My eyes slid shut. “No.” Then I whispered my fears, “You probably want nothing to do with me.”
“I didn’t say that.” My eyes opened, finding him watching me. That gaze was unnerving. “I still very much want you.”
I felt those words all the way down to the spot between my legs. “I- I thought you would be mad,” I said in surprise.
“Oh, I am enraged.” His head tilted, the movement fully predatory. Sapphire eyes seemed to burn with blue flame beneath the surface. “My desire to incinerate him out of existence is second only to my desire for you.”
My throat tightened. “You are certain?” I was afraid that he might have walked away after I shared this with him. For how could we fight a pull created by something neither of us fully understood?
“From what you say, I have your heart. He does not. You may crave him, but you crave me, too. I am ready to do whatever it takes to sever that connection you say you do not want. Burn it out of existence. Have you crumbling apart in my hands till that tether has absolutely nothing it can hold on to.” His wordsstrokedme.
My heart all but stopped in my chest. “What did you have in mind?”
His eyes darkened, the tension in the room thickening. “You should rest first. We have been back for two days, and you have hardly slept.”
“I don’t intend on resting much till this is all over. My mind cannot risk me stopping for very long.” Pause for long enough and everything I had done, the people whose deaths I was responsible came crashing in. I did not have time to fall apart. To heal. So instead, everything was pushed aside for me to deal with later.
Erik seemed to understand, for he stood, and came around the table. He pulled me from my seat and moved me until I sat on the table in front of him. The skirt of my dress rode up on my thigh when he stepped between my parted legs. His hand brushed my hair back before his fingers dug into it, holding the back of my neck. “Is this what you want, Ariana?”
Iburnedfor him. “Yes.”
His lips crashed hungrily against mine. I ran my hands along his muscular arms and broad shoulders. Clinging to him, I threaded my fingers through his hair, consumed by desire. The kiss deepened. He was all I wanted. This was exactly what I needed. And he was extraordinarily giving.
I cursed our clothing, separating our skin. Fisting his shirt, I pulled in frustration, eliciting a small chuckle as he continued to claim my mouth before leaving a trail of kisses over my jaw. His lips traveled down my throat, across my chest. My skin ignited wherever he touched. I needed to get out of this dress. My hips rocked against him, feeling the hard length of him beneath his pants. Just the thought of his cock made my head fall back with a moan.
“So eager,” Erik crooned.
“You set me on fire,” I admitted.
With a smirk on his lips, he fixed his dark gaze on me. “Good. Do you want to know what I plan to do after that fire deliciously wrecks you?” Lips pressed into my throat once more and I was slowly dying with need.
There would be nothing left to do anything with. But I asked, “What?” as my back arched.
Erik’s hands moved over my shoulders, down my breasts, to my hips. His lips stopped their torment at my neck as he rose to his full height. Dark blue eyes drifted over my lips, neck, chest, waist, legs, before rising to meet my eyes once more. Holding my stare, he took a knee, one hand on my hip, the other pushing my dress higher up. I tensed, only for it to melt away with the heat of his attention. Erik kissed my inner thigh, licking it, grazing it with his teeth. “I will lick this realm’s ashes from your skin.” His hand found lace, and he tugged. I shifted, lifting my hips enough so that he easily pulled it down past my ankles. His mouth moved up higher. “I will rebuild your soulwith my tongue.” And that tongue did remarkable things between my legs before it plunged into me, devouring me.
My body was no longer mine to control. I withered, gasping for air. He was dragging me down into a fiery pit with the things that mouth did. My skin burned with the blood in my veins. My toes curled. I was completely vulnerable, and he seized everything he desired. He continued relentlessly, even as I climaxed. Pressing my hand to my mouth, I tried to stifle my screams of pleasure.
Finally, he relented. Allowing me to catch my breath as he rose to his feet before lowering his pants and releasing the length of him.
He gripped my legs, and I fell back onto the table. “You will become the fire that I wield,” he said as he worked himself into me.
But I was already exactly that. Burning for him. Unable to think clearly. Completely at his mercy, under his command. At his touch, I simmered or raged. Whatever he desired of me.
As he took me, I felt full with him, tight. Each movement left me gasping for air. In and out. My soul felt each thrust, reaching all the way to my toes.
He placed a possessive hand on my hip, then moved it between my breasts and up to my throat. The touch pushed me over the edge again. “You are mine, Ariana.” The growl in his voice had me falling into an abyss. The feel of the release was life-consuming. Leaving me a mere shadow of my former self.
39
ERIK
Ariana lay in my arms, beautifully asleep. Her naked body pressed to mine, so warm and inviting. My eyes drifted over her, taking in the soft glow of her hair in the moonlight seeping in through the window. Her hair was re-woven with the stones of her Bavadrin culture. Her face looked so serene, and peaceful. Full lips that could cast spells with her whispers and those lovely breathy sounds she made when I took her in the right way. My thumb brushed against her jaw, unable to stop myself from touching her with more than my gaze. I wanted to feel her, all of her. My fingers lightly traced the length of her neck. Following the slope of her shoulder, down her arm.
She shifted, and I stilled, cursing myself for not having more self-control. Rest was not something that was easily found these days, especially for her. So when she finally settled in my arms, I should let her sleep.
During the days, she seemed so strong and certain in all she did. It was almost as if her time at the Sidhe kingdom did notaffect her at all.Almost. In those moments when the day hit a lull, or something triggered a memory, shadows would dance across her vision. She shook them from her thoughts, doing her best to pay them no mind and move on, but they lingered.
Darkness followed her, creeping into her consciousness, and I wished I could rid it from her mind completely. But there was no way to permanently erase the nightmare she lived through.
