“I’ve got you.” He pressed his forehead to hers, fighting for control. “Let me… I want to make you feel good. Will you let me?”
“Yes.” The word was instant, unhesitating. “Please. I want… I don’t even know what I want, but I want you.”
A growl rumbled through his chest, and he felt her shiver in response. Good. She should know what she did to him. She should understand the beast that lived beneath his skin, the primal thing that had claimed her as its own from their very first encounter.
He walked her backwards through the water until her shoulders pressed against the smooth stone of the pool’s edge. The rock there had been worn smooth by centuries of flowing water, curved just enough to cradle her body, and he silently thanked whatever ancient force had carved this place.
“Hold on to me,” he murmured against her ear. “Don’t let go.”
Her arms came up to wrap around his neck, her fingers tangling in his damp hair, and the trust in the gesture made his heart stutter. She was so small compared to him—he could span her waist with his hands—and yet she looked at him without fear, without hesitation. Like he was worthy of her faith.
He kissed her again, slower this time, exploring the taste of her while his hands began to wander. Down the curve of her ribs, where the bioluminescence pulsed warm beneath his palms. Along the dip of her waist, tracing the elegant line of her hip. Over the swell of her thigh, pulling her leg up to wrap around him and bring her closer.
She made a sound against his mouth—something between a moan and a whimper—and the noise went straight to his cock.
“Easy,” he murmured, nipping at her bottom lip. “I’ve got you. Let me learn you.”
He wanted to know every inch of her. Every spot that made her gasp, every touch that made her light flare brighter. He wanted to memorize the map of her body with his hands and his mouth and his tongue until he could navigate her pleasure blindfolded.
His lips left hers to trail down her jaw, her neck, the elegant column of her throat where her gill slits fluttered with rapid breaths. He pressed a gentle kiss to each one, marveling at the delicate flutter against his mouth, and she arched into him with a cry that echoed off the cavern walls.
“Sensitive,” he noted, filing the information away. “Good to know.”
“Valrek, please?—”
“Please what?” He continued his exploration downward, lips tracing the ridge of her collarbone, the glowing patches that blazed hot beneath his mouth. “Tell me what you want, Ariella. I need to hear you say it.”
“I don’t—” She broke off with a gasp as his hand slid between her thighs. “I don’t know the words. I just want more.”
He gave her more.
His lips closed over a stiff peak, circling it with his tongue as his fingers found her center beneath the water, stroking through the slick heat that had nothing to do with the pool. She was ready for him—so ready it made his beast roar with satisfaction—and when he pressed a single finger inside her, she cried out and clutched at his shoulders hard enough to leave marks.
“That’s it.” He worked her slowly, letting her adjust to the intrusion, watching the play of light across her skin as her pleasure built. “Let yourself feel it. I’ve got you.”
The star on her skin blazed brighter and brighter as he learned the rhythm she needed. His thumb found the sensitive bundle of nerves at her apex, circling with just enough pressure to make her hips buck against his hand.
“Valrek—”
“I know. I can feel how close you are.” He added a second finger, stretching her gently, and the sound she made was pure desperation. “Let go, Ariella. Let me see you fall apart.”
She shattered.
Her whole body arched against him, a cry tearing from her throat as wave after wave of pleasure crashed through her. Her patches exploded with light, a brilliant gold that illuminated the entire cavern, and for a moment she looked like a supernova, a star going bright before it collapsed.
He held her through it, murmuring words he wasn’t even aware of speaking, pressing kisses to her temple and her cheek and the corner of her trembling mouth. His beast was howling with triumph, demanding more, demanding everything, but he forced it down. This moment wasn’t about his needs. This moment was about her.
When she finally came back to herself, her eyes were glazed and wondering.
“That was…” She trailed off, seemingly unable to find words.
“Good?”
“I didn’t know.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t know it could be like that. I’ve read about it, but I thought… I assumed it was exaggerated. Stories. I never imagined…”
She sounded so bewildered, so overwhelmed, that his heart clenched with a protective fury that had nothing to do with the beast.
“No one’s ever made you feel like that before.” It wasn’t a question.
