“W-wait,” I managed to splutter as a thought occurred to me.
He froze.
“What is it?” he asked, his voice a low growl as he lifted his head from my neck. I realized with a start that if I had changed my mind, he would have stopped everything. Immediately. Something relaxed inside me and the knowledge gave me courage.
“I need to ward the doors,” I said, sighing. If things were going as I hoped, the last thing I wanted was to be interrupted. He chuckled.
“Fine,” he agreed.
He stepped back, hands raised, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Fuck,” I whispered, tugging at my tac pants in a vain effort to make them more comfortable. I returned to the door and quickly weaved an Air alarm. As I wove, something about my power seemed…off. Not bad, just different. My Air weave seemed to spark and glow in a way I’d never seen before.
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
The lights dimmed behind me, and I could clearly see my weave in the darkness. Each line was rimed with light, as if they were on fire.
I turned to point it out to Hel only to freeze at the sight in front of me. He was standing near the pallet, slowly removing the shirt he’d been wearing. My thoughts about my misfiring powers went out the window and my mouth went dry as I looked at him.
There was something oddly vulnerable in his face as he undressed, his eyes not quite able to meet mine. It wasn’t until I saw him subtly shift his scarred side away from me that I realized why.
I approached him slowly, my own smile turning predatory.
“Look at me,” I demanded sharply, his eyes jumping to my own.
“You are beautiful,” I said, my eyes roaming over the gorgeous tanned and muscled glory of his body. His hair glittered like spun gold. I moved next to him, slowly lifting my own shirt over my head. His eyes darkened to a molten silver as they slid over my bare skin.
“Your scars are a part of you, just like mine are a part of me,” I said. “Our scars make us who we are. They don’t define us, but they built us.”
I ran my hand over his chest across the roughened skin of his scarred side, one hand pausing to trace gently around his nipple.
His head flew back, and a gasp escaped him.
“Fuck…” he breathed.
“Like that, do you?” I whispered, brushing up against him. “Then you’re going to love this.”
I ran my tongue around his nipple, teasing the nub, feeling it stiffen slightly as I tasted the slightly salty sweat on his skin. He groaned again, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me close.
I turned back to his mouth. He had to duck just a little to reach my mouth, and I tipped my face up to meet him.
Our lips met and his tongue slid against my mouth requesting entrance. I opened to his gentle exploration, our tongues twining as our bodies slid against each other.
“You,” he gasped, pulling away from me for a moment. “Are the most infuriating man I have ever met.”
“Right back ‘atcha, Illyrian,” I growled.
He grinned, his hands gliding down to grip my ass. It was my turn to moan when he began squeezing it, his strong fingers kneading my muscles.
“Fuck, you feel good,” he growled.
“You, too,” I whispered, then grinned at him. “But you’d feel a lot better without all these clothes on.”
My hands trailing down his chest to the light hair leading down beneath his belt. I reached down between us and trailed my fingers over the front of his pants, like I had when I’d fantasized about him. This time I managed not to come at just the thought, though it was a near thing. I could feel his stiff length straining at the fabric of his pants.
I quickly unbuttoned his pants and slowly pushed them down enough to slide my hand inside his briefs. I felt themoisture at his tip, and his skin felt like fire as I wrapped my fingers around his cock. He threw his head back, the light golden around us as I began stroking him until I felt his balls begin to draw up.
“Goddess, Kat,” he moaned. “You need to stop. I’m not going to last.”
