We kiss for long moments, hands roaming, breaths steaming in the cold night air between us, but eventually, we decide that the cold and the smell of fresh horse shit don’t make for a particularly romantic setting, so Korr picks up the lantern and offers me his hand, and we enter the Hill together.
I don’t even try to pretend I know where we’re going—I’ll have to work on that, I know—but I’m still surprised when we emerge into a cavern with a low ceiling and humid, steamy air.
“I thought we’d go straight to our rooms,” I whisper, wary of how the sound echoes in the large space.
“We were meant to meet here,” he reminds me. “I’m no less dirty than I was after the tournament.”
I want to say that I don’t care, that he still smells amazing to me, which he does, but then I think of how wonderful it’ll be to sink into the warm water and allow him to tug me forward, to one of the hidden pools in the back, far from where the corridor enters the chamber.
“Are we the only ones here?” I ask as he sets the lantern on the stone ledge next to the pool.
Korr nods. “It’s late.” He walks over to me and trails his finger over the neckline of my new gown. “I’m sorry we didn’t get the celebration we planned.”
I lift my hand to the laces of his tunic and tug at them until they unravel. “There’s still time.”
The flare of heat in his gaze tells me he understands perfectly. He takes my shoulders and turns me away from him slowly, then undoes the ties at the back of my red dress. I let the fabric slip away from me, and his gasp tells me he appreciates the layer underneath.
“Can I rip this one?” he asks, his voice low. “I’ll explain everything to Poppy, I swear.”
Laughing, I face him again, and he groans, then palms my breasts over the sheer chemise. The reverence in his expression is a sharp contrast to the carnal way he kneads and molds my flesh until we’re both panting and clutching at each other. I forget about keeping the chemise intact and don’t even complain when he rips one of the ties at my shoulders because I’m too busy trying to claw Korr’s tunic away from him so I can find his warm, green skin. He shoves his leather pants down while I press my lips to his chest, licking his flat nipples, and he cups the back of my head to keep me in place.
Finally naked, we stand entwined, kissing, touching, teasing, until Korr rears back, swings me up in his arms, and hops into the pool, sending a wave of water splashing over the rim.
I shriek, arms flailing, but he holds me close to his chest and keeps me from getting completely submerged. Still, I pinch his arm for scaring me, and he laughs, his crooked smile bright.
“Say it again,” he commands as he sits on an underwater bench, arranging me so I’m astride his lap, one knee on either side of his hips.
I press a kiss to the side of his neck, relishing his shiver. “Say what?”
He grabs my ass, then pulls me closer so my pussy is flush with the long ridge of his cock. “You know what.”
I put my lips right to the shell of his pointed ear and whisper, “I love you, Korr.”
Then I lick the lobe and bite down on it gently.
Korr’s hips rock up, and he groans low in his throat. “Fuck, Ivy.”
He lets me nibble on his ears and neck for a minute, then takes over, sliding his hand into my wet hair and angling my head for a deep, carnal kiss. He reaches between us with his other hand and spears two fingers into my wet pussy, shocking a moan from my lips.
“Damn,” I say, covering my mouth with my hand. “We have to be quiet.”
“There’s no one here,” he replies as he circles my pearl, then plunges into me again. “Scream all you like, little witch.”
Biting my lip, I glance around us, but he’s right—not only are we obscured from view by the mists rising from the hot pools but we’re all alone. Only the splashing of water and the echoes of our movements mar the silence.
I give Korr a wicked grin. He parts his lips to reply, but I reach down and grasp his thick cock in my hand, giving him a rough stroke, just as he likes it. His shout of surprise reverberates around the chamber, but I cut it short with another kiss.
“Put it inside me,” I command him. “I need to feel you.”
Korr hisses a breath between his teeth, but he withdraws his hand and lines me up over his cock. Then he slowly pushes my hips down, impaling me on his length. I rock my hips in small circles, enjoying every inch he gives me. In the water, I have less control over my movements, but Korr takes over, fucking me with steady strokes until we’re both gasping for air.
Then I wrap his messy, damp braid around my fist and give it a little tug. “Faster,” I urge him. “Don’t hold back.”
