The main chamber stretched out before me, all carved rock and natural formations shaped into something functional. The floor was black stone worn smooth by countless footsteps, the surface almost reflective. Along one wall, weapons hung in careful arrangement. Blades of different lengths, a few piecesof armor, all maintained with the kind of care that spoke to a warrior's discipline.
"This is yours?" The question came out quieter than I'd intended.
Nyx moved past me, deeper into the space. His tail brushed my leg as he went, casual contact that sent heat curling through my stomach. "Ours."
No elaborate explanation. Just simple confirmation.
I walked farther in, taking it all in. There was a low platform against the far wall, maybe two feet off the ground. The surface was obsidian like everything else, but this piece had been shaped and smoothed until it gleamed. His bed. No mattress, no blankets, just stone that would hold the heat of his body.
My throat went dry.
Near the bed sat a trunk, the wood dark and scarred with age. Personal belongings, probably. Things he valued enough to keep close while he slept.
The space was sparse. Functional. Everything here served a purpose, nothing wasted on decoration or comfort. It was exactly what I would have expected from him.
And it made my chest ache with something I couldn't quite name.
"We should rest," Nyx said. His voice was rough with exhaustion. The journey back from the human settlement had taken a week, most of it spent flying through the worst heat of the day to avoid detection. We'd snuck into Scalvaris through one of the lesser-used entrances, avoiding the main gates and the inevitable questions that would follow.
The Council could wait until morning. Right now, I just wanted to be alone with him.
"Yeah." I turned to face him, found him watching me with that intense focus that always made my pulse kick up. "We probably should."
He didn't move toward the bed. Just stood there, wings partially extended, his whole body radiating tension that had nothing to do with fatigue.
The air between us felt charged.
I'd been thinking about this for days. Every night on the journey back, lying under the stars with his wings wrapped around me for warmth, I'd felt the pull. The need. But we'd been too exposed, too vulnerable to risk it.
Now, we were here. Safe. Alone.
I crossed the distance between us.
My hands found his chest, fingers spreading over the scales there. They were warm under my palms, smooth and hard and utterly alien. Beautiful.
Nyx went very still. His breathing changed, became deeper. More controlled.
His hands came up to frame my face. Careful as always, mindful of the claws that could tear through flesh if he wasn't paying attention. His thumb brushed over my cheekbone, the touch so gentle it made my breath catch.
He kissed me.
Not gentle. Not tentative. This was claiming, pure and simple. His mouth covered mine with bruising intensity, his tongue sliding past my lips to taste me. I opened for him, met him stroke for stroke, my hands fisting in the leather straps of his armor.
Heat flooded through me, pooling low in my belly. My whole body came alive, every nerve ending firing at once.
Nyx's tail coiled around my waist, pulled me flush against him. I could feel every inch of him, the hard planes of his body, the way his scales caught on the fabric of my clothes. The ridge of his cock pressed against my stomach, already hard and ready.
I pulled back just enough to breathe. "Too many clothes."
His laugh was low and dark. "Agreed."
We stripped each other with fumbling urgency. My shirt hit the floor first, followed by his own.
Skin met scales. The contrast made me shiver.
Nyx's hands slid up my sides, thumbs brushing the underside of my breasts. I arched into the touch, wanting more, needing more. His head dipped, mouth finding the curve of my neck. He bit down gently, fangs scraping over sensitive skin without breaking it.
I gasped. My nails dug into his shoulders, holding on as sensation rolled through me.
