Ryu shook his head, unable to form the words. She smelled like everything he’d ever wanted, all served up to him on a platter. He could no more resist her than he could resist the call of the moon affecting the magic in his blood.
He pushed her back, and they took a few steps until her back connected with a tree trunk behind her, and his body sank into hers, both of them letting out a sigh of satisfaction at the contact.
She curled her arms over his shoulders, her hands resting at the nape of his neck. He moved forward, mouth meeting hers in a long kiss. He kissed her softly, withdrawing every now and then to give her a series of successively deeper kisses before he slowly opened his mouth and swept his tongue inside. She let out a muffled moan, and he smirked into their kiss.
He drew his fingers in slow circles over her hip, before slowly moving his hand lower, until it cupped the ripe curves of her bottom. She broke away with a gasp.
Her eyes were dilated, until all he could see of them was a thin blue ring around deep, endless pools of black. She ran a tongue over her dry lips, and his body reacted almost without thought, pressing them deeper together. She moaned, now, her hands tightening around him in turn, one of them burrowing into his hair and playing with the strands there. When he leaned into her and ground his hips against hers, she pulled tight on his hair, making him hiss in equal parts pain and pleasure.
“This means nothing,” she spat out, even as she arched her back and threw her head back in pleasure.
“Nothing,” he agreed.
“This is just because of your strange Elven magic,” she said harshly.
He nodded. “The twisted bond. Nothing more.” He shook his head, even as he drew her close again, and she came to him willingly.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” he repeated.
It wasn’t the mating magic, he told himself. It wasn’t, because it couldn’t be. His fated mate couldn’t be a human. He wouldn’t repeat his father’s mistakes and doom his children to a fate like his.
All these thoughts fled his mind when Ella clung closer to him, her feverish hands making their way under hishaoriand finding the heated flesh within. He took her mouth with his again, kissing her leisurely, taking his time in learning the shape and contours of her delightful, hot, wet mouth, and when he drew away from her long minutes later, they were both breathing hard.
He met her eyes then, and saw that hers were nearly black. He felt a jolt of lust hit him when he saw that her lips were already swollen. Fromhiskisses.
He moved toward her again, heart pounding at the way she tipped her head up eagerly, to meet his mouth with her own open one. They nipped at each other's mouths, their breaths intermingling. He moved down to her neck, and she shuddered as he licked at the pulse point jumping under her skin.
“Ryu,” she breathed, and he jumped at the sound of his name on her lips. It felt…right.Like it belonged there, like she belonged in his arms, like their scents belonged together, intermingled with each other—
He pushed the thought away, and kissed her again, tangling her tongue with his. Whatever happened to them in the future, right now, all he could think about was her body against his, and the way she was moaning his name again, it was—it waseverything—
Tearing his mouth away from hers, he pulled her skirts up with impatient hands, both of them sighing when his hot fingers found her wetness. She shuddered when his fingers dipped into her heat, biting her lip in evident pleasure.
“Feels good?” he smirked.
She frowned, and then clenched around his fingers, making him muffle a curse into her neck, and it was her turn to smirk.
“Evidently,” she said.
Well, he could never let her believe he was more affected than her, so he gave a few experimental thrusts of his hand, swiping at the little nub at the top of her opening. She bucked, whimpering and shivering in his arms, clutching him closer with desperate arms, her teeth latching onto his neck, surely leaving bruises that would be visible later—
He shuddered at the thought of being marked by her.
He sped up his movements, and then she was coming apart in his arms. His name was drawn out of her in a loud, high cry. Long, messy moments later, as they caught their breath and stared at each other in silence.
“We must return to the court,” he said finally. “It’s not safe out here.”
Immediately, the soft look on her face was replaced with a mulish expression. “I refuse. I was on my way to the library. You can go back to the Princess and Lady Mizuki.”
Ryu ground his teeth, suppressing his fury. Why didn’t she understand? “It’s not safe here for you!”
“I didn’t know there was a creature in theonsenhere,” Ella retorted, pushing him away to pull her skirts down again. “I’ll be careful this time.”
There was no help for it. “I’ll take you there,” he muttered, and Ella flashed him a surprised look.
“You will?”
“Don’t be so surprised,” he snapped, stepping away and putting himself to rights again. “I’m not as cruel as you think I am.” He sniffed, trying to needle her deliberately. “Besides, I know there’s no way you would’ve seen aproperlibrary before.”
