empty save for the furniture. That was until a loud knocking caused her to jump, and a moment later, the door swung open. Iris quickly grabbed the silken bed sheets to cover her modesty, or what was left of it. The quick movement caused her to ache deliciously between her thighs, reminding her once again of what had occurred the night before.
She was stunned to find Pria entering with a silver tray. The smell of warm food drifted from beneath the silver platters it held.
"The king instructed me to have breakfast brought to you," Pria announced, curtseying and waiting for Iris to give her permission to approach the bed. When she did, the maid placed the tray over her lap and stepped away, curtseying again. Iris could see the suspicion in her eyes even though she kept them averted. No doubt the maid was wondering how her mistress had ended up in the king's bed after their conversation the day before. I was wondering the same thing, Iris thought, but she would not discuss it with a servant. She wouldn't discuss it with anyone.
"Have you seen him this morning?" Iris asked, hoping that she sounded only mildly curious and not worried by the fact he had left her alone.
"Not personally, my lady, he sent Filton to fetch me and tell me where you were," Pria explained.
At least he cared enough to see me tended to, Iris thought. Which was more than could be said for her previous master. Her stomach twisted once more as she remembered the way he had cared for her the night before. She had never experienced such pleasure. Her insides still ached from the spasms. She wasn't even sure that she was calm enough to eat after everything that had happened. Her stomach was still in knots. She was relieved that her maid was not brave enough to question her, as she would have had no idea what to say.