"I know you think I didn't trust you after my vision, but the opposite is true," Yelena whispered. "I went willingly into that trap because I knew you would come for me. I had to trust that you didn't hate me as much as it seemed, and that it wouldn't matter how angry you were, that you would find Avallach and me."
Valentine's hand stilled on her back. It was like the knife that had been lodged in his chest for weeks was finally pulled all the way out. He buried his face into her neck and dragged her up against him.
"Thank you for telling me. I thought that you didn't trust me at all, and that I would hand everyone over to Midir. I jumped to the worst possible conclusion, like always," he said.
Gods, she smelled so good he wanted to just breathe and breathe and breathe.
"You are one of theonlypeople I have ever trusted. Please, let's not fight anymore unless it's about magic. Then I imagine we will fight and argue quite a bit," she replied, her hand tracing his lower back.
He fought the urge to arch like a cat against the light caress. His dragon surged to the surface, and she halted the touch, sensing the change in him.
"Why do you always smell so good? I can smell the wild on you, dragon," he growled. He dragged his teeth up her soft neck, making her whimper.
"I only smell power on you," she whispered. "Magic is seeping out around you, making the air taste of spice and stone."
Valentine's tongue brushed against the flickering pulse of her jaw, the taste of her making him hard. He needed to step away, to take his hands off her. He had almost lost her before he knew what he had, and now he couldn't let her go. "Tell me to stop."
"I don't want you to stop," Yelena said, scraping her teeth against the scar she’d made on his throat. "I want to break you apart and see what's inside."
Valentine's fingers tightened in the weave of her braid, and he pulled her head back so he could stare into her brilliant diamond eyes.
"Only if you show me what's inside of you, Yelena Caelan. Howis it that a dragon, a creature of pure fire, can create ice like you do? How could you freeze your body and not die?"
Yelena's eyes turned silvery white with magic. She laughed, and it wasn't the tinkling bright sound Valentine had heard from her before. It was husky and deep, and it slithered over his skin, making his hands on her tighten.
"You are going to have to earn some of those answers, sorcerer," she purred.
Valentine would have crawled through broken glass at that moment if she had asked him to. "Careful, baby girl. I can't resist solving mysteries."
Yelena laughed, soft and mocking. "You couldn't solve me if you had a thousand years to try."
She moved so fast Valentine didn't have time to react before she had him pinned against the wall, her hand around his throat.
It was his turn to laugh. "You're going to have to work harder than that to scare me, baby girl. I'm into this. But I warn you, don't push me much harder, unless you're ready for the consequences. My control is hanging by a thread right now."
"I know. I can smell the beast below the surface," she said, and rubbed her face against his chest. "It's okay, my dark one. I'll fix my magic, and then, we will see what youreallyare in there."
A growl of frustration rippled through Valentine, and he knocked her hand away from his neck before twisting her about, face-first against the wall. He gripped her forearms and pressed them to the stone above her head.
His dragon was riding him, and he couldn't care about being polite. He ground his body up against hers, unashamed of his hard dick rubbing against her soft ass.
Yelena laughed in breathless, mocking delight. "Do it if you dare."
Valentine's fangs sank into the soft skin where her neck mether shoulder. Yelena moaned, and the sweet smell of her arousal scorched the air between them. The iron-sweet taste of blood filled his mouth, and he had never tasted anything so good. The human part of Valentine forced its way forward, and he unlocked his jaw. He licked the dark, bruising bite.
"Now I've left a mark on you, too. Looks like we are even," he whispered in her ear before sucking hard on her lobe.
"Touch me, Valentine," she begged.
"Where?"
Yelena made a frustrated noise. "Anywhere you want."
Valentine gripped her forearms with one hand, the other dropping to slide over her silky shirt and around to cup one of her breasts. She was so soft, and yet he knew inside of her was a beast of raging and terrible power like him.
"More," she whispered, unraveling his self-control. She rubbed her ass against him, and he swore at the sensation against his aching dick.
Valentine growled. "You're making it hard to be a gentleman right now."
