The Cogsmith's Daughter (Desertera #1)(50)
Aya watched in delight as Willem’s soft jaw dropped. His cheeks turned a delicious shade of pink, and his hand twitched ever so slightly in hers. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking deep breaths. Aya smiled, waiting for his answer. When his eyes opened again, the green in them had cut through the gold, and they practically smoldered. “Yes.”
The word lit Aya’s body on fire. Willem clenched her hand tighter and pulled her down the corridor in silence. Aya’s heart pounded so hard she could barely hear their quick footsteps. At every corner, Willem stopped to check that the hallways were empty before continuing onward. He led her past Lord Varick’s estate, all the way down the corridor to the statue of Queen Hildegard. At the statue, he veered left then took a quick right down the next hallway. This corridor was unlit with no paintings or tapestries lining the wall, and it ended in a single green door.
As they reached the door, Willem dug under his shirt for a chain. Hanging from it was a spindly golden key. One end of the key was cone-shaped; the other end had three prongs extending from it.
Willem opened the door and pulled Aya inside. He wasted no time in slamming the door shut behind her and pushing her up against it. Holding Aya there, he pressed his body against hers and stared down into her eyes. Aya didn’t know what he was waiting for, but she knew she would explode if he stalled another second. She reached up and grabbed Willem’s neck, pulling him down into a deep kiss. Willem slid his hands down to her hips, his fingers gripping her flesh so tightly she felt the pressure to her bones. He sucked her bottom lip lightly, bringing it in between his teeth for a gentle nibble. Aya gasped, dropping her phoenix mask and bundled nightclothes, and she felt him smile into the kiss.
Aya wove one hand into Willem’s dark hair and let her other one roam his body. Even after all her years at the Rudder, she had never actually taken the time to explore a man’s physique. Tracing her fingers across Willem’s broad shoulders, Aya felt his muscles contract as his hands wandered. As Willem arched his body into hers, Aya slid her palms down his back to his bum. She gave it a playful squeeze, relishing the tightness of it under her fingers, which earned her back a squeeze from both of Willem’s hands.
Willem broke their kiss and feathered his lips across her jawline down to her neck. As he kissed and nipped at the curve of her neck and collarbone, Aya clutched his shoulder for support with one hand and slipped the other to the growing hardness under his trousers. Groaning at her touch, Willem moved his mouth back to Aya’s, enveloping her in another wet kiss.
Untangling herself from Willem’s embrace, Aya clenched his shirt with her fists. She used all her strength to push him backward, where she hoped a bed or chair or other cushion would be waiting. As if he could read her mind, Willem pulled Aya into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her shoes fell off her feet. Willem took a few wobbly steps, still kissing her, before turning them around and tossing Aya onto the most luxurious feather bed she had ever encountered.
Above them hovered a royal blue canopy supported by four golden posts. Blue pillows with gold fringe, nearly as long as Aya’s body and twice as full, cradled her head. As Aya relaxed into the bed, the softness enveloped her, making her feel weightless in its embrace. Willem smiled at her from the end of the bed before climbing onto it and crawling over her.
It was all Aya could do to keep from squirming as Willem fidgeted with the fabric of her toga. After a few seconds, he found the master knot. After a few more seconds, he had it undone and pulled the fabric off Aya’s body.
As she lay naked under him, Aya realized that her skin was entirely flushed—except, this time, she was not reddened from embarrassment or nervousness or pain. Instead, she glowed pink with heat, excitement, and anticipation. As Willem’s hands traced her bare skin from her neck to her breasts to her thighs, Aya couldn’t help thinking that Dellwyn was right. Everything was completely different—wonderful—when you did it for you. When you wanted it.
Aya tugged at Willem’s shirt, and he stopped his exploration of her body long enough to pull it over his head and toss it onto the floor. As he straddled her, Willem simultaneously tugged off his boots and bent down to take her nipple into his mouth. As his tongue licked and played with her breast, Aya thanked the Benevolent Queen for Willem’s ability to multitask.
Unable to control herself any longer, Aya reached down and gently scratched at Willem’s stomach, trying to grasp his trousers. Willem removed his mouth from Aya’s breast, kissed her nose, and smiled. “Not yet.”
“Please.” The word came out faint. Aya could barely breathe for the rush of blood shooting through her head and the pulsating between her legs. In all her life, she had never felt this yearning. Her body had never been so heated and, to be blunt, wet for a man before. She wanted him inside her. She wanted to know what it felt like when her body actually craved the man on top of her.
To her embarrassment, Willem chuckled. “Be patient.”
Before Aya could argue, Willem started kissing her neck again, working his way down to her chest then stomach then lower. Aya looked down at him with wide eyes. What in the world was he doing? As his lips reached the lowest part of her torso, Aya bit her lip—both confused and more excited than she had ever been. As Willem’s tongue slowly licked her center, she finally understood.
Aya began to tremble—first from her womanhood and then from her entire body. His kiss felt so good, and with every movement of his tongue, her body grew hotter. Stories from the other girls at the Rudder flashed through her mind, about the heat and the shaking and the pleasure, and Aya knew she was finally experiencing what they had. As her pleasure reached its peak, Aya quivered in the core of her center and sparks shot out through her entire body. Her hips began to thrust, but Willem grabbed them with both hands and held her in place. As her tremors built, Willem increased the focus and intensity with which he worked, until finally, Aya felt as if her very core had exploded. She let out a loud, long moan, one that she must have been keeping inside her entire life. As it escaped her lips, Willem slowed the movement of his mouth, but he didn’t stop, rather keeping himself in rhythm with the slow, circular motion of her hips. As they moved together, Aya felt the energy trickle out from between her thighs.