Rose pressed the pendant over her heart and swiveled in one last slow circle. She bowed over, her hands clenching tight around the necklace. Then she straightened up and let out her breath. Her dark green eyes were gleaming like gems and her pale skin practically glowed. I didn’t know how anyone couldnotsee the power in her.
Maybe all that hiding away was making her forget just how potent she was too. I could help with that.
I moved to her as she clasped the gold chain around her neck. The pendant fell low between her breasts. Low enough that she could tuck it under her shirt, out of sight.
Unless that shirt happened to come off, of course.
I rested my hands on her waist and leaned close, kissing her forehead. “Watching you work your magic is the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen,” I said. “You’ve got so much power in you. I may not be a witch, but I can feel it, see it. We don’t need to run. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about us or about you. It doesn’t matter what they try to do. You could take on anyone—your dad, your fiancé, that entire Assembly.”
She shivered at my words, but from her smile it was a shiver of pleasure. “You think so?” she said.
“I know so. There’s nothing you couldn’t do now that you’ve woken up, Briar Rose. All you have to do is call it up.” I kissed her temple, her cheek, the corner of her jaw. Her sigh tingled over my neck. “You know what I’d like right now? To make love to you on a bed.”
The gleam in her eyes brightened. “I can arrange that,” she said, with exactly the confidence I’d been hoping to spark. She slipped away from me, throwing herself into another spell. Spreading her arms and letting the magic flow from each bend of her elbow, each twist of her wrist.
A long rectangular shape formed in front of us. It solidified into a mattress covered by a silk sheet. Rose stopped, her breath a little rough, her mouth stretched in a triumphant smile.
“I didn’t figure we needed a headboard and all that,” she said, arching an eyebrow at me.
“Not if it means I need to wait any longer before I do this,” I said, and scooped her off her feet.
We tumbled together onto the conjured mattress. Rose’s fingers tangled in my hair, and mine teased up under her blouse. We kissed until my breath was ragged too. I stroked my hand up and down her side, closer and closer to the curves tucked away inside her bra.
I brushed my knuckles over one nipple, already pebbled, and she whimpered. Her teeth grazed my lower lip. A bolt of pleasure shot straight through me to my cock.
Oh, I knew what I wanted. I knew just what both of us needed.
As I loosened her bra to caress her skin to skin, Rose slid her hand down my chest to the fly of my jeans. God, yes. My erection throbbed at the light pressure of her touch. No woman had ever turned me on half this much. I didn’t know how much it was the bond of magic between us and how much just Rose, but who the hell cared?
She jerked the zipper down and palmed my cock. I groaned, teasing her nipple to a stiffer peak. Her hips swayed toward me, as needy as I was. Yeah, it was time.
I eased my hands down to grip her thighs, tugging her skirt up. As I rolled onto my back, I pulled her with me, guiding her so she straddled me.
Heat flared in Rose’s eyes. She arched against my cock, and we both moaned.
“That’s right,” I murmured. “I’m yours. You take control, with all that power in you. Whatever feels good, you take.”
She made a desperate sound as she freed me from my boxers. I helped her strip off her panties. She hesitated over me, her dark hair falling like a curtain on either side of her face, her cheeks flushed.
“I’ve never—”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said gently, touching her hot skin. “You can do anything. Ride me, Rose.”
A tremble passed through her, eagerness dancing in her eyes. She stroked my length until I was even harder, my head spinning with need. Then she sank down onto me, admitting me into the hot slick center of her.
I groaned, clutching her thighs harder. A whimper slipped from her lips. She rocked over me, taking me deeper as her skirt pooled over us. “Jin,” she said.
“Right here,” I managed to say, even as my head spun with bliss. “You feel fucking amazing, Rose. You always do. Oh, yeah, just like that.”
She moved, bobbing up and down, bracing her hands against my chest. Her head tipped back, her eyelids fluttering. Pleasure was coursing all through my veins, but I didn’t let that completely distract me. My thumb settled over her clit, letting that little nub bump up against it with every pump of her hips.
A gasp escaped her. She pumped faster, pressing against me harder. I thrust up to meet her in time with the rhythm she'd set. Her hands clenched against me, fingernails nicking me with a sweet, sweet pain. I could have let go right then, but she needed her release first. This was for her first. Always for her.
“Feel that spark,” I said, imagining a little flame swaying inside her. “Feel the power you’ve got. So much of it, Rose. I’ll give you everything you could need, we all will, and it’s yours to wield.”
She moaned and ground herself harder against me, chasing her peak. “I can do anything,” she said in a tumble of words. “I can doanything. This is my life. I’ve taken my consorts. I’ll see us all through this. I won’t back down.”
She plunged over me, taking me even deeper than before, and her channel clamped around me. Her hips jerked. I groaned, unable to hold myself back any longer. My balls tightened, and I spilled myself inside her in one glorious rush.