She makes a surprised sound in her throat and grips my shoulders. Our bond snaps taut, the link between us still ephemeral. But it’s there, a tether that I want to wrap in my grip.
When I swipe my tongue between her lips, she opens for me, and I taste her sweetness. A low growl rumbles through me, and she slides her hands to my neck, her fingertips tickling along the edges of my scales. The bond flashes brighter, and I catch the scent of her arousal.
I flip her with ease, laying her on her back beneath me. Her body is bare, every secret revealed, every gorgeous bit of her on display for me and me alone. Jealousy consumes me. It’s what I feel when I catch the glint of gold on the ground far below, the desperate, thrumming need to make it my own. But this desire grips me even tighter, somehow deeper. It’s our bond, stronger than even a dragon’s love for its gold.
“My treasure.” I claim her mouth again, lowering between her thighs, my cock pressing against her hot sex. I could come right now. All the emotions, all the fucking turmoil—she’s erased it with her words, her touch. How does she have this magic?
“Do mortals have hidden magic?” I murmur against her lips, then press my tongue into her mouth. She arches against me, her hard nipples teasing along my skin. I already know the answer to my question. It’s just her.Shehas magic.
Her fingers twine behind my neck, and she answers my kiss, her tongue stroking mine. The bond flares again, growing hotter. Can she feel it?
I press my forehead to hers. “I need you, my treasure. I need all of you. Can I have you?”
She meets my gaze, her cheeks pink, her lips swollen from my kisses. My hips rock forward, my cock rubbing along her wet sex. I groan, barely able to stifle a roar. But I won’t take what’s not given. Never. Larellin must choose our bond. I realize now I chose it when I saw her. When I first clutched her precious life in my talons.
“Vander.” She gasps, her top teeth sinking into her bottom lip as I pulse forward again, my cock aching to be inside her. “I want to be yours.”
The sweetest words I’ve ever heard, and from the sweetest lips. I kiss her again, urgent and full of need. Gods, how have I resisted her this long? She’s an intoxicating lure, a barb I want firmly embedded in my heart. I can’t keep my lips from hers, our tongues caressing as I grow hotter, my scales glowing gold as I run my hands along her sides. When I cup one of her full breasts, she whimpers. And when I suck her nipple into my mouth, she cries out. I run my tongue along the hard bud, feeling every tremor of her body, listening to her moans. When she grabs my hair, her fingers pulling the strands, I smile against her flesh and move to the other nipple.
When she’s writhing and moaning, I kiss down her stomach, her body trembling. And when I get to the honey between her thighs, I open my mouth wide and lick her.
Her hips buck. I pin her with my forearm, holding her in place as I suck and lick, tasting my treasure and lapping up every bit of her juices. It’s ambrosia. It’s fucking nectar, and I’ll never get enough of it.
“Vander, please.” She grips the blanket, her hips desperately trying to rise from the bed. “I need you. Please.”
“My mate never has to beg.” I climb up her body, running my tongue between the valley of her breasts. Sharing her taste with her, I claim her mouth and align my cock at her entrance.
She spreads wider for me, but I feel the trickle of fear beneath her desire.
“I never want to hurt you.” I mean every word.
“You won’t.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I want to be yours.”
Gods. I ease my head inside her. The pressure, the unbelievable feeling of it—I have to breathe. I’ve never felt anything like this, not this much pleasure. And we’ve only just begun.
“I will be gentle, my treasure. As gentle as I can be.” I move forward, sliding deeper into her.
She tenses the slightest bit.
I kiss her, our breaths melding as our bodies join. I could kiss her for centuries, plundering her sweet mouth, her nimble tongue. Before long, her legs open wider. I slide deeper, my cock aching at the slow torture of her perfection.
“Look at me, Larellin.”
She does, her eyes heavy-lidded, her fingernails scratching along the scales at my shoulders. “Don’t stop.”
I groan and move deeper.
She throws her head back. I kiss her neck, my lips ghosting reverently along her skin, covering the spot where she was violated. I’ll kiss here every day for the rest of our lives if that’s what it takes for her memories to change. No more of what came before. Only me. Onlyus.
“Yes.” She cups my face, her mouth meeting mine. “Don’t stop.”
Her words are fire on my back, a whip that urges me forward. I’m gripping my control fiercely, but each utterance like that from her lips is causing me to slip.
“My treasure.” I kiss her greedily and thrust deeply, taking all of her.
She claws at my shoulders, her back arching. I stare down at her, taking her in, feeling every heartbeat, every fevered breath. Pulling back the slightest bit, I pulse forward.
Her moan sends a rush of flame down my spine. “Vander.” Her voice is breathy.
