A Rivalry of Hearts (Fae Flings and Corset Strings, #1)

by Tessonja Odette

She gives me a curious once over before she returns to studying the flower. “What is this even m...

“Yes, but how? Is it made from your skin? Does it grow out of your body? Do you shed petals like waste material?” With a gasp, she ...

I nearly choke on my own laughter. “I just made you a beautiful flower, and you have the nerve to ask if it’s poop?” Her smile is so coy I want...

“No, Ed.” I push off the wall and resume walking toward Halley Street, my cheeks pained from the smile I can’t ...

“Is it poop, she asks. You know, the fae don’t seek to explain everything with scienc...

She strolls at my side, then tucks the flower in the loose bun at the top of her head. “I suppose I wouldn’t want to know if it’s po...

I snort another laugh. “What am I going to do with you?...

I know I’ve acknowledged this before, but William’s smile is a work of art.

Anyone who expects that of you should reassess their relationship with reality.”

My heart stutters when he calls me love. It’s not the first time he’s called me that, and I’ve never thought twice about it.

William’s gaze burns into me, and I can tell he wants me to elucidate. Still, he doesn’t pry. Maybe that’s what makes me want to tell him more.

Ever since, I’ve vowed to put my words first, for he was right. My words are more beautiful than me, and I’m all right with that. My words deserve all my time and⁠—”

“No.” William runs a hand over his face, rubbing his jaw before he locks eyes with me, expression brimming with agony once more. “Edwina, no. Please tell me you don’t truly believe that.”

I wave my hands in a reassuring gesture. “I’m really all right with it. It’s just the truth and one I c...

“Edwina.” The sound of my name, so harsh on his lips, silences me. He strides up to me, anger flashing in his eyes. “Don’t say another idiotic word and...

He’s so close I have to angle my head to meet his eyes. I swallow hard and give him a nod. “You are beautiful,” ...

“Your words are beautiful. There is no this is more beautiful than that when it comes to you. Your beauty and the beauty of your work are separate entiti...

He put you on a pedestal. He didn’t deserve the eyes he assessed you with or the heart he professed to love you with if he couldn’t separate himself from the fantasy he built...

I blink at him. Once. Twice. A blaze of heat melts over my cheeks. I shake my head. “You…you called my words smut and drivel.”

He throws his head back with a heavy sigh before returning his gaze to me. “I didn’t mean it,” he whispers. “It was a wicked thing to say, but it was more of an act. You must know by now that I present a specific persona to my readers.”

He steps closer, pulling me from my thoughts. “I like your books, Edwina Danforth.” Nothing could have shocked me more. The way he stated those words…

He nods as if reading my mind. “I couldn’t say that if it wasn’t true. I like your books and your words and your passion for your writing.

While I may have resented you for a while, as I associated you with my horrible experience in the play, I don’t feel that way now. I don’t resent you at all. Weenie, I⁠—” My heart thuds agains...

His gaze is so intense I don’t know if I want to shrink away from it ...

His shoulders are tense, his fingers curling and uncurling at his sides as his blue irises dart from my eyes to my lips, then down the length of me. His fingers flinch again.

Does he…want to reach for me? Touch me? Or am I reading too much into this?

He arches a brow. “What are you grinning about?” I shrug. “You’re not the worst after all, William. In fact, it sort of feels like we’re becoming friends, don’t you think?”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He pushes off the wall and saunters toward me. He doesn’t stop until only inches separate us. “A friend wouldn’t want to do the kinds of things I want to do with you.”

My breath hitches. That intensity has returned to his eyes along with no small amount of hunger. He leans forward, eyes never leaving mine, and slides his ha...

Then, in a sudden movement, he hefts me up, props my bottom on the rail behind me, and steps between my legs. He brings h...

Now that my legs are locked around his hips, he’s dropped his hands to the railing on either side of me, as if to keep himself from touching me more until I agree to let him.

One of my hands moves up his chest to rest at his nape. My words become infused with a breathy whine. “You paid Mr. Tibbets to get me alone?”

He pulls back to hold my gaze, his mouth quirking at one corner. “We have at least five minutes if he takes us at his usual pace, but I told him to take his time. I intend to use every minute wisely. Now, do you agree to my new rule?”

My natural instinct is to argue more, but for once I don’t want to. I have no desire to delay his gratification. The heat searing between my legs tells me I’d only be delaying mine. Whic...

“I do this sometimes when I’m aroused. I start getting scene ideas.”

He tilts my chin gently with his fingertip, expression warm and still rich with desire. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s my duty to bring you back to me and keep you present in your body.”

With a second tug, the ribbon unravels, and the front of my gown drops to my waist. Cool air skates over my bare breasts. “Do I have your attention now, Edwina?” I suck in a breath.

This isn’t the first time he’s used my real unabridged name but hearing it while he stares at my naked chest, drinking in the sight of me like a starving man, sends my head spinning. Oh, I’m here all right.

And as he leans down and takes my hardened nipple into his mouth, a shock of pleasure brings me close to the edge. This has never happened before. I’ve never experienced such heavy want that I’m at r...

A whine escapes my throat, and I throw my head back against the wall, eyes closed. One of his hands finds my calf, then my knee. It trails up the inside of my thigh, pulling my skirt out of the way in the process. His hand do...

I’ve never been so grateful to be wearing the flimsy fae-style undergarments and not the ruffled pantaloo...

He releases my nipple from the agonizingly delightful ministrations of his mouth to press a kiss to my neck. “I want to give yo...

My lips part to say yes. Oh, how I want him to do exactly that, but reason weaves its way through my desire. “We don’t have time,” I gasp, even as I roll my hips. Ev...

“We have time, love. I’m not going to need much.” “You’re awfully sure of yourself.” “I am.” He brings his lips to mine, just as ...

The pad of his thumb finds my seam, stroking it, painting me with the slickness of my own arousal. A moan escapes my lips. I encircle my arms around h...

“Fuck, Edwina,” he says against my mouth. “You’re already so wet. Is that for me? Or is that from watching your play?” “Wouldn’t you like to know—” My words end on another m...

Bloody hell, he wasn’t wrong. We’re not going to need even five minutes, for I can’t ...

He shifts closer, angles his hand, sliding another finger over me. He palms my sex, then dips one finger into my center, curling it...

I hug him closer, waves of pleasure coursing through me, gathering around that expert finger. I’m panting harder now, and he devours every breath with a kiss. I throw my head back again as the...

He thrusts in a second finger, his thumb circling my clitoris, and I unravel around him, my climax radiating through my core, my very being. He dances with my orgasm, letting me ...