Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen (top 10 novels txt) 📕

Draping the cloth over her knee and setting the basin within reach, she took up the knife and carefully scraped it across his cheek. “How long will it take to reach Celendrial?”

His eyes were closed, steam beading on his lashes. “We’ll head to the Savio where we can hire or buy a riverboat. Then it will be another week or two on the water.”

A matter of weeks, and then it would be over. She’d rejoin the Quincense and he his legion, and then it would be war. It could be no other way—not with the Senate once again able to exercise control over him and the Thirty-Seventh. More legions would join them, and they’d spread their footprint, conquering in the name of the Empire as they always had.

The thought made her eyes burn, so she focused instead on the task, the hard lines of his cheekbones and jaw emerging as she worked, the scent of soap filling her nose. Marcus kept his eyes closed the entire time, the 37 on his right pectoral rising and falling with each breath. Gods, but she hated that number. Hated the way it bound him. Hated how it would take him away.

“Done,” she murmured, setting aside the knife and wiping the rest of the soap from his cheeks.

Opening one eye, he ran a finger down his jaw, then sat up, twisting so that he was facing her. “You do good work, Captain. Thank you.”

“I did it for myself.”

He laughed, but then they both fell silent, the only sound the rise and fall of their breaths. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to run her hands over all those hard muscles. Wanted to wrap her legs around him and vanquish the space between them. But she didn’t move.

Marcus had ended things between them because neither of them could trust the other.

Except with all they’d been through together, she didn’t think there was anyone she trusted more than him. With her life. And with her heart.

As if hearing her thoughts, Marcus leaned toward her, one hand curving around her head.

And then he kissed her.

A soft press of the lips that sent heat coursing through her body, the sensation amplified as her own lips parted, his tongue stroking over hers. His other hand moved to her waist, sending a shiver through her body. This was what she wanted. He was who she wanted. But …

Pulling back from his kiss, she reached up to brush his damp hair off his forehead, sandy locks longer than she’d ever seen them. She trailed her fingers down the side of his face, down the hard line of his jaw, her thumb stroking over the scar that marked his high cheekbone. Gods help her, but he was more beautiful than any man had a right to be.

Meeting his gaze, his blue-grey eyes dilated near black in the dim light, she whispered, “Are you sure?” Her breath caught on the words, and she swallowed hard, her insides a mix of desire and trepidation. “Because I don’t want to do this if an hour from now, you decide you wish you hadn’t. I can’t be one of your regrets.”

Marcus closed his eyes, and she could feel his mind turning over her words. Weighing and measuring, and her heart was racing because there was an answer she wanted, but only if he meant it.

Then he opened his eyes and said, “There is nothing in this world that could make me regret you, Teriana. Because there is no one in this world who matters more to me than you.”

Her breath caught, her heart racing at a speed she’d not known possible. “Kiss me.”

It wasn’t soft this time, but deep and fierce, driven by a need too long denied. Never in her life had she been kissed like this, and never would she again, because there was no one else like him. No one else capable of making her blood pound like he did. Who could make her body burn hot like he did. Who could make the world fall away like he did.

He pulled her onto his lap, her knees on the wooden bench to either side of him, her towel falling to the ground. She whimpered into his mouth as his hands slid down over the curve of her bottom, pulling her tight against him before stroking up her spine, the motion sending thrills of pleasure through her body. She tangled her fingers in his hair, her back arching as his lips moved to her throat, his teeth scraping her skin.

“You are so beautiful.” His voice was rough, nearly a growl. “Every inch of you is perfect.”

Then he hooked an arm under her, lifting her up, his breath hot against her skin as his other hand cupped her breast. The feel of his thumb brushing over the tip made her body buck, only his arm around her hips keeping her from falling back. But the sensation paled as he drew her other breast into his mouth, tongue teasing her, explosions of pleasure jolting through her. Making her sob his name, because there was nothing but him.

“Tell me what you want,” he said, licking the condensed steam from her skin. His eyes flicked up to meet hers, the desire in them fueling the heat rising in her core.

Except she didn’t know how to articulate what she wanted, none of her fumbling and awkward experiences with other boys having prepared her for Marcus, their one time together feeling a lifetime ago. All she knew was that she wanted him. “Everything.”

He gave her a dark smile, and then he lowered her onto the bench, the towels she’d used soft against her back. He shifted onto his knees, hands resting to either side of her as he leaned down to kiss her lips.

Her throat.

Her breasts.

Her navel.

Moving down and down, and Teriana’s heart skipped as she realized his intent a second before his hands slipped under her knees, pushing them apart. And then …

She sobbed his name, one hand braced against the