Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 313
19
Armiger closed his hand over Megan’s breast. She
smiled at the touch, and lay back on the satin.
One candle burned outside their canopy bed. Its light
turned her skin deep gold. He slid his fingertips along her
collarbone, and kissed her belly lightly. Her stomach
undulated from the touch. "Mm," she murmured. "You are
becoming a better lover every time, you know that?"
He grinned at her, but said nothing. Feeling strong
tonight, he had conjured fresh strawberries, and crushed a few
over her chest as sauce. He could still taste it, a bit.
He had told her that the strawberries came from the
queen’s private garden. Megan would have been upset to
know he was wasting his precious energies on an indulgence.
She wrapped her legs around him when he came up to
breathe, and ground against him. They both laughed, ending
the sound with a deep kiss. Then he entered her, for the third
time this evening.
Night breezes flapped the curtains; this was the only
sound other than their own. Some part of him was amazed at
the quiet, but then he had never been under siege before.
Perhaps silence was the inevitable response to being trapped
for so long. It was the silence of waiting.
She watched as he came, then drew him down next to