The Deathsinger: Book 2

Ch. 22: A Question of Ownership

We stayed by the river for an entire day. Dante and I took turns keeping watch, allowing Yoko to sleep as much as she needed to replenish her energy, and when I woke at dawn the next day, she had already risen and gone to the river to wash.

"Good morning," I whispered, eyes raking over her to assess her for any injuries I might have missed.

Pleased to find her unharmed and her ocean eyes bright and alert, I cupped my hand around the back of her neck and drew her in for a kiss. The damp ends of her hair dripped cold water over my knuckles, but I hardly noticed it, too lost in the taste of her.

"Good morning indeed," she said, breaking the kiss. Her ocean eyes were bright and alert. Not a hint of fatigue shadowed the blue.

"What you did yesterday was amazing, but that was so risky."

A rosy blush brightened her tan cheeks, and I had to hold my fingers against my chest to stop myself from reaching for her again at the sight. She knew what it did to me when she blushed, and it was something she usually only did in intimate moments.

"I told you," Yoko replied, tucking one of my silver braids behind my ear as she lowered her head to claim another gentle kiss. "That was not the day we died."

I scraped my teeth over her bottom lip, earning a sharp intake of breath that made me ache in my center. This was not what I had intended to start when I saw her awake, but now that her touch and scent overwhelmed me, I desperately wanted to fulfill the other promise we had made to one another.

Yoko chuckled. "I know exactly what you're thinking right now."

"You did tell me we had plans last night, and then you fell asleep on me."

"Our third wheel makes that a little trickier," she replied with a hard edge to her tone that confused me, but her roving hands under my tunic made it impossible to dwell on too long.

"He's walking the perimeter of the camp right now, and based on my calculations," I glanced at the sky to gauge where the sun sat. "He won't return for at least another twenty bells."

"That's plenty of time to make you scream," Yoko said, pushing me into a small copse that would conceal us on the off chance Dante returned earlier than expected.

A pang of guilt shot through me at the thought of him catching me with Yoko like this. It was one thing for him to acknowledge my love for her, and an entirely different thing to witness it playing out. Especially when we both held onto the unspoken truth of what the future held for us.

But guilt wasn't enough to stop me from taking this moment with the woman I loved. Not when I'd almost lost her. Yoko seemed possessed by the same sentiment...or maybe simply possessed.

Something snapped behind me. A twig or leaf crunching. And then her hands and lips were everywhere. Wild and driven by one purpose. Never had it been like this in all our many times together. I could not gather my wits about me long enough to return the favor, and finally I surrendered to her, letting her own this moment.

And own it she did. She dragged my hands above my head and held them there with one hand while the other parted my thighs. The back of my head banged against the tree as she drove her two middle fingers inside of my body. Pumping fast and hard, she made sure her palm ground into my clit with each stroke.

"Yoko," I gasped, back arching off the tree and against her as she leaned into me with her entire body. She had me pinned. "I can't... oh gods. I'm so close."

"Say my name louder," she demanded, increasing the pressure until I saw stars.

My lashes fluttered. I was seeing literal stars. My skin burned with them. Bright enough to blind, but Yoko kept her gaze locked on mine.