Korr’s groan is a thing of beauty, and he obeys, hips snapping up to fuck me deeper. His knot hits my pussy every time, rubbing against my pearl, and when he raises one hand to pinch my nipple, it’s enough to send me over the edge.
I shatter over him, all my muscles tensing, and accidentally yank on Korr’s hair again. He gives a shout, and then he’s coming, too, his cum slicking me up inside. He shoves me down over his cock, and I take his knot, locking us together. It’s the most exquisite sensation of fullness, prolonging my climax. I can only cling on to Korr, panting against his neck, as he shudders under me.
We remain like that for a while, wrapped in each other, until Korr takes my shoulders and holds me away from him so he can see my face.
“Are you all right?” he asks, his voice low.
“Mhm,” I say. “This really was a fantastic idea. It’s a pity we need sleep or we could spend all our nights down here.”
Korr chuckles, and the movement jolts his cock inside me, drawing a moan from me. I’m limp and exhausted, but my body isn’t ready to release Korr’s just yet. I squirm on his lap, trying to get some friction despite us being locked together. My mate growls, then pins my hips in place with one hand and reaches for the soap with the other.
“I will wash you now,” he declares.
In the warm water, I’m all too easy to convince, and he takes control, lathering up his palms, then running them all over my body to cleanse me. When he reaches my ass, he presses down on my back entrance with one finger and looks at me, questioning. It’s not something we’ve explored yet, but the thrill it sends through me tells me it’s absolutely something I want to learn with him.
Then I steal the bar of soap away from him and return the favor, swiping my hands all over his muscled body, marveling at the textures of his skin and hair. I tease his ass, too, and he stares down at me with eyes blown wide, as if he’d never considered the idea, but he doesn’t squirm away, so I think we’ll be exploring that in the future as well.
I’m about to demand another climax from him when he wraps his arms around my back and stands, then climbs from the pool with me still attached.
“What are you doing?” I ask. Then I gasp because the movement strains the connection between us to the point of discomfort. “Korr, what—?”
But he merely supports my ass with one strong arm and reaches for a bathing sheet with another. He wraps it tight around me, covering me completely, swipes up the key to our room from the pocket of my dress, and walks away from the water. Our clothes remain strewn around the pool, forgotten, and I can only cling to his shoulders, my legs wrapped around his waist. He strides into the corridor leading away from the baths.
“Korr, this is madness,” I whisper furiously, even though every step jolts us together. Now that he’s holding me close, the movement is far from uncomfortable.
“Hush now,” he murmurs in my ear. “There could be guards behind every corner.”
He sounds so unconcerned, but his breathing hitches just the same, and I know he’s as affected as I am.
I bite back a moan as his cock hits that spot deep inside me that has stars exploding behind closed eyelids. “How far are we from our room?”
Korr hisses a breath through his teeth. “Too far.”
Before I know what he’s doing, he presses my back against the wall in the empty corridor and drives himself into me, deeper than ever before. He reaches for my slippery pearl and pinches it hard, and I come, a soundless scream lodging in my throat. Korr follows me over with a muffled groan, his teeth sinking into my neck.
We don’t dare remain there for too long, but I’m almost too tired to hold on, so Korr now takes all of my weight. My body doesn’t understand that two climaxes is plenty, though, and by the time Korr carries me past the threshold of our room, we’re on the edge again. Korr tumbles us into our bed, lying on his back, and I ride him to another peak that wrenches the last pulses of earth-shattering pleasure from us.
Then I collapse on his chest and fall asleep, knowing I’m safe in my mate’s arms.
Korr wakes me up in the middle of the night to clean me, washing me with a damp cloth, and I think he’s about to leave, chased away by his nightmares.
But he only wraps himself around me, still as naked as I am, and buries his face in my neck.
“Will you stay?” I murmur, half asleep.
He kisses my temple. “Aye, Ivy. I will stay a while longer tonight. But you know that every time I leave, I’ll always return to you, don’t you?”
“I do,” I say, holding on to him even as I’m falling asleep. “Always.”
