"Why do I feel that this conversation is truly turning indecent?" Anastasia asked, trying her best to calm her heartbeat because right now her heart was pounding so hard that it could have leapt out of its ribcage. And she wanted to tighten the gap between her thighs, but she didn't because that would mean that she feeling l-

"I am not the one who thinks that. It is just as indecent as you think it is."

She didn't know what to say. The way he said it, it looked as if she was sounding lascivious. The fuck she wanted to admit that! She took a deep breath she bit her lip. Why did the conversation always turn out like this with him? Was she becoming vulgar? She bit her lip.

"Look at me Anastasia," his voice wasn't a request. The way her name rolled on his tongue, she clenched her thighs again.

Slowly, she turned on her belly over his chest to face him and cradled her chin on her hands. In the darkness, all she could feel was his breath on her face. His arms curled around her waist and he started caressing her sides. He dipped his hand inside her shirt and ran his finger over her spine. "You are buttery soft," he whispered. "I have been dying to touch that skin for a long time... ever since I felt your eyes on me..."

Anastasia's lips parted. Gods. That was so beautiful and sexy as hell. "At the risk of Aed Ruad finding out about this?"

"At the risk of you not getting punished again."

Was that a sacrifice? "What about Maple?"

"What she did to you was abhorrent and you will not think about her, but one day you are going to tell me about it, okay?"

She blinked.

His thumb pressed her lower lip. "Don't talk about her." He knew she was trying to distract him. He trailed his finger over the edges of her mouth. "Do you know I have been tormented by these."

"How..." she was about to ask something when he pressed his finger between her lips. On an instinct she sucked it. He pulled it away and he sucked that finger in his mouth. She was scandalized.

"I need to-" he said but stopped.

Suddenly she found herself on his side. He had positioned her in between his arms and legs in a way that she was tightly held against his chest.

She gasped. "Ileus-"

"- kiss you Anastasia," his voice was husky.

She was stunned but wanted to explore it... with him. She wanted to forget about the world, about her previous encounter, about Nyles, about everything that made her feel miserable, and... she had never felt so urgent. Her breathing became ragged.

He brushed his lips on hers, as if seeking her permission. And Anastasia... opened like a flower. She wanted him to kiss her. And the passing second that lingered between them was like eternity.

He brushed his lips to the sides of her mouth as if to feel the contours of her mouth. He licked her on the side of the mouth for the entire length. With his fangs, he pried her to open her lips and she parted them. Ileus delved his tongue right inside without waiting for a moment. A rumble formed in his chest that came out in her mouth as a groan.

Anastasia felt like she would die if she didn't kiss him. She curled her hands in his hair and allowed him to explore her. He explored every corner of her mouth and then sucked her tongue. His fangs grazed her lips and nicked them a bit. She moaned in his mouth and tried to suck his tongue. It was all mouth and teeth and hands and breaths.

When his tongue slipped in hers, she felt an adrenaline rush. Beautiful visions floated in her mind-of those countless sunsets she watched, musicians playing harp and fiddles and flutes, walking in the garden while admiring the blossoms that grew during brief spells of summer and cool gusts of wind in her hair. She didn't want to pull away.

His kiss was so demanding. She became breathless and pulled away. "I- I see these visions-"

His mouth stopped her from speaking further and the next thing she knew was that he had rolled with her in his arms. With his knees he spread her legs and nestled his narrow hips right in between them. He began to slowly grind himself while his tongue delved into her mouth again. She moaned when he grinded harder. It sent shivers down her spine. Electricity passed from her heart and reached her fingers. She dug her nails in his shoulders, wanting to brand him with her marks. The muscles beneath her hands rippled at her touch. She curled her hands around his neck and gripped his silky curls that she had been craving for a long time.

"Fuck!" he hissed as his body shook. He kissed her hungrily as if he was lapping up water from an oasis. His hands moved beneath her shirt to her stomach and then to the lower swells of her breasts and he hissed. He rubbed his erection on her. "I want to suckle those breasts, Ana!"

The way he said, she arched in his hands and he grabbed her breasts, but only briefly. His hands went to her thighs, which he stroked with his calloused hands. He brought his hand in between her thighs and placed his finger on her clit. "I want to suckle this too."

Gods.

Her blood heated up. She rolled her hips against him. Her mind was in a tizzy. She wanted to believe that it was real. She didn't want to leave him. The thought of leaving him stabbed at her heart. She shoved it from her mind and concentrated on him. As he moved against her, she whispered his name over and over again, in reverence, in awe, in lust, in lure.

He took his hands back to her breasts and squeezed them. She almost yelped. "I was plagued by them every time I saw you in Vilinski. I wanted to see how they felt against my hand."

She took her hands underneath his shirt, craving to touch him. A shudder passed through his body and he jerked when she touched him.