The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“Distracting you.” He tugged off the boot, letting it fall
with a thump to the floor.
I watched him remove my other boot and then my thick
socks. “I think I know what you’re up to, but not even that
will distract me from the fact that everything feels like it’s
swaying, and we could capsize at any second.”
His brows lifted as he looked up at me. “First off, you
should have way more faith in my skills when it comes to
distracting you,” he said, and I immediately thought of the
night in the Blood Forest. My skin flushed. “And the boat
capsizing is not what is going to happen next.”
“What is?” I asked as his palms slid up my legs.
“I’m going to do what I wanted to last evening and fuck
you on this desk,” he told me, and muscles low in my
stomach clenched.
“This isn’t a table.”
“It’ll work.” He gripped the waist of my breeches. “But
first, I’m hungry.”
The breath I took caught. “Then you should retrieve
something to eat.”
“I have.”
My face caught fire.
Blazing, golden eyes locked with mine. “Lift your ass,
my Queen.”
A giggle crept free. “That is a sentence that sounds
wholly inappropriate.”
He grinned, and a hint of a dimple appeared. “I’m sorry.
Let me rephrase that. Please lift your ass, my Queen.”
The ship rocked, jostling me. My ass did lift, and Casteel
seized the opportunity. He pulled off my breeches, letting
them join the boots on the floor. Cool air swirled around my
legs, stirring the edges of my slip.
“You’re going to have to let go of the desk.” He curled
his fingers around the hem of the long-sleeved shirt.
I forced my fingers to ease, and my stomach lurched as
the ship rocked again. I started to grab the desk, but he was